Manchester is home to some fantastic theatres which frequently attract some of the most popular acts, musicals and plays through their doors. From the Lowry Theatre to The Bridgewater Hall, as the nights draw in Manchester can offer a wealth of productions and performances to satisfy the cultured soul this autumn. Whatever your artistic taste, … Continued
Off to a Siberian Village on the Shores of Lake Baikal Kay and I enjoyed Irkutsk and its pleasant atmosphere of a university city. But after a couple of days, we were off to Bolshoe Goludnoe, a Siberian village on the shores of Lake Baikal, not far from Irkutsk. Once again, we had pre-arranged this … Continued
I used to hang out at an open-air bar in downtown Athens. In 1976 the place was a travelers’ gathering point, a spot where people would gather in the warm summer evenings to swap tales tall and short about life on the road. One fine ouzo-soaked night I had the great good fortune to meet … Continued
Russia is a country that offers as much diversity and cultural richness as any nation on Earth. Getting around has never been easier or more convenient, and the sights in a nation that spans over ten time zones cannot possibly be described in in a few paragraphs. When the old Soviet Union divested itself of … Continued
Differences and Similarities in Siberian Homestays with Elena and Irina If you’ve been reading the series of post I’ve contributed to WeSaidGoTravel.com, then you’ve read about the Siberian hosts that I had at my Siberian homestays – Elena in Ekaterinburg and Irina in Irkutsk. If you haven’t read my previous posts, you might want to … Continued
The Western coast region of Tuscany is one of Italy’s most renowned tourist spots. Its renaissance architecture, delicious local recipes and warm climate attracts millions of tourists each year. It’s also part of Italy’s famous wine country and connoisseurs regularly flock to the award-winning region. The region is made up of a number of provinces, … Continued
Irkutsk What is it about college towns all over the world that makes them so unusual? I find that college towns often seem to have an air of refinement that isn’t present in other cities and towns. Maybe it’s just the lack of industry. Anyhow, Irkutsk in Eastern Siberia definitely had that feeling. And it … Continued
Ekaterinburg – Irkutsk In Part 2 of my posts about the Trans-Siberian Express train, Kay and I crossed the Ural Mountains to Ekaterinburg, thereby entering Siberia, a huge region of 5.1 million square miles or 13.1 million square kilometers that covers most of North Asia, as well as all of the central and eastern parts … Continued
(Names changed to protect the guilty) It all began with a heating bill. One Tuesday morning in April at the end of the school semester, while my roommate was preparing to move back to Amsterdam and I was preparing to spend the rest of the year in Florence, we heard our landlord traipsing up the … Continued
ON THE TRAIN The border of Asia and Europe – that would be our first stop on the Trans-Siberian Express train. How long would it take to leave Europe behind and enter Asia at the border formed by the Ural Mountains? Remember, at the end of Part 1, Kay and I were arriving at the … Continued