A day on the Dordogne

26 Jun

Overlooking a wide loop in the river, the chateau at Beynac-et-Cazenac was gifted in 1115 to the sisters of Fontevrault Abbey but seized at century’s end by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester and prominent crusader. Expanded in later centuries, … Read More »

Amsterdam at close of 2014

7 Nov

The Jordan: 17th century and formed by the western edge of a hemisphere of concentric canals: Herengracht, Keisersgracht, Prinsengracht. Its houses, their foundations reclaimed by the finest Dutch engineers – world masters at cheating the seas and taming the polder … Read More »

Costa Brava in February

6 Nov

My super-smart former colleague and pal Mick and the lovely Mags –  they spend their days wandering Britain’s waterways on a narrow boat, Rose of Arden – took three months out on the Costa Brava. I joined them for a … Read More »