Travel – Page 14 – Content Catnip

Travel: The Royal Palace in Madrid

Tapas of bread with fresh sardines, basil, cheese and tomatoes in Madrid, what I actually remember from the palace tour. Copyright Content Catnip 2009

It was broiling and steaming at about 38 degrees in Madrid that day. Looking out over the vista of Madrid during the peak of the siesta period it seemed that all the traffic had stopped and all of the sensible people in the city had retreated inside, except for the tourists like me of course.Continue reading “Travel: The Royal Palace in Madrid”

Travel: Walks along the Water of Leith, Edinburgh

The Polish Bear and I went on a lot of adventures together while living in Edinburgh. One of our favourite walking trails was the devastatingly beautiful Water of Leith. This natural body of water crosses over the Forth and Clyde Canal, which I’ve written about extensively before. The Water of Leith snakes its way throughContinue reading “Travel: Walks along the Water of Leith, Edinburgh”

Travel: Delightful Art Deco Bollards in Napier

Whereas in Australia bollards are being erected everywhere to protect against trucks driving through people on the street, in little old New Zealand, the bollard means something completely different and is used to great decorative affect in the town of Napier in New Zealand. These Art Deco bollards are dotted around all of the streetsContinue reading “Travel: Delightful Art Deco Bollards in Napier”

Travel: Hiking in Ireland

When I was in Glenadough, Ireland the land spoke volumes to me. It felt and it indeed was ancient. The Irish people exist in comfortable relation to it, and appreciate its melodic shifts and seasons, as they have done for thousands of years. There are vast tracts of low-lying suburbs around Dublin. It’s almost alwaysContinue reading “Travel: Hiking in Ireland”

Travel: Celestial ceilings and soaring skies in Poland

Another cathedral ceiling, this time in Wroclaw. Copyright Content Catnip 2016 https://wp.me/p41CQf-IE8

When I was in Poland, going around to all of the cathedrals and churches, there was a hushed reverence and peaceful vibe that permeated everything and everyone. It was akin to being wrapped inside of the embrace of a friend or loved one. Although I’m not a religious person at all I experienced a senseContinue reading “Travel: Celestial ceilings and soaring skies in Poland”

Travel: Melbourne’s vibrant laneway graffiti

Melbourne has a great variety of every changing laneway graffiti, which is sort of like the creative engine bellowing and churning away below the city. Street Art in Mebourne has become an attraction in its own right and meant that tourists mark out their stay in the city by visiting these modern monoliths of culture.Continue reading “Travel: Melbourne’s vibrant laneway graffiti”

Travel: Story Map plunges you into a thousand Dublin streets and their hidden stories

Created in 2011, Storymap is still an oldie but a goodie. It’s the creation of two Dublin filmmakers, Andy Flaherty and Tom Rowley. They had just been abroad and were sick and tired of the notion that Dublin and Ireland in general was a gloomy place with rampant unemployment and nothing to offer visitors. They haveContinue reading “Travel: Story Map plunges you into a thousand Dublin streets and their hidden stories”

Travel: Extinct volcanos in Auckland

Every Picture Tells a Story: Extinct volcanos in Auckland

There are approximately 53 volcanoes in Auckland, which have over thousands of years produced an array of interesting lagoons, tuft rings and lava flows in Auckland city. The biggest, most active and most visible volcano – Rangitoto sits on an island of the same name in Auckland harbour. This has erupted repeatedly over the pastContinue reading “Travel: Extinct volcanos in Auckland”

Travel: What remains, Berlin

Every Picture Tells a Story: What remains

When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 parts of it remained up as a monument to the dangers of state control. On these remnants of the Berlin Wall are a series of constantly changing murals and street art which makes a statement about the current political state of the world. Some of them simply areContinue reading “Travel: What remains, Berlin”

Travel: Dancing on the ceiling of Berlin

Every Picture Tells a Story: Dancing on the ceiling of Berlin

I took this photo about nine years ago while living in Berlin. During the summer, the city was alive with cultural performances, buskers from throughout the world and the constant optimistic energy of things to come. When I look at how Europe has evolved nowadays it makes me a little sad. I really hope thatContinue reading “Travel: Dancing on the ceiling of Berlin”