Europe A La Carte Blog

Welcome to my blog, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

I interviewed Angela K Nickerson, author of Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome, during a live blog on Wednesday 11 June at 20:00 British Summer Time (which is one hour in advance of Greenwich Mean Time).

Angela’s book is a blend of biography, travel guide and the history and art of Rome and Florence during Michelangelo’s lifetime. You can read my review of A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome on the Wandalust UK travel blog.

Please come along, the live blog will appear inside this post, you don’t need any special equipment or software to watch and it’s easy to make comments and ask questions.

I received a complimentary copy of the book for review purposes as part of Angela’s virtual book tour.

I appear to be moving up the pecking order in travel blogging as I’m invited to the Press Conference and Opening Party of the first citizen M hotel at Schipol airport on 24 June. I wrote a post about citizen M for Wandalust in which I questioned if travellers were ready to be “branded” as citizen M’s and if the front line staff in the hotels would be able to embody the brand values. I think citizen M are off to a good start if they are inviting a blogger who has been critical of some aspects of their branding ambitions.

citizen M hotel room

It demonstrates the recognition of the influence of travel bloggers on travel consumers opinion by companies offering products and services in the travel market.

As the Easyjet flight from Edinburgh arrives at Schipol in the early evening too late for the press conference on the 24 June, I’l have to fly over the day before, so I’ll be able to spend the day in Amsterdam prior to the press conference. I’d like to see Amsterdam off the beaten track, so If you have any ideas of what I could do or see please leave a comment.

Can you have too much off a good thing? Almost everywhere we looked in Umbria we could see charming medieval hilltop villages and towns. You really are spoiled for choice, you could stop every few kilometers and wander around another historic village or town.

Gubbio

Don’t thing these are decaying, neglected places or just tarted up for tourists, these towns and villages are full of life.

Todi

You do really need to have a hire car to get around rural Umbria though. The driving can be pretty hairy at times.

Spoleto

It was amazing on the drive back home to Berwick from Edinburgh to get the impression that Scotland wasn’t that green. Usually when you return from the south of Europe you think it’s lovely to be back in verdant Scotland but after all the densely wooded hillocks in Umbria, Scotland was looking slightly wishy washy.

It’s pretty hard to come up with my favourite castles in Scotland as there are so many from which to choose. Sometimes it’s the location of the castle that’s the attraction as opposed to the interior of the castle. However as I like getting off the beaten track my choice of castles reflects this.

Tantallon Castle, East Lothian

Tantallon Castle, East Lothian

Tantallon Castle lies 3 miles east of North Berwick in East Lothian. around 20 miles east of Edinburgh. The Castle was built in the 14th century as a fortress. We visited Tantallon Castle for the first time a couple of weeks ago. My husband who is a keen kayaker had paddled round the coastline below the castle but we wanted to see it at ground level. Although it was a pretty miserable wet day the views over the Firth of Forth and the Bass Rock were really impressive. The castle is pretty much a ruin but you climb up the spiral stone staircases for elevated views.

Falkland Palace, Fife

Falkland Palace, Fife

I know it’s a palace but that’s just another name for a royal castle. Falkland Palace was built on the site of Falkland Castle in the 15th century. Falkland Palace is in such a stunning location at the foot of the Lomond Hills in the Fife region of central Scotland. The castle interior is in good condition with many 17th century Flemish tapestries adorning the walls. The Royal Tennis Court built in 1539 for James V, is the oldest tennis court in the UK. It’s real tennis that played here with a more complex scoring system than the current game. The score lines are adorned with paintings of crowns. Mary, Queen of Scots, is said to have created a great stir when she abandoned her stiff skirt to don breeches to play here. The tennis court is still used by a local tennis club.

Castle Fraser, Aberdeenshire

Castle Fraser, Aberdeenshire

Castle Fraser is a splendid castle in Aberdeenshire, in the north east of Scotland. The castle itself is very beautiful and well preserved, dating from the 16th century. It’s brimming with historic furniture, paintings and embroidery. In true castle tradition the castle is haunted by a Princess who was murdered in Green Room. It was impossible to remove the blood stains left on the stone stairs after dragging her body down and wood paneling had to be laid over the stone steps to hide the evidence. You can climb to one of the towers to have fantastic views. of the surrounding countryside. There’s a lovely formal garden and woodland walks. However kids will love the “Woodlands Secrets” adventure playground. There a tepee, stone circle, musical instruments and various carved wooden animals.

If you plan to visit castles, gardens and monuments during your trip to the UK, the Great British Heritage Pass saves you money and time. Overseas visitors to the UK can buy the pass online. The pass gives you free entry to a wast array of heritage properties owned by the National Trust, Historic Scotland and English Heritage. The three castles I’ve written about are all part of either the National Trust for Scotland or Historic Scotland. The price starts at £30 per adult or £69 per family (2 adults and up to 3 kids under 15 year) for a four day ticket. This is good value if you’ll visit a few properties as it costs £11 per adult to enter Edinburgh Castle. You’ll also avoid having to stand in queues to purchase admission tickets at each attraction.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed my whirlwind tour around three of my favourite castles off the beaten track in Scotland. Do you have favourite castle in Scotland away from the star attractions such as Edinburgh Castle and Castle Urquhart at Loch Ness.

