And so, after two years without a visit to continental Europe, late last month we returned to Provence. It was like greeting a familiar friend. The ma...

The truth is that when it comes to any things foreign, I have not been anywhere for 18 months (even though I have had my two coronavirus jabs). With t...

We are in the middle of March, but since for many of us the prospect of a summer holiday abroad has been denied for approaching two years, it is small...

A lighthearted (?) take on four years of Donald Trump on US election polling day…apologies that some of the images may seem a little dated but t...

Let’s talk a little about China. Not that I’ve ever been there and this is the first year since 1975 I have not been outside the UK (actua...

A week ago, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, was pretty blunt about our hopes for pretty vacations. (With apologies to the Sex Pistols.) He said th...

A story last year on the satirical Arabic website Al-Hudood (apparently it’s bit like a cross between Private Eye and the Onion) ran under the h...

Venice’s affectionate nickname, La Serenissima, means ‘most serene’. From outside it usually looks like an enviably calm and tranqui...

It is not always easy to arrange but I do think it can be quite a rewarding plan to make sure that at least one book you read while on a trip abroad r...