The Rest of the World

Work and play has taken me to all of the continents....ours is a wonderful planet and I've been fortunate to see so much of it. Travel is such an inspiration; if I haven't travelled it's hard to pick up a paintbrush. 

In 2022 I turned to watercolours and the occasional words to reflect ten of the most memorable places I've enjoyed, other than Frigiliana and St Helena.

1. Padova, Italy

.......can anything compare to seeing Giotto's masterpiece and being shown Gallileo's lectern by one of Gallileo's successors, Emeritus Professor of Astronomy, Cesare Barbieri?

2. Angkor Wat , Cambodia 

......hidden away for centuries and only now emerging from the jungle, the biggest and most stunning temple complex in the world.

3. Cusco, Peru 

built by the Incas and vandalised by the conquistadors, the most vibrant city in South America

4. Trinidad, Cuba

colonial architecture in a communist setting, sheltered from the tackiness of its nearest neighbour

5. La Paz, Bolivia

....where the airport is a mile higher in the thin Andean air and the road down takes you from mud huts to skyscrapers

6. Lagrasse, Aude, France

.....a medieval village in France's most attractive and underrated region, a sea of grapes and former home to the Cathars until their massacre by Rome

7. Stone Town, Zanzibar

stunning beaches and (the clue in the name) stone buildings with a shameful history

8. Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

a welcome break across the River Plate and away from the litter, graffiti, traffic and noise of Buenos Aires

9. Montserrat, Lesser Antilles

.....still recovering from the hurricanes and volcanic devastation of 25 years ago and lacking the capacity to ever restore things to what they were.

10. ......and a final bow to Frigiliana

.....having now completed the cobbling of all of the streets in the old town, a task started with great imagination many years ago