Ronda is a town split in half by a gorge 120 metres deep, with an 18th-century bridge spanning it. That’s the photo you’ve seen. It’s about 90 minutes from Málaga and it is genuinely as dramatic in person. It’s also the gateway to the pueblos blancos, a scatter of whitewashed villages across the hills of
Ronda and the White Villages: A Two-Day Andalusian Loop Read More »
For about 150 years Ravenna, not Rome, was the capital of the Western Roman Empire. Then it was the capital of Ostrogothic Italy, then the Byzantine capital in the west. Nobody remembers this, and the city has spent the last thousand years being quietly overlooked. What survived is eight UNESCO-listed buildings containing the best-preserved Byzantine
Ravenna: The Best Byzantine Mosaics on Earth, and Almost No Queue Read More »
Nashville gets the country music tourists and the bachelorette parties. Memphis, three hours west, is where blues, soul and rock and roll actually came from, and it has a fraction of the visitors. It’s also a poorer, rougher, more complicated city than Nashville, and pretending otherwise would be doing you no favours. Both things are
Memphis: Where the Music Actually Came From Read More »
Something will go wrong eventually. A missed connection, a stolen bag, a hotel that doesn’t have your booking, a passport that’s gone. The difference between a ruined trip and an annoying afternoon is almost entirely about knowing the first three moves. Here they are, by scenario. Your passport is gone 1. Report it to the
When Something Goes Wrong Abroad: The First Three Moves Read More »
The Outer Banks are a chain of barrier islands running about 320km off the North Carolina coast, in places only a few hundred metres wide, with the Atlantic on one side and sounds on the other. They move. Storms cut new inlets and close old ones, and the map is genuinely not permanent. It’s also
The Outer Banks: Which Island to Pick and When to Go Read More »
There’s a version of Spain with no beach resorts, no sangria jugs and no 35°C afternoons. It rains, it’s covered in forest, there are 2,600-metre limestone peaks half an hour from the sea, and the local drink is poured from above your head. Asturians call it España Verde — green Spain — and they’re slightly
Asturias and the Picos de Europa: Green Spain, No Beach Resorts Read More »
Genoa is the biggest port in Italy, it was once a maritime republic that rivalled Venice, and almost nobody stops there. People fly into it for the Cinque Terre, or drive past it towards Portofino, and the city itself gets an afternoon at most. It deserves considerably better, and it’s the cheapest major city in
Genoa: Italy’s Most Overlooked City (and Where Pesto Comes From) Read More »
Michigan touches four of the five Great Lakes and has more freshwater coastline than any other US state — about 5,300km of it. That’s more shoreline than California, Florida or Hawaii. Most people outside the Midwest have no idea. It also has an island where cars have been banned since 1898. Mackinac Island runs on
Mackinac Island and Michigan’s Great Lakes: No Cars Required Read More »
Short version: the Canadian side has the better view, the American side has the better experience, and if you can do both, do both. Longer version follows, because the difference matters more than people expect and the border crossing is a real consideration. Why the Canadian side wins on views There are three falls: the
Niagara Falls: Canadian Side or American Side? Read More »
Around 500,000 people now walk some part of the Camino de Santiago each year, and a fair share of them arrive having read a lot about the spiritual journey and almost nothing about their feet. This is the practical version. Where to start, what it costs, and what actually goes wrong. There isn’t one Camino
The Camino de Santiago: The Practical Version Read More »
