Category: Travel

Take the Pine Line

Having a cheap and cheerful lunch in Venice reminded me of a day out in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence some five years ago. If you like a good train journey and a cheap lunch, read on Macduff.

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Categorised as Travel

Venetian Sunset

Taking a water taxi to or from the airport in or at Venice is an expensive luxury. In the old days the water bus went direct from Marco Polo to San Marco, threading through the canal at Arsenale. Then it re-routed to go via the Lido which takes over an hour.

Art & Architecture

At least my ninth visit to Venice but my first in January. Among the advantages at this time of year are clear skies and a low sun, creating a coruscating light show on the canals, and the absence of crowds.

The Queen of Spades

The Queen of Spades at Covent Garden has a lot of super music and is an interesting production by Norwegian director Stefan Herheim. The road to operatic hell is paved with ‘interesting’ productions.

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Categorised as Music, Travel

Bernstein, Blood and Guts

It’s grand to be back in Wexford and the Talbot is as welcoming as ever. The sea view is magnificent and, in the foreground, trains glide silently past a car park.

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Categorised as Music, Travel

Food for Thought

FTSE is down 1.6% this morning and holding above 7,000 – so far. A good moment to see how defensive my portfolio is.

Montauban to Paris

To Montauban yesterday morning to catch the 09.17 to Paris Montparnasse train that had started from Toulouse. A second class, window seat upstairs not far from the on-board café is a snip at Euros 36. It is a two-hour journey noth-west through Agen to Bordeaux and then another two hours north-east to Paris.

Rain

A wet Sunday at Castle Park (my prep school) was a dreary affair. If you think your schooldays were the best days of your life, I feel sorry for you. After two warm, sunny days at Garrhan the weather turned on Saturday night and it drizzled persistently all day yesterday.

Banjo Boy

When I was at Durham University I saw John Boorman’s 1972 Deliverance for the first time.  It is a chiller/killer/thriller that starts innocently.