Breathtaking Views and Hidden Gems: A Week of Driving Around Southern Sardinia!

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The island of Sardinia is located to the west of the peninsula of Italy. It is a surprisingly large island and a week is not enough time to fully sightsee the whole of it. In the space of a week, it was only possible for us to visit a little of the southern half of the island and that was with quite a busy itinerary.

We visited in mid-October and as you will see from the photos, the weather was gloriously sunny and a perfect 25C during the day. It was warm enough for swimming but not too annoyingly warm for a day of sightseeing. This is considered shoulder season. Therefore, there were other perks such as cheaper accommodation, inexpensive car rental and less crowds at the attractions.

The beach that you walk past to get to Area archeologica di Tharros is the most spectacular beach!!
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A Visit to Paris – Is it better than London?

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Musee Carnavalet – free entry, huge and spectacular museum

Paris is a gorgeous city and it’s only a quick 2.5 hour train ride on the Eurostar from London. We visited in the middle of September. The weather was perfection – cool and lovely in the low 20s. The city looked majestic and elegant as always. Remnants of the recent Olympics and Paralympics were being taken down. So based on these few days in Paris and my time in London, which is better? (Note: I’m probably biased as I know London better and I speak English!)

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Delightful Discoveries From A Week in the Beautiful Baltics

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Tallinn

What do you know about the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania? We had an enjoyable week-long visit to these countries and have come away with a new appreciation of the region. We visited Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius with day trips to Sigulda in Latvia and Trakai in Lithuania. Here are our 10 discoveries about the Baltics.

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Museums Evolving to Engage New Visitors – The Songbird Trail at the V&A.

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V&A Museum – Taylor Swift Songbird Trail

Recently, a very clever tactic was employed by the historic and magnificent Victoria and Albert Museum in London to bring thousands of new people through their doors. The V&A museum is iconic in its own right and is one of London’s largest museums. It contains hundreds of stunning items in its collection and is a must-do for anyone in London.

Unfortunately, times are changing and the people of today are not so engaged with static displays of items. Our attention spans are short. A museum full of historic items can become a domain of older people, quiet, stuffy and full of items that seem insignificant without understanding their back-story.

So following on from my other two posts about how the silent disco is a positive evolution of nightclubbing and how the theatre is evolving to attract a new, younger demographic, how must a museum evolve to keep up and draw in the youth of today?

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10 Wonderful Aspects of the Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony

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The Olympics occupies a special place in my heart. That may mark me as an idealist or soft-hearted but I love the idea of global unity. I watched the Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony from the iconic location of The Scoop, the outdoor, sunken amphitheatre next to City Hall in London. It was a crowd of hundreds watching under the gaze of the skyline of the City of London and just across the river from the historic Tower of London and the iconic Tower Bridge.

Hundreds of people at the Scoop watching the Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony

In contradiction to what seems like a unanimous howl of discontent and negative reviews about the opening ceremony, I just wanted to say that I really liked it. Yes, perhaps to have this view is hokey and overly sentimental. I am aware of the issues plaguing the Olympics like doping and budget blowouts. I can see that the opening ceremony could have been better in parts but really, there was a lot that was spectacular and commendable. It was great! Well done Paris!

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