Posts Tagged “history”
The Sea Journal: Seafarers’ Sketchbooks is more than just a glimpse into a few nautical logbooks, it is a fascinating study of the discoveries made by some sixty-odd renowned adventurers over the last 600 years. The author, Dr. Huw Lewis-Jones (a much-travelled historian with a special interest in maritime exploration and polar voyages), has brought…
Goossens Farm with Malting Brewery Lambic Brewery Heritage Lambic beer is a typical wild yeast beer, brewed in the southwest region of Brussels (Pajottenland). It forms the basis for geuze (a blend of lambic of 3 different ages) and for kriek lambic, a cherry beer. This farm with malting brewery was one of the many…
The 15th century saw the dawn of the Age of Discovery, a time when European powers began exploring the world to find new lands and new opportunities. Portugal was in the vanguard of this drive, sailing southwards in their case down the west coast of Africa. So it wasn’t long (1419 to be precise) before…
La Taillerie – the Gemstone Shop Although precious stones are not found naturally anywhere in the Jura mountains, the cutting and polishing of imported stones played a significant role in the economy of this region for three centuries. There are still traces of those traditional skills to be found if you look for them. Start…
China: A History is an excellent and authoritative tome by an author who brings this enigmatic land to rich and colourful life. John Keay illustrates that phrase ‘To know who we are we must know where we come from’ or, and perhaps of more interest to us in the West, ‘We must know where we…
This is a pleasure in pocket-size. A book on ices, but from an age when such things were sheer luxury, a holiday treat, and seldom found at home. The Book of Ices by Mrs. Agnes Marshall is a classic. Mrs. Marshall (1855-1905) was a Victorian lady and one of the most celebrated cooks and writers…
Picasso: Between Cubism and Classicism 1915-1925 is a unique overview of the artist’s earlier and lesser-known years. This sumptuous volume illustrates Pablo Picasso’s celebrated journey undertaken in 1917, but also the periods just before and just after. He visited both Rome and Naples in the company of Jean Cocteau, French poet, writer, designer, playwright, artist…
This exciting Summer issue of Timeless Travel includes a brilliant supplement on the site of Troy, 2018 having been designated ‘The Year of Troy’. In the magazine you can discover the beautiful town of Ohrid in Macedonia, visit Cupid’s Cove in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the site of the first permanent English settlement…
From the bestselling author of The Art of Forgery, Noah Charney, comes this fantasy art adventure, The Museum of Lost Art. This is a stroll through a museum that could never exist. It’s a visit to a gallery of the ‘once was’, perhaps a wander through a hall of ‘lost forever’, and a tentative toe-dipping into…
From 8 March – 15 July 2018 – The influence of modern Greece on the lives and work of three influential artists is explored in a new exhibition at the British Museum this spring. Charmed lives in Greece: Ghika, Craxton, Leigh Fermor (8 March – 15 July 2018) examines the enduring friendship between Greek painter…
Today sees the launch of the British Museum’s collaboration with Google Arts and Culture to digitise and share the ancient Maya collection of Alfred Maudslay, a 19th century explorer who brought the stories of the Maya to the world. This important collection is made up of photographs, casts and other scientific documents created during archaeological…
We might well think we know everything about Mallorca – possibly spelled Majorca and often pronounced with a hard ‘j’! It’s evidently a tapestry of an island and so far we are just considering the name! This is a beautiful island which has laboured under the touristic yoke of cheap package tours and ‘English Pubs’…
Following the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror designated this wooded corner of southern England as a royal forest for the pleasure of the king and his court. The area was cleared for regal entertainment at the expense of more than 20 small hamlets and farms; hence it was considered a ‘new’ forest, although it was…
Gouda is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland. It’s an historic town which was granted city status in 1272 by Floris V, Count of Holland. Most tourists will know Gouda cheese but might not even realise that there really is a town of the same name, which has more to offer…
Groningen isn’t the first destination in The Netherlands of which one might think. It’s invariably Amsterdam that gets that accolade, and a very fine city it is. But Groningen, in the north of this, one of my favourite countries in Europe, is like an accessible snapshot of all things Dutch. Groningen might be a distance…
I am, as regular readers will have noticed, an unapologetic supporter of The Netherlands. It’s a small country that not only welcomes the British tourist but embraces them. There are few language problems, yes the water is safe to drink, the little-known food is delicious, and there is history and landscape aplenty. 2014 is a…
2014 is a special year and after my recent visit to the Netherlands I am reminded that every year should be special. This year we remember the Liberation of parts of Europe, towards the end of the Second World War, and the heroism not only of servicemen but of civilians. This was a bitter-sweet trip….
The last year of World War II offered the hope of an end to hostilities, but they were, in fact, a long way from being over. France and Belgium were liberated and The Netherlands was the logical next step. The terrain is divided by waterways running from east to west but Allied forces would be…
Valencia is the third largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona. The Port of Valencia is the 5th busiest container port in Europe and the largest on the Mediterranean, and is these days something of a work in progress. For those lucky enough to arrive by ship the impression is of a sprawling building…
The Hague is indeed a ‘Royal’ city. You might even come across one of the ‘Oranges’, as they are considered perhaps the most accessible royal family in Europe. The Hague has been home to the House of Orange for more than four hundred years; first they were Stadholders and later gained the title of monarchs….