Featured image: View of Ortygia Island, the historical centre of Syracuse, Sicily Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony, 25 May 2016 AirBNB Adventure 1: Florence to Syracuse, Italy & Sicily 2012 Introduction In thinking about this series, I decided to contact all my previous AirBNB hosts to ask whether they were still active and wanted to be identified specifically or …
What Travel Costs 7: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Featured photo: Meat Stall, Muang Mai Markets Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony, 27 April 2016 What Travel Costs 7: Chiang Mai, Thailand (& Hyderabad, India) The main purpose of my trip was to go to India to undertake a promised visit to my friend Rukmini to catch up. I chose to fly via Bangkok rather than take a cheaper trip with …
Food in Chiang Mai 5: Airport Plaza
Featured Image: Airport Plaza, entry to Kad Luang Food Hall, pre-prepared meats to take home Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony, 9 April 2016 Food in Chiang Mai 5: Airport Plaza with some side notes on Bangkok Articles in the series on food and restaurants in Chiang Mai are: 1 Akha Tribal Food, 2 Pho Vieng Chane, 3 Khao Soy, …
The Colour of India
Featured image Lambadi Woman, Gramya 2005 Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony, 23 March 2016 The Colour of India Introduction Having just visited India in February/March 2016. I’m inspired again by the wonders of India, even though the NGOs I’m aware of despair at the the excesses of the current central government. In mid-2010 the South Coast Pastel Society (New South Wales, …
Postcard from The Rock of Cashel
Featured image: The Rock of Cashel, Old Tower, 1101 Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony, 24 January 2015 (Other Postcards are from: Boudhanath Stupa, Dubai, Vienna, Lake Tabourie.) The Rock of Cashel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland Introduction We left the fancy penthouse, we’d stayed in for two nights on the Quayside in Dublin and headed West on 18 September 2014. Cashel is a …
Sean Dooley: The Big Twitch
Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony, 17 January 2015 Sean Dooley The Big Twitch, 2005 Occasionally, you read a book that you wouldn’t normally and it surprises you. The Big Twitch is such a book. We were staying with Denise’s mother in Cowra a week ago and I picked up The Big Twitch and began to read it. I found …
Luhmühlen Horse Trials 2014
Featured image: Lucinda Fredericks AUS Flying Finish, Jump 5 ICE-VIBE Oxer, Luhmühlen 2014 Breadtag Sagas ©: Authors Denise & Tony, 25 November 2015 Luhmühlen CCI**** Three-Day Event 12-15 June, 2014 Introduction to the sport Having covered an esoteric sport in Addicted to Sumo too a few weeks ago, Tony thought it was time to cover another: also …
Autumn in Japan
Featured image: Not quite Autumn, Miyajima Island, near Hiroshima, 28 October Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony, 27 October 2015 Japan in Autumn, 2013 Introduction When I was doing my postgraduate research, I found that Canberra in Australia — where I have lived most and reside now — has four seasons of almost exactly three months each. This may be …
Addicted to Sumo too
Featured photo: Simon Q Flickr, Wikimedia, Sumo bow-twirling ceremony, May 2014 Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony, 20 October 2015 Sumo Wrestling Japan Introduction We made our first trip to Japan from 16 October to 25 November 2013. A friend had done a textile tour with Shuji Yamazaki a couple of years previously and had convinced us to …
What travel costs 6: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Featured photo: Old City of Dubrovnik, walls & Lokrum Island Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony, 26 August 2015 This is the second country breakdown of our trip to Europe from 22 April to 6 December 2014. What travel costs 4 covered the whole trip. The current article covers our holiday to Croatia immediately on quitting Germany. Adria Adventure, Dubrovnik and the …
What travel costs 5: Germany
Featured photo: Newly sown field near Großenkneten Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony, 15 August 2015 This is the first country breakdown of our trip to Europe from 22 April to 6 December 2014. What travel costs 4 covered the whole trip. The current article covers our house-sitting in Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) from 25 April to 28 June 2014. …
What travel costs 4: eight months in Europe
Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony 30 July 2015 Trip to Europe, April to December 2014. Background Denise and I travelled to Europe on 22 April 2014 and returned on the evening of 6 December. Our trip in Europe lasted just less than 8 months (226 days). One of the reasons for going was to undertake some house-sitting internationally and to …
Food in Chiang Mai 4: French and Italian Restaurants
Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony, 23 July 2015, updated March 2016 Articles in the series on food and restaurants in Chiang Mai are: 1 Akha Tribal Food, 2 Pho Vieng Chane, 3 Khao Soy, 4 French & Italian Restaurants, 5 Airport Plaza, 6 2017 Update. From the past articles, you will be beginning to gain an idea of some …
What travel costs 3: Scuba diving in the Philippines 2
Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony 30 June 2015 Trip to the Philippines, 14 to 29 April 2012 The first trip to the Philippines was so good we planned another one a year later to dive the Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park in the middle of the Sulu Sea. We booked with the Expedition Fleet for 4 days diving. …
Postcard from Vienna: Michaelerplatz sculpture
Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony 28 June 2015 (Other Postcards are from: Boudhanath Stupa, Dubai, Rock of Cashel, Lake Tabourie.) Trip to Europe 7 September to 8 December 2007 Going back to Vienna in 2007 seems like a time capsule to me, and it’s not long ago. I’d read John Irving’s first novel Setting free the bears years ago …