Why did you read this book? I think it won some awards. Another one on my “to read” list for a long time.
Has Jeremy read it? No.
42-word review: Grace survives a shipwreck, only to be put on trial for murder. Finally an audiobook I enjoyed! Despite knowing that she survives, the tense situation and strong personalities in the lifeboat provide plenty of suspense, and Grace is an intriguingly unreliable narrator.
Overall rating: 4 pieces of hard tack (out of 5)
Why did you read this book? It was on my “to read” Goodreads shelf for some reason, so I must have heard something good about it.
Has Jeremy read it? No.
42-word review: Octavian, raised as a prince, learns he’s a slave and his education an experiment just as the American Revolution is starting. A tragic story of slavery and betrayal that somehow ends up being incredibly tedious, largely thanks to the period writing style.
Overall rating: 3 botany lessons (out of 5)
Mountain goats on Mt Evans, Colorado.
These otherworldly tree structures are at the Gardens by the Bay. Singapore had a number of cool attractions, but these were definitely a highlight.
I should’ve restarted the Daily Photos with this one. Our trip started with a delightful overnight stopover in Singapore, after all.
Plenty of guides to the Vatican will tell you that the pope appears at his balcony every Sunday at noon when he’s in town. What they don’t tell you is that this is the perfect time to visit St Peter’s without having to wait in line.
I wasn’t planning to see the pope, but I got in line for the basilica behind several hundred people not long before noon on a Sunday. It was obvious from the crowd in the centre of the square that something was going on that day. At about 11.45 am, they must have unfurled the papal banner at the window, because the crowd all shifted their attention to somewhere over my head and started taking photos.
I vaguely recalled reading something about the pope making appearances at a window sometimes, so I thought it was worth getting out of line in case he was there. I wasn’t looking forward to rejoining the end of the queue again, but at 12 o’clock, when the pope appeared, everybody got out of line to see him. I took a few photos, pushed my way out of the crowd and walked straight into St Peter’s.
The Blue Mosque in Istanbul was beautiful. It’s hard to do it justice without a super-wide-angle lens.
The Roman city of Ephesus was amazing. We had a great guide, but I wish I’d taken notes as he was talking.