LISBON | Belém in the rain

Easter Holiday 2024. Danny and Sam visited Porto in February, I visited the capital, Lisbon, in April with Steve, Philippe and Nicolas. I had my free week during a school holiday and as the boys work in education, I made the best of it. We chose Portugal for its convenience and our hope for fair…

Sightseeing Switzerland

Switzerland will host the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. But which city in the Helvetic Confederation will welcome the thousands of artists, media people and fans? Geneva, Sankt Gallen, Basel and Fribourg have already expressed their interest. Other obvious options are Zurich and Bern. And why not Lausanne? Swiss broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) also…

ANDALUSIA | Real Alcázar of Seville

Six days. Five overnight stays in five cities in Spain. Lunch in Paris. Stopover in Barcelona. Then Córdoba, Seville, Granada and Málaga. An Andalusia Whirlwind Tour where we visit the Mezquita and the Alhambra. We’re touring Andalusia in October 2023 to follow the trend of travelling to hot spots outside summer, as we did with…

SWITZERLAND | Introducing Lausanne

Switzerland will host the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. But which city in the Helvetic Confederation will welcome the thousands of artists, media people and fans? Geneva, Sankt Gallen, Basel and Fribourg have already expressed their interest. Other obvious options are Zurich and Bern. And why not Lausanne? Swiss broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) also…

SWITZERLAND | Introducing Bern

Switzerland will host the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. But which city in the Helvetic Confederation will welcome the thousands of artists, media people and fans? Geneva, Sankt Gallen, Basel and Fribourg have already expressed their interest. Other obvious options are Zurich and Bern. And why not Lausanne? Swiss broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) also…

Touring Toulouse

September 2023. Oriol and I are flying to Toulouse for a road trip in Occitania and (French) Catalonia. We include the Principality of Andorra, which I can finally tick off the bucket list, and Llívia, Spain‘s exclave in France. Besides Toulouse we visit Mont-Louis, Villefranche-de-Conflent, Perpignan and Carcassonne.

Macau

It’s been a while since I used a travel agent to plan a trip. But a major travel agent in Belgium posted a deal one can’t refuse in a newsletter in June 2023. Flights from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific and three nights at the four-star Park Hotel Hong Kong in…

GREECE | Delos excursion from Mykonos

Maspalomas on Gran Canaria. Sitges in Catalonia. Torremolinos in Andalusia. Mykonos in the Cyclades. These are arguably the main – and cliché – resort destinations for European gay beachgoers. But that’s not why Steve and I are going to Mykonos. We’re not beachgoers, we don’t have beach bodies, we don’t enjoy going out. No, we…

The Acropolis of Athens

During a lovely dinner in February 2023, Steve, Philippe and I decided to visit Athens during the – Catholic – Easter Holiday. As I was lucky to have the full Easter weekend – Saturday, Sunday and Monday – off, I booked flights and a room. Steve and Philippe arrived in the capital of Greece two…