There are going to be a few days rolled into one here, as appears to be turning into a habit on my little site as, barring a day out in Belfast, mot much of note happened before I returned “home” to London on 10th August and which begged the question was I leaving “home” or going “home”. The facts of the matter are that I lived in Northern Ireland for the first 28 years of my life and have now lived in London (when I am not on my seemingly endless travels) in London for 30 now. As always, any comments would be most welcome on the subject of what you define as home? Continue reading “Same old, same old.”
Tag: Writing
Last throw of the dice.
The very fact that you are reading this, if indeed anyone is, should be regarded as nothing short of a miracle.
The very fact that you are reading this, if indeed anyone is, should be regarded as nothing short of a miracle. Allow me to explain briefly as I am well aware that verbosity is one of my many failings, most of which I have only recognised relatively recently. Isn’t it funny how the passage of time gives you a much clearer picture of yourself? Continue reading “Last throw of the dice.”
A new discovery and an ambition fulfilled.
After my somewhat epic trek of the 16th of July (see previous entry for full details) the 17th and 18th were spent in my usual pursuit of hanging out in Mauro’s wonderful little cafe and there are only a couple of things of note to record here. Having booked my flight home for the 19th I was effectively kicking my heels and trying to make the most of my last few days in the wonderful atmosphere of Rome amongst new found friends without the hassle of trudging round endless tourist attractions in the increasingly oppressive heat. Continue reading “A new discovery and an ambition fulfilled.”
I get gloriously and happily lost (again).
16th July.
My last entry dealt with my first foray into proper sightseeing in the Eternal City and I was pretty fired up to do a bit more. Not only that but I had resolved myself to walk as I am a firm believer that this is the best way to see any city. The previous day I had singularly failed to take an image of the Vatican due to equipment failure. OK, to be perfectly honest I had forgotten to charge the battery of my camera which had given up the ghost at the crucial moment and so I thought I would have an early start on the hop on – hop off bus as my 24 hour ticket ran to 1100 and then walk the rest of the way. Well, that was the plan anyway! Continue reading “I get gloriously and happily lost (again).”
I finally see the sights.
15th July.
I knew I was going to have to make a move towards home sooner rather than later due to the Canada trip and whilst people here will know that I am not an inveterate sightseer by any means I thought it would be a shame not to at least make a small effort to see something and to that end I thought my best option would be to get one of the literally hundreds of open topped “hop-on, hop-off” tourist buses that seem to almost drive in convoy as there are so many of them.
I must admit that I was one of those who used to slightly sneer at people using them on the principle that if you just buy a day rover ticket on local public transport and plan properly you can do exactly the same thing for yourself at a fraction of the cost. I know this is true where I live in London (when I am ever there!) and I am sure it is the same everywhere in the world. Continue reading “I finally see the sights.”
Another month and I still hadn’t moved.
In my last entry I said that I was breaking off as this entry took me into July 2017 and the previous submission was getting rather unwieldy as it spanned quite a time period and so I thought it made sense. Continue reading “Another month and I still hadn’t moved.”
A whole lot of days in one entry.
This entry is not a mistake as much as it may appear to be one. It is deliberately dated about a month after the last entry and the simple fact is that I did precious little of note during that time and yet achieved so much.
I spent most of my days hanging about in Mauro’s lovely little gastronomia, drinking beer, chatting to the sports journalists of the Gazetta della Sport which was just round the corner and whose employees used to frequent there a lot. I did get some very tasty information about breaking sporting news that way. Amazing what you can find out if you are in the right place and know the right people. Continue reading “A whole lot of days in one entry.”
So there I was in the Eternal City.
11th June.
The 11th of June technically arrived at midnight as it does and with me sitting at the bar of an Irish pub on the Via Nazionale which is the large and very grand “main street” of Rome and runs down the Quirinale hill. The pub is called the Flann O’Brien and I shall deal with it later when I find the images. The reason I was there was that it seemed to be the only gig in town as the Byron across the road had already shut and it wasn’t even half past midnight yet. Continue reading “So there I was in the Eternal City.”
I really should have stayed longer.
10th June, Bergamo.
I know this will sound like yet another ludicrous exploit in what was becoming a somewhat absurd trip but, attractive as Bergamo was, I was heading to Rome and then a vague notion of Napoli and Sicilia which I have long wanted to visit. As always only a vague outline plan but it needed to be done as I had a hotel booked. I had already checked and the trains were regular with a slow train first to Milano and then one of those whiz-bang intercity type things that virtually flies to Rome. However, more of all that later. Continue reading “I really should have stayed longer.”
Moving again, albeit regretfully.
I quite liked Innsbruck and so I thought I would day another night and so I went to the reception to be told the price had gone up from €65 to €70 without any reason given. Sorry, I was not going to pay that kind of money for that kind of room. I can do better in London. Frankly, I can do better by getting myself slung in jail! Thankfully, I had arisen pretty early and so didn’t have to dash immediately so I took to the internet in search of options. Continue reading “Moving again, albeit regretfully.”
Fergy's Rambles. 