Dusk fell early in the Blue Mountains. I stood looking over the Jamison Valley. Last summer it was ravished by a bush fire, which in true Australian style devastated all in its path. With parts of the bush yet to regenerate, and the scars of its passage were everywhere. Now…

Paris it is not: The smell of stale beer Weaves me through a maze of pokies To the breakfast room. Buildings of monotonous grey, vomitus of the seventies, Glare at me through streaked widows. …

We sailed in just after dawn. Buildings the same colour as the hillside stretched along the coastline, one town blending into the next. Monaco is a principality of hills. These were largely barren rocks the colour of sand, with a covering of scrub. From the water I could see the…

Napoléon III reigned when this lighthouse was built in Paris in 1862.

A city as old as Florence has so many layers of age, a patina of history and culture laid down over centuries. Before Julius Caesar granted the farmland around the Arno to his retiring soldiers, the Etruscans had settled in Fiesole and the surrounding valley, with evidence of a pre-Roman…

Visiting Port Vila turned into one of those unexpected days which prove the delight of travelling. Although the islands of the South Pacific are beyond beautiful, too often the larger towns wear a dusty, run-down air. Having spent the previous day snorkelling with reef fish and sea turtles, I had…

Or Captured Moments of Time — Despite their age, a few Terracotta Warriors managed the long trip from China to Australia, looking remarkably fresh after the long haul.

I paid my 3 Euro and entered to high vaulted ceilings and marble floors. Although the height of summer, the tombs on the floor outnumbered the visitors. For me, the Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari proved one of the best art galleries I visited in Venice. …

A view from my hotel window, in Sydney. I took this photo a few months ago, in winter, when darkness came early. I’m not sure what I love more about this photo, the stunning luminescence of the clock faces, or the glimpse of people busy in their offices.