Fortress and Byzantine Culture

If there is a symbol of Sofia or perhaps even Bulgaria itself it’s the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. With construction starting in 1882, when complete it was a whopping 31,000 square feet with the capacity for 5000 worshippers.

A short half hour train ride away is the small city of Asti. It may be familiar as a wine growing region -both their red wines including Barbera D’Asti as well as their sparkling wines like Asti Spumante. After reading a bit about it, it seemed like an interesting place to visit and pretty easy…

It’s great to be back in Istanbul. I can switch from endless churches to endless mosques. Starting with the Blue Mosque which was being restored when I visited in 2022, so you could glimpse very little under a lot of scaffolding. It is now glowing and beautiful. No shortage of crowds enjoying it. Less than…

Two different galleries – both for shopping rather than art. Starting with Gallerie Vivienne a covered set of shops dating back to 1826. Next up, Galleries Lafayette, probably the largest department store known outside France. I took a guided tour that allowed access an hour before the store opened to learn all about the history…

The rain cleared away and under sunny skies the city sparkles. I spent some time on the Buda side of the river exploring the banks of the Danube and some of the historical sites,

The Acropolis (high city) is very much the centre of Athens figuratively and literally. Standing for 2500 years on a rocky outcrop it has endured through the centuries. In more recent years they have opened its own museum which is useful in better understanding the site, its history and the decorative elements that were part…