ART / LITERARY

UNITED KINGDOM To get the sand of Ancient Egypt right between your toes, you'll need to visit the Petrie Museum. Sir Flinders Petrie was the first professor of Egyptology in the UK, and is considered one of the founders of scientific archaeology. He'd been appalled by the destruction of ancient artefacts, and was concerned to save what he could. full story >>>	ITALY The morning light strikes the 13th Century Italian city of Perugia, not like a symphonic chord, but rather like a series of soft notes, slowly turning the grey cobblestones pink and gold as the Umbrian sun rises over the ancient buildings. The jazz arrives in a similar fashion. full story >>>
ENGLAND London, city of Shakespeare, has an illustrious literary history. If you’re taking a trip to England’s capital on the trail of your favourite writers, you might like to stay in a hotel with some kind of literary connection. There are several of these to be discovered if you know where to look. full story >>>	SPAIN A house with a dragon’s back. Lantern-lit trees with eerie faces. Turrets made of giant eggs. Catalonia, an autonomous area within Northwest Spain, suffered historical oppression of the Catalan culture and language. Perhaps because of this, its people have developed a contrary nature that may be what led to a heightened sense of whimsy and imagination. full story >>>
VIRGIN ISLANDS Climbing the 99 steps towards Black Beard’s Castle in the center of Charlote Amalie, the capital of St. Thomas, my eyes met with an unexpected sign: World Amber Museum and a tiny arrow underneath. Naturally, my curiosity was aroused and I followed the arrow to find out what it was all about. full story >>>	ITALY I have heard that Fausto delle Chiaie displays his work every day in Rome’s Piazza Augusto Imperatore, between Emperor Augustus’ Mausoleum and the Ara Pacis Museum, and I have come to seek him out. He turns and looks quizzically at me. full story >>>
ITALY The success of the movie Angels and Demons has had a major impact on sightseeing in Rome. The cost usually exceeds €50 per person. Alternatively, you can take the two-day “do-it-yourself” tour and visit all of the movie locations. full story >>>	GREECE In a tiny shop on a narrow, dingy street near Monastraki square in Athens, a man sits at a work table strewn with paint pots, pencils and brushes and painstakingly puts the finishing touches on a gilded painting of the Virgin. The icon painter, Dimitris Zazanis, works alone in his modest shop. full story >>>