John Steinbeck, 'A Russian Journal'

I have just read this marvellous and totally engaging book that makes me want to marry John Steinbeck and move to Georgia. Although unsure of its exact  accuracy, I would whole-heartedly recommend it.
And I found out about so much in this enchanting and lovely book. I never knew before that 'every Russian town of any size has its permanent circus in a permanent building'. I didn't know about the churches that were 'rich and oriental' with paintings which were 'very black with incense and age'. Nor did I know of, and this one is amazing, the railway in Kiev run entirely by children! Wow.

Morocco

I realised that I never shared the photographs that I had taken in Morocco. And so, although I know it is dull to look at holiday snapshots, here are four of them (four happens to be my lucky number).

Morocco

Whilst in France, I found this postcard at a flea-market. I bought it because I was about to spend the next two weeks in Morocco, and the image on the postcard is that of a Moroccan Souk. Staying in a small, isolated Berber village made me feel both very far from and very near to the basic elements of human society, whilst Marrakech was a typical -exciting- bustling city. In fact it was almost overwhelming; the crowds, the smells, the orange juice and snakes. I tried some haggling in the Souks, but wasn't very good- although one man did offer to buy me for 49,000 camels.