View to Bass Rock from Tantallon Castle

Tantallon Castle lies 3 miles east of North Berwick in East Lothian. The Castle was built in the 14th century as a fortress. For me the best thing about is it’s dramatic location on the coast opposite the Bass Rock.

Tantallon Castle

You can climb up the even stone spiral staircase for great views over the Firth of Forth.

Elcho Castle, Perthshire

It’s Historic Scotland’s annual free weekend 12 - 13 April 2008. There’s free entry to historic properties all over Scotland. As well as favourites such as Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle, why not venture a little off the beaten track to some less well known castles?

Elcho Castle is a well preserved 16th century castle by the River Tay, a few miles south east of Perth. It belonged to the Wemyss family until they gifted it to the nation in 1929 I have to admit that I’d not heard of Elcho Castle before I visited in April 2007. I think it is well worth a visit as the building is fairly intact and it’s in a lovely setting.

Edzell Castle, Angus

Edzell Castle and Gardens is located a few miles north west of Brechin.Much of the castle is ruined but the red sandstone is very beautiful. For me the garden is the main attraction. It was constructed in 1604, you can still see the coat of arms and the date above the entrance to the gardens. The garden walls are truly amazing with sculptures depicting virtues such as patience, constance and prudence as well as Roman Gods. The Summer House at one corner of the garden is still intact; this is where the family would retire after meals to eat sweetmeats at the round stone table.

Trieste is tucked away in the north eastern corner of Italy, close the border with Slovenia. It was seaport of the Hapsburg empire for many years and even 70% of Italians questioned in a recent opinion poll didn’t know that Trieste was part of Italy.

Trieste seafront in the evening

In Trieste you can enjoy a combination of a sea/beach holiday and the attractions of a cultural city. The sea in the Gulf of Trieste is very clear and clean, with limestone cliffs and rocky beaches. The centre of the city has a mid-European feel, more Austrian than Italian.

The City Hall, Piassa Unita Italia, Trieste

You can sip coffee on Piazza Unita Italia with its grand 19th century buildings, while looking out over the Adriatic. As Trieste is a port it was one of the first European cities to take to coffee in a big way. The first coffee houses in Trieste opened at the beginning of the 18th century. These cafés become very popular with artists and intellectuals. Several of the original cafes are going strong, the Tommeseo and the Cafee degli Specchi. Triestines are very particular about their coffee. If you order a cappuccino the Trieste version will be a black coffee with a little milk. You would need to order an Italian cappuccino. Mixing spirits with coffee is a no-no, viewed as a beverage favoured by foreign lorry drivers!

Of course there’s a lot more to Trieste than cafe society. The Barcolana regatta is held on the second Sunday of October. This is a sailing competition which has run for 30 years and has almost 2000 vessels competing. From October to May the concert and opera season unfolds in the historic neo-Classical Teatro Comunale Giuseppe Verdi (opened in 1801 and designed by Matteo Petch, architect of Milan’s La Scala) and the modern Sala Tripcovich. The festival of Light Opera is held in July and August at the Verdi. Miramare Castle was built for Archduke Maximilian as a residence by the sea and gardens. Probably the best is The Revoltella Museum, which was founded in 1872 when Baron Revoletta left his home and art collection to the city of Trieste.

Miramare Castle

So if you’re looking for somewhere different for an Italian short break or part of a trip around Italy, Trieste is a great destination.

This post was featured in Carnival of Cities, February 13 2008.

I finally visited the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh this week. There’s been so much controversy and negativity about the building. The building won the 2005 Stirling Prize for Architecture.

I had mixed feelings about the building, I like the exterior, apart from the strange twisted cane effects around the windows and extended from the front elevation.

Front of Scottish Parliament building

I found the lobby to be quite dismal and dark but liked the debating chamber with its combination of wooden beams and glass in the ceiling.

Debating chamber, Scottish Parliament

I wasn’t able to go on the one hour guided tour, although they normally run on Mondays. they were preparations for some event and tours had been cancelled. The tour costs £5 for adults and £3 for concessions. It’s stressed that this charge is made to cover the cost of professional tour guides. Personally I don’t think that here should be a charge for Scottish residents to do the tour but I know it would be complicated to administer this.

I thought that the bust of the late John Smith, leader of the Labour Party from 1992 until his death in 1994, was very lifelike. The sculpture, which sits by the lift at the debating chamber, is by Eduardo Paolozzi and is on loan to the Scottish Parliament.

John Smith sculpture by Eduardo Paolozzi

Have you visited the Scottish Parliament, what did you make of it?

Believe it or not, Scotland’s most iconic image is a disused coalmine, the Lady Victoria Colliery. The Colliery, which polled 20,000 votes, was voted top from a short list of ten archive images including Rosslyn Chapel and the Rennie Mackintosh School of Art in Glasgow.

Lady Victoria Colliery is now home to the Scottish Mining Museum.

Lady Victoria Colliery

Another new Travelodge opens in Falkirk in central Scotland, located just off the M9 motorway. Rooms, which can sleep up to 2 adults and 2 kids, start at £19 per night on the Saver Rate if you book three weeks in advance and from £29 if you book one week in advance.

It’s only a few minutes drive to the Falkirk Wheel the worlds only rotating boat lift.

The Falkirk Wheel by washigullao

Falkirk is a good location for a touring holiday as you can visit many cities/areas in around a one hour drive or train trip such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Perthshire and Fife.