A brief encounter in a beer brewery that led to an unexpected history lesson of Panama City and the different fates of two adjacent districts.
Read More
Shenyang 沈阳: Imperial capital turned industrial pioneer
Located in northeast China, Shenyang has a rich cultural history. It was the former imperial capital of the Qing Dynasty as well as one of the cities that led China’s industrial revolution.
Read More
Passing through Oran, Algeria
A brief glimpse of the streets and European influences in Algeria’s second largest city
Read More
Orhan Pamuk: The Museum of Innocence
I first came upon The Museum of Innocence while wandering around the dimly lit streets of Beyoğlu in search of dinner at midnight . It was my first night in Istanbul on my own after finishing a project in Etiler, another neighborhood on the European side of city. The unusual-sounding museum on the street sign piqued my curiosity…
Read More
Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk
Istanbul: Memories and the City is not just any armchair travel book. It’s a step back in time, into the contemporary history of Istanbul, as seen through the eyes of one of its illustrious residents, Orhan Pamuk. Renowned for his novels especially after he received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature, Pamuk was born in 1952…
Read More
Discover Ghent and its throbbing medieval heart
Did you know that Ghent has more listed buildings than any other city in Belgium? Just take a walk along the picturesque Graslei harbour. The former port area features an impressive row of guild houses and each medieval building has a story behind it. For instance, Vrije Schippers was the guild house for the local bargemen, who had the right of…
Read More
Chocolate trail in Brussels
Belgian chocolate is reputed to be amongst the best in the world – the domestic consumption is one of the highest worldwide, as is its chocolate export trade. When I first moved to Brussels, I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t an artisan chocolatier at every other street corner. Large commercial brands such as Godiva, Neuhaus and Leonidas don’t…
Read More
Sacco E Vanzetti + La Pagode
I meant to write earlier about Sacco E Vanzetti after watching a restored version of the movie in Paris last month. But I didn’t know where to start. The film is based on the controversial murder trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti in the US in the 1920s. I was not familiar with the court case nor…
Read More
Stefan Zweig: The World of Yesterday
One of the things I like about blogging is the wealth of information that is being exchanged. Now and then, someone leaves a comment on my blog that leads me to discover something new or interesting. This was how I came to learn of Stefan Zweig’s The World of Yesterday. Andrew – writing All Downhill from Here over in…
Read More
Angelina Hue 