A love-letter to Quebec, and especially Île d’Orléans, an amazingly productive island that is testament to a once-conquered peoples’ enduring way of life.
Souls in the Grass
Ha Noi — hugely chaotic, and energy-sapping, and so full of so much you don’t really understand. But when you eventually pull yourself away, a place of incredibly intense memories, all the more vivid for having been so hard-won.
A Brooding Presence in the Field of Flowers
Hardly anyone notices the large statue in the centre of Campo d’Fiori. Maybe it’s the cape, and the way the man being depicted seems to be almost hiding under it. Maybe it’s just that it doesn’t fit in with all the surrounding spectacle. Regardless, in a modern world where science is still often ridiculed, this brooding presence deserves to be far better known.
Our Lady of the Tour de France
A unique and historic part of the world-famous cycle race in rural Gascony that remains something of a secret, even to many people in France.
The Street Tango Man
Argentina is not always a happy place, and Buenos Aires wears some of that country’s beauty, as well as many of its scars. But above all else, the city sometimes called the Paris of South America has tango in its blood.
A Day Like Any Other
While Amalfi is over-run by visitors in summer, there’s at least one event that brings out the locals from all the surrounding districts, even though it occurs just when winter begins. And the whole thing has to do with a pirate named Red Beard, and St. Andrew, the town’s patron saint.
Tears in a Vacant Country
A concert in a dusty village, in the middle of the vacant countryside, by one World Music’s most renowned singers. You don’t need to understand the words. You just listen with your heart.
Vatican Flocks
Climbing to the top of Saint Peter’s, you could get lucky. If it’s right on dusk in the autumn, and you look out along the wide curves of the Tiber, you might just focus on a natural sight that will take your breath away.
Tall Tales & True
A light-hearted homage to the writer and performer Garrison Keillor, including the story of a deceased ancestor who had more than one earthly resting place, and a photo from seventy years ago with a very cryptic caption. They’re just the sort of tales you might be told in this northern “neck of the woods”.
Pedalling to Venice
Yes, you really can cycle to Venice, the “Floating City” that has far more canals than streets. It’s just a matter of using all the public transit options at your disposal, and deciding to go for a ride.