Museum of Siamese Art, Museo d’arte Siamese ‘Stefano Cardu’, Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy In a city like Cagliari you might not expect to discover an Asian art collection, but in fact it has an excellent one: it’s small, perhaps not immediately appealing to most people (judging by the fact that we were alone in there), but it really is a delightful…
Botanical Gardens, Jardin des plantes de Montpellier, Montpellier, France Right in the heart of Montpellier, a skip away from the Cathedral, are the peaceful University-managed botanical gardens. Visiting in the summer, you get a mixed experience: it’s sure nice getting out of the heat by hiding under the trees, but a lot of plants aren’t exactly at their most interesting…
Botanical Gardens of Cagliari, Orto Botanico di Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy Ordinarily I would not visit a botanical garden on a trip – especially if I have to pay for entry. However, we were running out of things to do in Cagliari and it was very hot – even in October – so we thought that we might escape the worst…
In my usual way I was looking forward to seeing the Roman remains of Cagliari. It was an important provincial capital and on paper it looked like there was a fair amount to see. My first disappointment was finding that the Cave of the Viper, a Roman tomb, was closed. I checked the internet and found that the amphitheatre was…
Necropolis of Tuvixeddu, Necropoli di Tuvixeddu, Cagliari, Sardinia Cagliari is a town full of unusual details: one of the most unusual is probably the Punic necropolis of Tuvixeddu that basically serves as a dog-walkers’ park. Other creatures you may see are toads, mosquitoes and die-hard history buffs. In Sardinian, the word Tuvixeddu means the hill of the little holes, which…
Chinese Opera, A Ópera Chinesa, Museum of the Orient, Lisbon, Portugal I am fortunate enough to have visited a number of wonderful exhibitions in my time, but only a few of them have had a profound effect on my life. This one on Chinese Opera at the Museum of the Orient is in my top five most influential exhibitions. On the…
Museum of the Orient, Museu do Oriente, Lisbon, Portugal When creating a list of museums to visit in Lisbon, I wasn’t that bothered about getting to the Museum of the Orient. There were other priorities. On our last day in the city, I decided to go here first, spend a few hours, and hop on to another place nearby. We stayed…
Ethnographic Museum, Museo Etnografico Regionale – Collezione Cocco, Cagliari, Sardinia Due to its position in the Mediterranean, Sardinia has a unique and interesting culture. Life along the coast is different to life in the rugged interior of the island, and through everyday items it’s easy to see the tastes and preoccupations of Sardinians across the island. This collection on show…
Salève, France Who could arrest a creature capable of scaling the overhanging sides of Mont Saleve? So says Mary Shelley in her “Frankenstein”, when the monster runs away to the mountain to escape from those hunting him in Geneva. It’s an appropriate place for him to roam – the vast slug-like mountain looms over the city of Geneva, and with…
In Geneva, 8th December 2018 Having written at some length about the three-day 2017 Escalade celebrations in Geneva, I will not be adding anything except some pictures from the 2018 event (including some from the infrequently opened Arquebus Museum). It really is a wonderful time for the city, full of families and tourists all enjoying the fun atmosphere over the…
Swedish Army Museum, Armémuseum, Stockholm, Sweden I know some people don’t like army museums – either because they can be seen as being staid and dull, or because of the ethical implications of ‘celebrating’ the savagery of war. Perhaps because both my grandfathers were in the army, I find them quite fascinating. And this one was particularly good. The museum…
The Vasa Museum, Vasamuseet, Stockholm, Sweden This is the story of a ship called the Vasa – the biggest, baddest and crappiest warship to ever set sail in the northern seas. I don’t think it’s going to spoil the story much to say it sank. And sank pretty quickly. But, as they say, one man’s loss is another man’s gain, and…