Tusheti, in the Caucasus Mountains is a most remote part of Georgia “Why is Max here?” asked Bishop David Makharadze on the night that we arrived; his questions became ever more pointed, and on the final morning, I heard his voice from behind ask my colleague John “what faith does Max believe in?” Pondering this question over my morning boiled egg, I decided to take a defensive position. “Ten years at an Anglican boarding school knocked any sense of dogma and religion out of me.” “Ah, he said gently, the Anglicans lost their way.” An hour and a half later, […]

Tusheti, in the Caucasus Mountains is a most remote part of Georgia The thing is this; the world is full of remote places, but usually one doesn’t want to be in them, and then there are those faux-remote places that are simply odd hybrids. Then there is Tusheti, remote, hospitable, comfortable and (one hopes) unassailable. Simply driving up the road from the gentle, agricultural Alazani Valley is daunting, and it is easy to realise how such isolated people have remained so; what is harder to comprehend is how the outside world has allowed the world of the high mountains remain […]

France is a wonderland for tourist with surprise after surprise. The Montagnes Noires in the Languedoc are no exception One of the wonders of the world is surely the amount of world-class tourist sites that France hides away in the country. A short drive in almost any direction will lead to UNESCO protected caves, small galleries housing a world-class collection, truffle museums, discreet museums of ancient religious art in a small and little-visited abbeys. The Languedoc is blessed with gorgeous scenery, delightful villages, festivals and events, a dramatic coast and a fabulous climate. One would be hard pressed to explore […]

Llivia is one of Europe’s more unusual places: A Spanish exclave in France The first thing that one notices on the rather short drive to Llivia is that there is a fork in the road; to the right lies the French town of Bourg Madame, a menacing although now inactive border control post and the road into France. The fork to the left aims one at “Llivia”, a small sign, and the road, almost parallel to the other leads into a vast acreage of poppies. Not, I suspect, of the recreational Afghan type, but extremely beautiful, and deeply surprising. The […]

Catalonia is a unique region. From Andorra to Llivia, the Pyrenees dominate a fantastic landscape, and one that is well worth exploring. What a phenomenal day; ten and a half hours, three hundred and fifty kilometres, three and a half countries and absolutely terrific company. Touring in the Pyrenees is a wonderful pastime. In a fine indication of the extraordinary amount there is to do in the South West of France, notably the Languedoc; we decided to drive a circuit that took us high into the Pyrenees before dropping into the Andorran capital of Andorra la Vella, and then returning […]

The Georgian Supra is an experience; a unique and wonderful experience. I am a survivor of a Georgian Supra, ; only just, I will admit, but tomorrow I will be able to stumble onto an aeroplane and leave the extraordinary Georgian hospitality behind. Let me explain. Georgia is all about hospitality; now I realise that may countries make this announcement, but in Georgia it is true. The ordinary, average Georgian is delighted that one is visiting, and will spare no effort to display this. The differently-enhanced Georgian simply goes all out, and not in a Russian manner to simply impress, […]

Qvevris, Georgian Wine and other new and useful knowledge Qvevris are old, practical, magical and contemporary. They are the ancient vessels used for 10,000 years or more in the making of wine; pure, Natural Wine. I am part of the Second International Qvevri Wine Symposium, and travelling through Georgia with a terrifically engineered group of wine makers, wine writers and one tourism-type, trying to figure out how to design some tourism programs that will incorporate the rather extraordinary Georgian industry. Firstly, however, a few words about Georgia.  I am not talking about Atlanta; I refer to the Republic of Georgia, […]