Blog

If the gloom of January is getting to you - you're not alone! The third Monday in this month is known as Blue Monday, which just happens to be after the weekend on January 20th. Its name was defined by factors that include the bad weather - typical of this…

This year is your next chance to experience the once-per-decade Passion Play in the Bavarian town of Oberammergau. As you may already know, we are offering a selection of tours that include tickets to watch the spectacle, but there are a few unanswered questions of yours that we wanted to…

Dr. Simon Elliott is one of our fantastic expert Guide Lecturers and will lead our upcoming Romans in the North tour, which departs in both June and September this year. Ahead of this tour, he has written a guest blog post for us about Septimius Severus, who was Roman emperor…

This earliest version of this recipe was found on the wall of Senet’s tomb in Luxor, Egypt. The original recipe called for bakers to “crush the grain with sticks, using a grindstone crush the grain still finer until you have a heap of white flour”. If you would like your…

If you've been lucky enough to book a place on our popular Crete & Santorini tour, you'll probably have enjoyed several plates of delicious fried courgettes - or kolokythakia tiganita. Served with a refreshing tzatziki or sometimes a creamy tomato sauce, these traditional snacks can be found in most tavernas…

A Roman dinner party conjures up images of sophisticated conversation, poetry recitations, and gentle flute music, but this is only a partial view. Some gatherings were just as likely to involve raucous drinking, naked tightrope walkers and vulgar ostentation.

Traditionally thrown in the early evening, after a visit to the…

In the fourth century AD, the emperor Julian put pen to paper and composed a satirical sketch called ‘The Caesars’. In it, he imagined a banquet thrown by the Gods, to which they invited the Roman emperors. As each entered the hall the assembled deities discussed their achievements and character,…

If you're thinking about a holiday to Pompeii in Italy, you might also be wondering if it's worth taking a trip to the neighbouring town of Herculaneum, which was also destroyed and preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. 

Pompeii is a sprawling site that covers around 170…

Italy’s appeal with its blue seas, stunning landscapes and Mediterranean lifestyle goes back a lot further than the first all-inclusive package holiday. Even in AD 79, the Romans recognised its allure, travelling to their holiday destinations of choice, Pompeii and Herculaneum. Like the modern tourist, the Romans created a resort…

If you're looking for a refreshing treat, there's no better place to look to for inspiration than Sicily. From delicious aperitifs to full-bodied red wines produced on this glorious Italian island, there is something to quench every kind of thirst here. Without further ado, bottoms up! Or, as the Sicilians…