Cats of Athens, oh, and a dog too!

Hi Frugalistas!  I’ve been having a lot of fun on Instagram over the past few weeks sharing photos of some very, very cute little kitties from my trip to Athens.  Athens is home to many, many cats (and quite a few dogs as well).  Around Monastiraki and Anofiotika they are a real attraction.  Please enjoy […]

The Athens fruit and vegetable market

Hi Frugalistas!  A more “gentle” Friday fotos this week as we visit the Athens central fruit and vegetable market.  Like many European cities fruit and vegetable stalls and small markets are dotted around the city in Athens.  As part of our Culinary Backstreets walk we visited the slightly larger produce market directly across the street […]

The Athens meat and fish market

Hi Frugalistas! Armed with my new camera, and some wonderful photos from Athens I’m bringing Friday fotos back for a new series.  First up, the Athens meat and fish market.  A word of warning though – the meat market is very, well, meaty.  A far cry from shopping in your local supermarket.  So if you don’t like meat […]

Walking the Cinque Terre

Hi Frugalistas!  I’ve written at some length about the Cinque Terre.  It’s one of my favourite parts of Italy.  Based on your feedback and the enduring popularity of my posts, it seems you do too.  The Cinque Terre is world renowned for its hiking.  Despite a number of the trails still being closed since storms […]

Canary Wharf: a different view of London

Hi Frugalistas!  Think of London….eyes shut tight….what is in your mind?  Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Harrods?  Pomp and ceremony, double decker buses, and who can forget those glorious afternoon teas?  When I last travelled to London it was for work that was in the Docklands area of East London, so I needed to look further […]

Paris in the spring

Hi Frugalistas!  You know I love Paris.  I regard it as my spiritual home in fact. Spring is probably my favourite time to visit Paris.  Sunny days, not too warm, not too crowded, the gardens in bloom.  What’s not to love?  Here are some of my favourite things in Paris in the spring…

The Istanbul tulip festival

Hi Frugalistas!  I noticed it as soon as my bus left Istanbul airport – tulips.  Lots of tulips.  Every April Istanbul welcomes spring with a tulip festival.  Tulips are a traditional flower in Turkey and feature heavily in Islamic art.  The whole city goes made with tulips in every colour and every design.  From humble […]

More cats of Istanbul

Hi Frugalistas!  If you’ve been to Istanbul or have read my, or others’ blog posts, you know that cats rule.  They are everywhere.  Shopkeepers look after them, people feed them, and tourists pat and photograph them. When I was on my Culinary Backstreets food tour of Istanbul, my guide Senem and I discussed the cats […]

A visit to Chora Church in Istanbul

Hi Frugalistas!  This week’s Friday Fotos visits one of the smaller tourist sites in Istanbul – Chora church. While Chora is a bit off the beaten tourist path in Istanbul, and is much smaller than the better known Hagia Sophia, it is nonetheless a stunning place, worthy of your valuable travel time. How To Get […]

How and where to take the best photographs of Paris

Hi Frugalistas!  In my recent post, I talked about the best places to photograph the Eiffel Tower.  This week, the Friday fotos considers where to take the best shots of other well known, and well loved Paris sites.  While these sorts of things are always highly subjective, here are my top choices for photographing your […]