Blog Feed: Silly Billy: A Dubliner's Experiences in the USA

Bill's European Adventure, 2001. Part 2: Barcelona

Published on 2012-04-06 04:18:14

Aug 16 After sleeping on a mattress in Élise?s place, we got to Paris Austerlitz train station by 10am and got on the 10h11 train to Limoges. Our intention had been to go to Périgueux via Limoges, and then to Barcelona via Bordeaux the next day, but the complications of five trains with huge gaps in one long day meant that we abandoned going to Périgueux. We got to the train station at Limoges intending to get a night train to ... > read more

Bill's European Adventure, 2001. Part 1: Paris

Published on 2012-03-31 06:23:41

Introduction What follows is the travel journal I wrote during an Inter-railing trip around Europe I took with my friends Ollie and Julie back in 2001. Every detail whether insightful, embarrassing, naive or otherwise has been left in to add to the fun! Some notes will refer to receipts and other little things I attached to the physical copy, and watch out for references to about a dozen currencies that no longer exist :-) Bill, 2012. Aug 13 By chance, Ollie got ... > read more

Photoblog: Occupy London

Published on 2011-10-19 03:21:33

I snapped a few early morning photos of Day 5 of the Occupy London protest outside St Paul's Cathedral. ... > read more

An expat journalist in Prague

Published on 2011-06-07 08:14:37

Photo Credit Walter Novak Clean-shaven, ruminative and intelligent-looking, polite and neatly dressed. Such was the demeanor of the twenty-something homeless man I met at a Prague shelter under a motorway bridge for my first big story. Something a > read more

Photoblog: Hilltop Prague - Vy?ehrad Castle

Published on 2011-03-12 03:50:20

So myself and Megan took a quick trip to Vy?ehrad Castle last weekend. Relatively crowded already on what was the first sunny weekend of 2011, it promises to be jam packed for the whole summer with its expansive views of the city and Prague Castle. M > read more

A Postcard from Milan

Published on 2011-03-01 08:05:55

A short trip with long-standing truths, you could say. Italian ice cream and tomatoes are the best in the world. Seeing a new place in the company of someone who knows the city, and beer in the sunshine are two things that are always good. Milan has > read more

Photoblog: A glimpse of Austria from Prague

Published on 2010-12-11 03:54:02

I first toured Europe extensively ten years ago, all by rail - so I was surprised to discover this year that, in the case of Prague and Salzburg, no direct rail connection exists between these two famous centers of classical music, even though they r > read more

Prague Dreaming

Published on 2010-08-15 05:17:16

Evidently myself and my wife Megan are insane. At least that's what I expected people to think after our third international relocation in less than 18 months. As it turned out, our friends and family were as excited and unfazed by the whole thing as > read more

The Way to Amarillo

Published on 2010-07-11 12:07:07

Road Trip Participants: Bill, Megan and Tag Destination: Amarillo, Texas ... > read more

How Is Your Name Pronounced Abroad?

Published on 2010-06-19 11:06:03

As everyone quickly discovers when they go abroad for the first time, the pronunciation of names is a minefield completely separate from language skills. Even if your hotel receptionist speaks perfect English, chances are he or she will get your name > read more

Photoblog: Albuquerque On The Go

Published on 2010-06-05 17:38:11

As everyone knows, some of the best moments to take a photo come in the middle of the work day when you aren't planning to take any photos and don't have your camera with you. Though much maligned, cell phone cameras can be a great facility at these > read more

Six Worst Named Travel Websites

Published on 2010-05-25 15:08:18

Given that I've been doing a lot of travel writing lately, I've had the pleasure and displeasure of seeing a lot of the travel websites that are out there. And there are a lot. So many so in fact, a site can succeed or fail based purely on its name, > read more

Photoblog: Nature in Albuquerque

Published on 2010-04-26 15:38:31

Myself and Megan spent a beautifully sunny Spring New Mexico day at the site of the Albuquerque Botanic Gardens, Heritage Farm and Aquarium. With the possible exception of the quite unexpected Gaudi replica at the end of the garden, most of these pho > read more

Five Best and Worst Coffee Experiences

Published on 2010-01-30 14:30:52

I love coffee! Check out this rundown of five experiences, good and bad, that sum up my relationship with the beautiful bean... 5. Best - Coffee outdoors Coffee on Curracloe Beach, Ireland 2008 Coffee on the Seine gazing at the Eiffel Tower, 20 > read more

Seven Unique Churches I've Visited

Published on 2010-01-20 17:43:27

7. Hong de Tang Great Virtue Christian Church, Shanghai One of the most interesting places I saw in China, Shanghai has a reputation for being a modern global center of international finance. It's actually just full of millions of Chinese businessme > read more

An Intercultural Christmas

Published on 2009-12-29 18:34:00

'An Eagle Ceremony At Tesuque Pueblo' by Gustav Baumann, 1932 A few days before Christmas my friend Paul, a videojournalist from Dublin, commented that if I had been told a year ago that in 12 months' time I would be married and living in America, > read more