top of page
My travel adventures!
flâneur /flaˈnəː/ Loosely translated from the French as "a person who roams around, deliberately aimless, just observing life."
Rolls & Royce met here
This is also where Ernest Rutherford split the atom at Manchester University in 1917. Kellogg’s largest factory of cornflakes is situated...
johnff750
Jul 18, 20242 min read
"Behind the shelter in the middle of a roundabout" - in Liverpool
I went to Liverpool to find what I could about the cotton trade. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Liverpool was the centre...
johnff750
Jul 17, 20242 min read
Manchester 'Cottonopolis' - the centre of the global cotton trade.
As someone who has spent most of their life in the cotton industry, I had penciled in Manchester as a place to visit one day (along with...
johnff750
Jul 16, 20241 min read
Amsterdam has more canals than Venice and more bridges than Paris, but it can be cold and very wet in summer
I have managed to avoid the cold wet winter weather in Sydney for 3 years but yesterday got a reminder of what I’m missing when I got to...
johnff750
Jul 15, 20242 min read
It's not just the wine....
Bordeaux is the most famous wine region in the world. 80% of the land is dedicated to the production of wines! But after Paris, Bordeaux...
johnff750
Jul 12, 20241 min read
First impressions can be misleading
I arrived in Pau on Sunday and the weather was cold and miserable. Nothing was open and I was not impressed! I walked 13,000 steps trying...
johnff750
Jul 10, 20242 min read
Catholic Disneyland and the Amazon jungle in France?
Today I explored the French side of the Pyrenees mountains as I headed towards Pau. My first stop after a number of hours driving around...
johnff750
Jul 8, 20242 min read
Has to be in my top 10
Yesterday I completed a bucket list item to drive across the Pyrenees mountains from Spain to France and it was spectacular. It would...
johnff750
Jul 8, 20241 min read
A small visit to a small country
Back to France tomorrow (via Spain across the Pyrenees) and I can tick off (phew) this small European country. The walks have been really...
johnff750
Jul 6, 20241 min read
It's like an airport duty free shopping centre surrounded by mountains
Andorra is a landlocked country in the Pyrenees mountain range between Spain and France. It is one of the smallest countries in Europe,...
johnff750
Jul 4, 20241 min read
Loose in Toulouse!
Today I visited Aeroscopia, the official Airbus Museum in Toulouse and home to 2 Concords and an A380, as well as a massive display on...
johnff750
Jul 2, 20242 min read
Exploring the Perigord region, the "cradle of mankind"
This area has a wealth of pre-historic sites but Wednesday was spent exploring the historic town of Périgueux, the capital of the...
johnff750
Jun 29, 20242 min read
Made in France! (and a huge underground church)
This part of France continues to throw up interesting things and today was no exception. Last night I met another of the guests from this...
johnff750
Jun 26, 20242 min read
The quintessential France
Here I am in the middle of nowhere, in a beautiful village called La Tour-Blanche-Cercles, a commune in the department of Dordogne,...
johnff750
Jun 24, 20242 min read
A statue of a man with a huge nose that never even visited Bergerac
Today was going to be a quick drive to the medieval town of Issigeac via a few Chateau's and vineyards but I ended up seeing a lot more...
johnff750
Jun 22, 20242 min read
How time flies....
On this day last year I was hiking the fjords in Norway on my way to the North Pole. This year I am making my way through the Dordogne...
johnff750
Jun 21, 20242 min read
It's a miracle - sort of....
One of the fun things about just wandering around is that you can find some pretty amazing places and today was one of those days! The...
johnff750
Jun 19, 20242 min read
My last night in Spain - FOR NOW......
Adios Espana, Bonjour la France. Time to move on after a fantastic few weeks in Spain. I have really enjoyed my time here and although I...
johnff750
Jun 18, 20241 min read
Another beautiful town in the Basque region with some interesting stories.
After a 3 hours train trip north I arrived in the town of Vitoria-Gasteiz. (I have to say that the train system in Spain runs like...
johnff750
Jun 16, 20242 min read
Now to head north and another unfinished church
Left today for the hidden gem of Valladolid (about an hour by train). But reflected about the wonderful town of Salamanca. In the few...
johnff750
Jun 15, 20242 min read
bottom of page