charlesgannon

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!

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”

A Caribbean Cruise Diary

I’m delighted to welcome our second female writer, Anne McLoughlin (the author of the historical novels ‘Lives Apart’ and ‘Lives Without End’), who has very kindly written a delightful travelogue entitled ‘A Caribbean Cruise Diary (2005)’ for us. It is a lively account of a week-long cruise, with a group of friends, around the CaribbeanContinue reading “A Caribbean Cruise Diary”

A new contributor and a new travelogue!

I’m delighted to welcome the first female contributor to this website: a former colleague of mine, Margaret Martin, who has kindly written a short but delightful travelogue about trekking in the Anti-Atlas mountain range, in the south-east of Morocco. Her account is delightful and is illustrated with some fine colour photographs like the one youContinue reading “A new contributor and a new travelogue!”

China: The Middle Kingdom

New on Trips and Travelogues: ‘The Middle Kingdom: Three Journeys to China (1977, 1987 and 1989)’. Travel back in time with me for my first trip to China in 1977, when I went with the first tourist group from Ireland after the country had opened up after the ten-year Cultural Revolution. Let me bring youContinue reading “China: The Middle Kingdom”