So.. I cant beleive its been nearly a year since my last post.. shameful

Ive been a busy boy with adventures

I decided to recap with one picture from each country I went through in the last 15 months, Ive been very fortunate. All of them fantastic experiences

South Africa April '12:
Lioness and cubs, Garonga Lodge, Makalali reserve

Australia May '12: Kayaking on the Hawksbury River

Singapore: Cocktails at Ku De Ta, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore -  sling with a view

Zambia Jun '12: Leopard cub in the South Luangwa Valley

Malawi: Sailing Dhow on the Lake

Greece: The Monasteries of Meteora

Paris: Montmartre Bistro

Kenya: Elephant River Crossing, Samburu National Park

Vienna:  Christmas Windows

South Africa April 13:  Cellars Hohenort, Constantia

Zambia April 13: Tongabezi breakfast on the Zambezi

Botswana: Sundowner on the Chobe River

Australia May 13: Helicopter over Katherine Gorge

Hamburg: Hafencity by Night

And no I'm all up to date again before Uzbekistan on Friday!

Paris Life

Arcade


Et Pourquoi Pas?


Place des Vosges


Dont mess with the men in Uniform


Vespa at Maxim's


Le Parc


Le Cafe

Art Treasures of the Louvre

What a treasure trove, bewilderingly huge, I took a tour of the highlights then wandered off to the little visited apartments of Napoleon. I love this picture of the rabble trying to get a snap of the Mona Lisa, you want to cover her up and give her a bit of a respite. What intrigues me is im sure none of these people could tell you why its famous, it just is - its as famous as can be in the art world and therefore we are drawn to it, we have to see it, to be near it, to say we have seen it, and to show other people we have seen it, but it no longer has anything to do with the painting itself as an artistic endevour

Bastille Day

Current as ever.. here are a few shots from the 14th of July in Paris.



It was one of those times when you wonder if the crowds are worth it and ultimately I did have a long trudge home sans metro pas ce que il ne marche pas (or something along those lines), but the Eiffel tower did look particularly sparkly and I was rather chuffed to get a shot of a man with baguettes under his arm for a perfect cliche.

As you know, I do love a good cemetery.. Why is that? anyway... Pere Lachaise, like Recoleta , falls into the dramatic Catholic city of the dead variety, with beautiful tombs and vaults. Pere Lachaise to the non-French, perhaps most famously contains the final resting place of 27 club member Jim Morrison and the much defaced but lovingly so, winged very modern looking angel protecting Oscar Wilde.

Travel Philosophy Number 9 - Get an apartment

I recently went to Paris for a few days..3 short hours door to door on the Eurostar to a cute little apartment in Le Marais. I love the apartment thing for a city stay. Its not for the kitchen,who wants to cook on holiday.Though, being able to have a cold drink in the fridge and some stuff for an impromputu breakfast is convenient and saves a bob or two. No.. its that feeling of pretending you live somewhere just for a little bit. Theres something a bit special about not having a reception with people knowing your comings and going or having the maids trolley and hoovers thundering past your door in the morning when your having a sneaky lie in. This place was in a lovely old very French building in the cobbled Rue des Rosiers, buzzing with cafes, I had a security code to get in to a courtyard and a typicaly French tiny little lift to take me up to a 3rd floor studio, with a window overlooking the street below and the rooftops of my favourite area in Paris.



Ive done this elsewhere too, that week in the 'Cher' apartment in Buenos Aires at the start of my travels last year - see previous post . And there was a lovely little place in Krakow last year with my parents. Something about that home from home in a city, with a slightly less formulaic style than a hotel room, and an individual touch and flavour of the place adds something to your stay

Even better if more than 2 of you and you get a 2 bedroom place - costs per person usually fall dramatically below 2 hotel rooms

Heres two shots taken from my window - Jour et Nuit