charlesgannon

France 1981

My latest travelogue is an account of a five-week tour around Paris and its environs, the Loire Valley, and the Dordogne Valley back in May and June, 1981. I spent a busy two weeks in Paris visiting all the various museums, art galleries, churches and palaces (including Versailles), then moved down to the Loire Valley,Continue reading “France 1981”

Iceland 1980

One of the most extraordinary journeys that I’ve made has to be a crazy ‘safari’ trip across the island of Iceland in a couple of old buses and a kitchen van back in 1980. As the scenery was so unusual, travelling across Iceland was like visiting another planet! There were no roads, the vehicles hadContinue reading “Iceland 1980”

Peru and Bolivia, 1996

My latest travelogue is about a fascinating organized trip that I joined in 1996, which brought a bunch of young and enthusiastic people from Ireland and the UK to Lima in Peru and then down to La Paz in Bolivia, using local transport most of the time. It was probably the most memorable and excitingContinue reading “Peru and Bolivia, 1996”

Venice and Florence

‘Venice and Florence 1999’ is a new and quirky account written by Julian Walton about these two elegant cities that he and his friend Willie visited in 1999. It’s short, witty and well worth reading!

Denmark 1993

My latest travelogue is a two-week jaunt in 1993 through the three main islands of Denmark (Zealand, Funen and Jutland), starting and finishing in Copenhagen. Join me for my visits to various castles, museums, churches and other places of interest throughout the country, and discover the kind hospitality shown to me in the guesthouses whereContinue reading “Denmark 1993”

Czechoslovakia 1991

The first part of my latest travelogue, Czechoslovakia 1991, begins with two chapters devoted to the spectacular and fascinating city of Prague, a city full of fine architecture and cultural treats such as museums, art galleries and classical music concerts. Part two will be devoted to a short trip that I made in Slovakia, nowContinue reading “Czechoslovakia 1991”

Three Indonesian Islands

Let’s start the new year with a new travelogue: ‘Three Indonesian Islands: Java, Bali and Lombok’! As I had always been fascinated by this part of the world, I decided to take a five-week holiday travelling through three of Indonesia’s best-known islands in June and July of 1990. Fasten your seat belts and join meContinue reading “Three Indonesian Islands”

Part 3 of ‘The Middle Kingdom’

This latest and final section of ‘The Middle Kingdom’ deals with my 1989 trip through China, travelling along the Silk Road into Xinjiang Province, where I mingled with the Uighur people. I then flew down to Chengdu in Sichuan Province to join students whom I had met two years previously. However, trouble was brewing. AlthoughContinue reading “Part 3 of ‘The Middle Kingdom’”

Part 2 of ‘The Middle Kingdom’

The first two chapters in Part 2 of ‘The Middle Kingdom’ – my trip through China in 1987 – have now been added to the website. You’ll find these two chapters, about my journey to Lhasa and a short stay in Chengdu, in the Travelogues section. Enjoy!

The islands of Scotland

I am delighted to welcome Lindsay Armstrong to our list of writers. Lindsay’s various jobs have included being an oboist and cor anglais player in the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra here in Ireland, the first general manager of Dublin’s National Concert Hall, and the first director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He was Co-FounderContinue reading “The islands of Scotland”