likes abandoned places, art and artists, books, buildings (preferably old or vernacular), Europe, Greece, history, Italy, Palestine, pirates

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Confessions of an introverted traveler

 
http://www.worldhum.com/features/speakers-corner/confessions-of-an-introverte...

As a person who needs solitude more than I need friends, and loves to travel, I related to this article but, and a big but: the most memorable moments of my travels have come from accidental meetings with warm and interesting people.

While travelling in the US a decade ago I stayed in about 10 B&Bs and would have continued that way if it wasn’t becoming too expensive and a problem to book in the high season.

Off hand, I think of the coy gay couples I met in Denver, the music nuts who ran a very friendly house in Albuquerque, the traditional-style womb-like house I was given in Taos (skylights, no windows; loved it), and the couple who made staying in a place as dull and unpeopled (after 5pm on a Friday) as Amarillo interesting.

The places I remember most vividly in most of my travels are those where I did engage with people. If out sightseeing all day it is sweet to go to a place that resembles home at night — that’s exactly what young travellers love about backpacker digs and hostels.

My worst experience — cos I followed the wrong advice — was finding myself (on Corfu) miles from anywhere with only American college students for company and a very aggressive social program: don’t dress up in a toga or whatever, don’t eat. (The Pink Palace is legendary for its “parties” and either loved or hated).

Then, I have stayed in scores of dingy hotels and motels that were so nondescript they never registered in my memory. Quite likely the towns and cities I was visiting didn’t register much either unless i had gone to see something special — cos memory is largely visual: we remember beautiful, interesting and unique places, and people, and forget the rest.

I must add that B&B would be the only way to go in New Zealand if you are older, have never been there and can afford a little luxury. NZ is about human warmth as much as it is about distinctive scenery and adventure tourism. If you stayed at B&Bs — and there are hundreds now — you would feel as though you’ve been taken into NZ’s bosom.

;=)

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This as an example of both Tindink’s craftsmanship and Peciacake’s photography — the two of them always worked well together.

What’s the plate like to eat out of though, Greg? Only kidding!

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French photographer Stéphane Dufief — inspired
mostly by the coast of Brittany — here

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I’m such a sucker for a seascape, so here you go — noting especially Htjems, above, shooting in Norway, and Suebbb, below — photos taken about as far away as you can get in climate and geography, mainly in Queensland, Australia.

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Norwegian Arild Heitmann explains what went into this photo taken from inside an ice cave:


One of the falls i visited was still frozen. I decided to follow the river and try to find a way under the ice. Typically me… I found a tiny opening and squeezed my hot body inside. To get the angle i wanted i had to jump into the river. Some serious gymnast moves involved in this one.

It was perhaps 30-40cm from the water and up to the ice cover. Banged my head and camera a few times. Shot a few frames and when i tried to exit i discovered that it was a lot worse getting out of this place. I could hear a loud and clear -POP- when my ass popped out of the cave….

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Growing up in northern Norway, Arild Heitmann maybe had to be a photographer. Although I suppose some people there don’t notice the incredible beauty and simply grumble about the cold.


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His photos (there are 272 in this collection) remind me of those I’ve seen from Iceland.

Nature rules.


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Reading Cloggo

 
http://cloggo.tumblr.com/post/600170592/in-the-same-period-of-my-life-i-was-p...


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Reading Cloggo’s posts is always an adventure.
For a man who has mostly stayed in one place all his life, he has been around — his imagination has made sure of that.


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In the one yarn the gnarled old Yorkshireman can slip in a history lesson, with more than a sliver of autobiography, and (for example) a lecture on popular reading of the mid-20th century, which is ancient history to most people reading here. You really ought to look him up if you haven’t.

In this item, I learnt about the relationship between The Saint (as it should have been) and my beloved Avengers, Steed and Mrs Peel, and quite a lot about fetish cars into the bargain.

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The photographer who calls himself SLO-D300 in Flickr has a dazzling collection of photos of towns, castles and other old buildings around Slovenia and northeastern Italy. HDR is a major feature.


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