On my first morning in Palermo, I woke to the song of the seagulls. Lovely, right? That was immediately followed by the aggressive, rhythmic crunch of breaking glass -the true anthem of the Sicilian trash truck. Even in a "quiet" residential area, Palermo cannot help itself; it is a city that lives out loud. That … Continue reading Palermo: the beautiful and unapologetic onion
Sometimes I have a good laugh reading people’s reviews. In one of the churches I visited in Palermo, someone had given it 1 star in Google Reviews, saying “Isn’t there anything else to do in Palermo besides visiting Churches?”. Oh that made me giggle. When I travel and I look at the people around me … Continue reading Palermo Doesn’t Cater: A Journey Through Seven Churches and One Missed Bus
You are what we were, we are what you will be In other words, memento mori. This quote is from one of my favourite places I visited in Palermo - Catacombes dei Cappucini. Remember, we'll all die. Regardless of who we are amongst the living or how much you have. In the end at least … Continue reading The Day I Visited the Dead to Remember I Was Alive – an essay from Palermo
Japan is old school in something that I adore - free leaflets, maps, magazines available to visitors looking to explore, find hidden gems, and also, a great source for future scrapbooking. I’ll speak about the latter at another time. I had picked some of these, and on my first evening in Osaka, back at my … Continue reading Discovering Katsuo-ji, Osaka’s Hidden Gem
My time in Japan was coming to an end in Osaka, my last stop before flying back home. On the train from Kyoto, there was a strange sadness taking over my overall mood. I didn’t want my holiday to end. Certainly I didn't feel like I was done with Japan - in fact, on my … Continue reading Osaka – the city refusing to take life too seriously
The Winged Bone 