A little bit of Spain surrounded by France, Llívia is a town that never got handed over in 1659.  The Treaty of the Pyrenees handed over a number of nearby villages to France but for various reasons Llívia wasn’t part of the deal.  Its status has stayed the same to the present day. Nowadays of course, travel between Spain and, well.. Spain isn’t a problem but even relatively recently (under Franco) it was a different story, with special passes being required to transit France.   The novelty of crossing the border and being in a Spanish town completely surrounded by

Welcome to Os de Civís, a notable place by nature of its location.  The village is part of Spain – mainland Spain, not an exclave or island – but it can only be reached by vehicle from another country.  That country is Andorra and the village’s unique position next to it makes it quite interesting and beautiful.   Andorra is not a member of the European Union (mobile roaming charges are…interesting) and has been known as a bit of a tax-free shoppers’ haven.  As a result, there are customs checks on the two main border controls (one with France, one

A trip to Iceland is good for you – in my personal, non-medically qualified opinion – for so many reasons. From the 10am walk into the centre of Reykjavik under a totally dark sky, to the lava fields, to the Blue Lagoon spa, to the geysers in Geysir, it’s nature at its best (or worst) in pretty much everything you experience.  For me December was definitely the right time to go. Below are some of my favourite images from this 3 day trip – I’ll let them illustrate the trip.

Tangier, on the northern coast of Morocco.  This is my second time coming here and the second on a day-trip.  The whole concept seemed a bit weird (a day trip to Africa?) before my first visit in 2009, but a fairly quick ferry from Tarifa in Spain is all that’s required. Travel tip: to make the most of the day, get the direct ferry from Tarifa to Tangier; if you go from Algeciras you’ll arrive in Tangier Med port which is about 25 miles (40km) away. Travel tip 2: you get your Moroccan entry stamp in your passport on the

I have had an amazing week island-hopping and visiting some pretty unique places in Shetland, the group of islands (about 300 of them!) at the top of the UK. The whole visit was planned to be epic, starting with the journey there, taking 24 hours.  Yes, the train took the strain, with an early start at King’s Cross in London for a trip up the East Coast main line.  The great views across to the North Sea from the track in northern England were the best part of this part of the journey.  After changing at Edinburgh, the wonderful Scottish

I was pleased to be able to spend a few days in Istanbul, Turkey this week.  This city, often described as spanning two continents, lives up to its name with the influence of so many cultures on show. On this blog post I’m going to let the images do most of the talking but just to mention: The mosques: what a city in which to make my first visit inside one of these grand buildings.  There is a wealth of history behind the mosques in Istanbul and plenty of guidance to make the most of a visit here.  Visiting tip: