Photos from the smallest city I visited on this tour – Mount Pleasant, Iowa.
Latest Adventures
Seven States in Nine Days
In less than two weeks I was able to double the number of US States I’ve meaningfully visited, by hopping on and off the California Zephyr.
Gallery: Chicago to the San Francisco Bay, by train
Arguably Amtrak’s most scenic route, the California Zephyr allows a great variety of landscapes to be sampled from the comfort of a lounge or sleeper car. Here’s some of what I experienced during a winter run with the snow often piled high!
Chicago to the San Francisco Bay, by train
I took on the entire 52 hour, 2400 mile journey from Chicago to Emeryville on the California Zephyr – but rather than one epic ride, I split it into six pieces across nine days. Here’s how those went.
A tour of the California Zephyr
A look at the three types of accommodation I tried during my journey – coach, a roomette, and the family bedroom – plus the communal areas on this superliner service.
Gallery: Chicago 2022
An assortment of architectural highlights from January’s two visits to Chicago.
Chicago: City of Architecture
Despite the cold of a midwestern winter, I was able to check out a number of Chicago’s architectural highlights.
Transcontinental
How an epic adventure – ten thousand miles of flying and fifty hours of train travel – came to be.
Year in Review 2021
Another heavily disrupted year, but some hopes of a return to (new) normal.
Gallery: Cordoba, Spain
Photos from the Mosque-Cathedral, and exploring the city.
Is the train in Spain better than the plane?
Trying out the high speed AVE services, in both first and standard class.
The A380 (re)familiarisation flights
An oversized return to BA, joining one of a special series of flights to Madrid.
Andalusian Architecture 2021
My only international trip of 2021, in search of Spanish architectural highlights.
Gallery: The Isle of Man
Photos from my explorations by train and tram.
Three nights on… The Isle of Man
Keen to fly, but not to navigate the cost and complexity of COVID rules, I made my way to a relatively obscure part of Britain (but not the UK): the Isle of Man.
Year in Review 2020
An overview of my very limited travel in 2020.
Year in Review 2019
Where and how I found myself travelling in 2019.
Why I hope not to fly Ryanair for another decade
Ryanair vs KLM- a comparison of two recent experiences of things going wrong.
Gallery: Tuscany
Snaps during a week exploring Tuscany with friends, from big city sights to peaceful countryside.
Overview: Tuscany 2019
A group trip to Tuscany presented many opportunities to explore the region – from its famous cities to sleepy villages, via peaceful hiking trails (and a lot of gelato).