Tralee is a small Norman town in County Kerry, or the “Kingdom” as locals prefer to call this lost and ancient province in the deep south-west of Ireland. We checked into Tralee’s Grand Hotel on Thursday evening in a state of bewilderment having found the town garishly draped in green and yellow colours. Shops, bars, cafes, all hung with flags, banners and bunting. And a quick [...]
Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category
From Kerry to Dublin: Irish hospitality and the All-Ireland Football final
Posted in Travel, Uncategorized, tagged All-Ireland Football final, Ballyseede Castle Tralee, Carton House Maynooth Co Kildare, County Kerry, Croke Park, Dingle peninsula, Dublin, Grand Hotel Tralee, Ireland, My Archipelago, Ring of Kerry, Rugby World Cup, St John's Church Tralee, The Castle at Taunton, Tralee Co Kerry on September 18, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Louise rescues lost Skiathos mongrel. A shaggy-dog story.
Posted in Travel, Uncategorized, tagged Aegean, Greece, My Archipelago, Skiathos, Skiathos Dog Shelter, The Castle at Taunton on September 1, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Our friends were gathered around the breakfast table. We were discussing a plan for the day while Louise popped out to the local shop for some milk. When she returned ten minutes later, a litre of milk was not the only item lying in her arms. With a wide grin on her face, she strode onto the terrace cuddling an adorable [...]
A voyage round “My Archipelago” with Zorba and friends
Posted in Travel, Uncategorized, tagged Aegean Sea, Athens Olympics 2004, God save the Queen, Limnonari, Mikis Theodorakis, My Archipelago, Mythos lager beer, Sea Majore, Skiathos, Skopelos, Sporades, The Castle at Taunton, Zorba the Greek on August 25, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Perhaps the best way of discovering the allure of the Aegean archipelago is to sail round it in a fine boat… not of the powered variety, but with an island breeze filling the sails of a handsome sloop. We were a family party of seven. Three generations of us, including our grandchildren, Ollie, aged four, and Kitty, going on three. Our mission was to [...]
Fly British Airways. Fly with mother.
Posted in Travel, Uncategorized, tagged Britannia, British Airways, My Archipelago, The Castle at Taunton on August 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
There is something very comforting about flying British Airways. Something more reassuring than any other airline. You can be sure that when you board your aircraft, you will not be greeted by a tall, twenty-something, leggy uniform off the pages of a glossy advertisement. Flying the flag is flying with mother. Today, Britannia has shed her [...]
Letter from the Archipelago: Hubris is a Greek word
Posted in Politics, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged Aegean Islands, Athens, EU, George Papandreou, Greek debt crisis, IMF, My Archipelago, Skiathos Greece, The Castle at Taunton on June 29, 2011 | 2 Comments »
For all its peace and beauty, Skiathos is not entirely immune to the turbulence we are witnessing on the streets of Athens. The country is now gripped by a two-day general strike. Banks and public offices have shut down. Power cuts have become a tool of union action against the government’s austerity measures. Mr Papandreou and his ministers [...]
Letter from the Archipelago: Greek peaches at sunrise.
Posted in Travel, Uncategorized, tagged Aegean Sea, English Breakfast Tea, Greek figs, Greek peaches, My Archipelago, Skiathos, The Castle at Taunton on June 22, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Up at six to watch the sun rise. A sublime peace shimmers over the archipelago. After a wake-up mug of English Breakfast, I peel myself a peach. In doing so I rediscover one of life’s most sensual gustatory pleasures: the eating of this ripe, yellow-pink fruit in the quiet of the morning beside the Aegean Sea. With [...]
Letter from the Archipelago: Greek Orthodox blessings.
Posted in Hotels & Restaurants, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged George Mitzelos Skiathos, Greek islands, Greek Orthodox Church, My Archipelago, Salt & Pepper Troulos Skiathos, Skiathos Greece, The Castle at Taunton, Troulos Skiathos on June 11, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The Greek archipelago commands a special place in the culture of this nation – one quite distinct from the rest of Greece. The government, burdened by its debt crisis, even discriminates economically between the two. On the islands, VAT is levied at 16%, whereas on the mainland it is a whopping 23%. But it is in the [...]
Letter from the Archipelago: A wedding on Lake Como
Posted in Travel, Uncategorized, tagged Aegean Sea, Balbianello on Lake Como, Bellagio Lake Como, George Clooney, Goldie Hawn, Homer's rosy fingered dawn, Kurt Russell, Lake Como, Mamma Mia!, My Archipelago, Skiathos, Skopelos, The Castle at Taunton on June 6, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
We have returned to our Aegean island – the place that provided so much inspiration for the writing of My Archipelago, my latest book. On our first morning, just after six and on cue, the sun rose over the cliff-tops of Skopelos and cast its brilliant pink shaft across the bay. Once again I was a witness [...]
The Royal Wedding: The greatest marketing show on Earth
Posted in Hotels & Restaurants, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged Battle of Britain fly-past, BBC coverage of Royal Wedding, Buckingham Palace, George Goring, Horse Guards, Kate Middleton, London 2012 Olympics, Middleton family, Prince William, Royal Wedding, The Goring Hotel London, The Mall London, The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, Westminster Abbey on April 30, 2011 | 2 Comments »
I must confess to a twinge of envy for my old pal George Goring, owner of the eponymous hotel which became the Middleton family’s billet before the Royal Wedding. At a stroke, The Goring has become world famous and the most famous hotel in London. For years to come, this 5-star address will become the [...]
Thessaloniki – Vibrant City of my Mother
Posted in Hotels & Restaurants, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged Alexander the Great, Aristotelos Square Thessaloniki, Daios hotel Thessaloniki, Daniel Boulud, Electra Palace Thessaloniki, Excelsior hotel Thessaloniki, Halkidiki Greece, Lefkos Pirgos Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Macedonia Palace Thessaloniki, Mount Olympos, My Archipelago, Nazi occupation of Northern Greece, Salonica, The Castle at Taunton, Thessaloniki on April 2, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Louise and I spent this week in Thessaloniki, aka Salonica, Greece’s second city. This was my mother’s birthplace and scene of my parents’ famous romance after my father, a dashing Indian army officer, landed in Macedonia at the end of the war. They celebrated their engagement here in 1946 and I still have vivid memories of summer holidays spent with [...]
