As a tribute to Greece’s Olympic legacy, here’s a toast to another: the Greek language which has given so many words and phrases to English and other languages. This is a speech by Xenophon Zolotas (1904-2004), an old Greek academic and politician who was a member of the IMF in its early stages. He gave […]
Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden
To celebrate Rio’s new 2012 Unesco site , I am republishing this condensed passage from my book Brazil: Life, Blood, Soul. When Portuguese King João VI instituted the Botanical Garden in Rio in 1808, there were many fortunes to be made from the discovery and breeding of exotic plants. There are over 8,000 kinds of […]
Best of Burgundy
After three weeks scouring Burgundy for the Rough Guides, I thought I’d share my personal best and worst of the region. Best tip: Use Rhino Cars for car hire in France. Not only do they allow you to pick up a car in one city and leave it in another, but they also choose the […]