I was about to abandon the little memoir of my recent Paris jaunt, and blog instead about other things. Time- after all- marches on. Tempus fugit and all that. But then I looked at some photos saved on the computer, of statues, saints and angels, one of Mary Magdalene even. Inevitably, thoughts turned to Paris… Read More Another day in Paris-dise (or Hell for the unlucky)
Since Christmas is a time for families, and since my sister and my niece were not with us this year, my mother and I made a slightly late-in-the day, slightly haphazard and snap decision to go to Paris for 5 days, setting off the morning after Stephen’s Day. I am not going to pretend it… Read More We’ll always have Paris.
The day after Carnac, Mike and I drop Lindsey off at the train station to make her way home. It’s a sad moment, the Fellowship of the Mast is coming to an end. Later the same afternoon Mike and I take our rental car to visit Pont Aven. This pretty little town was made… Read More Pont Aven Washout & the Cathedral and the Bridges of Quimper.
Another days sailing done. Having survived a mix of weathers, a run-in with a spiteful tug boat and long day’s sail, we find ourselves coming into view of our next stop: Concarneau. Passing the first harbor walls, it is a beautiful evening. Even from sea, the place looks amazing. In fact, arriving by sea is… Read More Sailing Brittany part VII- Audierne to Concarneau.
We leave L’Aberwrach early the next morning, for what Mike described, in his pre-trip internet briefing notes, as a “5-hour flume ride through the Chenal de Four”, (whatever that means) Not to be confused with tomorrow’s, much scarier-sounding “10-hour slog through the Rez de Seine”. The weather off the rugged Atlantic coast of… Read More Part V- Sailing L’Aberwrach to Cabernet-sur-Mer… Man overboard!
The Channel crossing over, sailing from Plymouth, a naval town in SW England over to Brittany, was long, cold, and grim, shrouded in fog and darkness. Most of our time through the night is spent scanning the radar, anxious to avoid a collision with one of the many massive tankers cruising through the dark. Even… Read More France at last, Dublin to Concarneau, part iv, L’Aberwrach.
Part ii- Dublin to Concarneau and Carnac; a sailing voyage on the coasts of Brittany. Getting there: (Part Two) Day zero + 1. North Wales to Plymouth. We leave mid-morning to catch the train, first leg Bangor to Birmingham. Despite the continuing grey weather, the first part of this journey is quite nice, with the… Read More Part ii- Dublin to Concarneau and Carnac; a sailing voyage on the coasts of Brittany.
I’ve been invited to join two old friends and another chap, crewing a 36-foot sailboat, from Plymouth, across the English channel to France, then down the coast of Brittany. We will be on board for about 8 days. Travel plans? I can fly back direct from Brittany to Dublin. Connections are pretty good. Getting to… Read More From Dublin to Concarneau & Carnac; a sailing voyage on the coasts of Brittany.
I received a request from my friend Phillip in London, looking for advice, tips and recommendations on Buenos Aires, on behalf of his friend Christopher, who was travelling out to BA that very week. Naturally I obliged. Here are my thoughts for what they were worth Tip One- contrary to popular misconception, Buenos Aires is not especially cheap. Rather the opposite is true, until… Read More 10 tips of Buenos Aires, advice for a friend of a friend.
When I went for my first proper San Telmo walk 5 weeks ago, not nocturnal for once but in hard, bright sunlight, I didn’t know what to look at, the lovely old buildings, the people or th blue sky. What grabbed my attention most forcefully in the end was the Graffiti. Here… Read More Graffiti of San Telmo
Arran Q Henderson 