The Alhambra. Just the name conjures up a mental image of the medieval clash between Europe and the Middle East, between Christianity and Islam, a time of religious quests and bloody battles. These days, the tales of battles are limited to the legendary queues to obtain tickets to visit it, so after a particularly busy… Continue reading Spain gets a little bit Moorish.
Category: Travel
A Middle-Class Whinge
I’ve called this post a ‘Middle-Class Whinge’ for reasons that will become obvious as you read it. It isn’t about a matter of great importance, just a couple of disappointing instances of customer service at the end of a long week. I’m not asking for pity, I am just venting. It was the end of… Continue reading A Middle-Class Whinge
Villa Tinto
Just a quick plug for anyone looking to visit a small, family-run winery in the Barossa Valley, South Australia. I can highly recommend Villa Tinto. Wine is obviously a passion for Albert, and I only wish my visit had coincided with one of his, apparently, near-legendary asados. They have two small vineyards, and the whole… Continue reading Villa Tinto
War Memorial of Korea
November 1st, 2009. This entry has taken a long time to publish. This is not because it is some great feat of literature, it is because I am no great blogger, and can rarely be bothered to upload two things that I managed to (mostly) write in consecutive days. On with the tale… After yesterday’s… Continue reading War Memorial of Korea
The Demilitarised Zone
October 31st, 2009. My base in Korea was Daejeon, but as the “must-see” tourist trap, I mean trip, leaves from Seoul at 07:00, I’d stayed a night in the capital so I could be at Camp Kim, a US military base and home of USO Korea who arranged the tour that I joined, for the… Continue reading The Demilitarised Zone
If only every airport was a bit more like London City.
I hate Heathrow Airport. There, I said it. This sentiment may come as no surprise to those that use it frequently (I use it fairly regularly, but nowhere near as much as some), but I’ve held out a long time before admitting it. I like what airports represent, people coming and going, whether it is… Continue reading If only every airport was a bit more like London City.
¡Viva España!
Like many people, I grew up with an image of the Costa del Sol. TV programmes showing 1980s package holidays in Torremolinos and countless programmes on late night ITV since then (not that I watch late night ITV of course). The tales of streets populated by bars and Fish and Chip shops to serve the… Continue reading ¡Viva España!
Manila
Now that I’d arrived in Manila, what did I do? Most of the time was, of course, work related. However I did have a day or so the weekend before the meeting started, and a couple of hours in the odd evening to wander around. The meeting hotel, the Sofitel Philippine Plaza, is a little… Continue reading Manila
Manila (or at least getting to it)
I’d been looking forward to this since it was booked, a trip to Manila in the Philippines for APRICOT 2009, the Asia-Pacific network operator’s forum. I’d wanted to go for a while, so when one of the programme committee suggested I submit a talk on our recent backbone upgrades to 40Gbit/s, I jumped at the… Continue reading Manila (or at least getting to it)