City Park, Pest

For more views of old and new Budapest, click here.

Heroes Square, Budapest

Funicular Railway from Buda Castle

St Matthias Church

Cityscape: Pest from Buda

Castle District

Paprika

Paprika is one of Budapest's top products. Unfortunately biosecurity measures in New Zealand make it difficult to bring food back from overseas. But I did sample some local paprika in a catfish soup - very tasty.

Hotel Gellert, Budapest

Our taxi driver (formerly driver for Sir Anthony Hopkins during the filming of "The Rite") was not far off the mark when he told us that the Hotel Gellert needed renovation. The phrase "faded grandeur" could have been invented for the place. But we were very pleased with our choice and the hotel offered everything we could have wanted from stained glass in the corridors to a bistro serving catfish soup.

But best of all there was a thermal spa in the basement. Take a tour with Michael Palin...

Happy Anniversary!

10 years!

Goodnight London

For more shots of my favourite places in London, click here.

Old London

New London

Yellow Door

The backstreets of Waterloo.

Green Door

Ai Weiwei: Sunflower Seeds

The Tate Turbine Hall is one of my favourite places - with or without art. But I was sceptical about the latest Unilever Installation - Ai Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds - and disappointed that it wasn't possible to interact with the exhibit due to concerns about safety.

But then I watched this video and I suddenly I understood the beauty of the piece - more than one hundred million ceramic seeds, five times Beijing's population and a quarter of China's internet users.

Street Art: New Style

Street Art: Old Style

Welcome to Southwark Underground Station

Shard of Glass

I'd been eager to see the Shard of Glass take shape ever since seeing the first architect's impressions in the Evening Standard about 10 years ago. So I was thrilled to see it emerging from the London Bridge skyline during our recent visit home. Unfortunately it's not universally popular but then you can't please everyone...

Building at Blackfriars

After Lancashire, we headed south to London. There was a lot of construction work going on here and there, despite the financial downturn. Presumably the city is busy getting ready for the 2012 Olympics.

This was Blackfriars Station and the bridge to the south being re-built. Poor old St Paul's was looking quite overshadowed.

Canal Basin at Garstang

Canal Bridge at Garstang

The Wyre Aqueduct

First opened in 1791, this aqueduct used to carry boats loaded with coal and limestone and then up to 30,000 passengers per year between Preston and Kendal - a 14 hour journey in 1820.

In spate 2

The River Wyre in flood after days of rain.

Lancaster Canal

A bleak day on the Lancaster Canal at Garstang.

Gawthorpe Hall

Gawthorpe Hall near Padiham is an Elizabethan home which belonged to the Shuttleworth family. It now houses an extensive textile collection - everything from lace to patchwork quilts.

White Rabbits!