Hanging out with Athena. The Acropolis, Athens

Last year I went with my family for a few days to Athens, Greece. We had a great time exploring the city and its impressive history. We obviously couldn’t miss a visit to the Acropolis during our stay. We’d spent so much time admiring it from all angles around the city – including from our…

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Do you ever prefer the film to the book?

I know for bookworms like many of us, it seems almost sacrilege to say such a thing. But I find that sometimes it happens. It happened earlier this week when I saw the excellent Italian film Vergine giurata (Sworn Virgin). It’s based on a novel written in Italian by an Albanian author, Elvira Dones. I’ve traveled quite…

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Stunning frescoes in Bulgaria’s Boyana Church

On a recent trip to Bulgaria’s capital of Sofia, I set aside some time to visit the area of Boyana, on the outskirts of the city, to visit the not-to-be-missed Boyana church. Last week I wrote about the spectacular Orthodox monasteries of Kosovo, but Bulgaria’s Boyana church is another impressive example of Balkan Byzantine art that is…

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Sarajevo Highlights

I love destinations that seamlessly blend a mixture of different cultures and traditions, and the Balkan city of Sarajevo does exactly that. The capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina is a wonderful holiday destination, situated in between rolling hills, with dramatic mountains visible just beyond, and filled with extraordinary examples of Ottoman architecture. Sarajevo was once part of…

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