Stories from travels in

Europe

Spanish humour

When I don’t have anyone to talk to, except myself, and having nothing good to read either, I tend to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations. 

Las Palmas

A while back, taking  a rare full day off when in Malta, I tried my damndest to relax. I went down to the pool and

Built for the sun

If ever a city was built for the sun, Las Palmas was. The locals will tell you that it only rains 10 days a year

It’s all about the emphasis

Isn’t it odd how, when for all your reasoning life, you’ve heard a word pronounced in one way, and then you hear it, from a

A building … alive

Nothing could have prepared me for what I met at Fort Monostor in Komárom. No explanation, or description, or photographs could have done justice to

From the archives

I first visited Budapest in December 2003. Shortly afterwards, I wrote this letter about my impressions. The inimitable DLW, who hoards her correspondence, dug it

Humanizing Hungarians

I knew little, if anything, about Hungary before I moved here. Gradually, as I met more and more people, my list of places to visit

Up hill and down vale

Somewhere between my mid-20s and my early 30s, the thought of a hot, sudsy bath became more enjoyable than the bath itself. Gone were the

Grateful 5

Everything I’ve ever done in my life to date has led to my being in Budapest right now. Difficult to imagine that each little decision