Madrid / A fantastic tour

Plaza Mayor

Madrid

A fantastic tour

Maya de Silva

20 de junio de 2019

At dusk, walking up to the palace I could see a statue of a horse and its rider silhouetted against the palace. The rider’s sword was raised high, standing out against the darkening sky. Groups sat on the steps of the fountain enjoying the view and each other’s company. In the evening, the area took on a fairytale atmosphere with a multi-coloured, twirling carousel and twinkling fairy lights. We were serenaded by a Spanish guy who said his mother was from the same city Viva is from (what a coincidence – it’s just too bad he knew absolutely nothing about the city or where it was) and then asked us for 10 euro. An Instagram Husband/Boyfriend provided much entertainment as he followed his partner around taking multiple pictures - maybe he was happy to do this because she only smiled at him when he was taking a picture. The palace and the vast gardens are very romantic and it was good to see that Madrid is accepting of LGBT+ couples with multiple couples freely walking around the park hand-in-hand.

Day Trips from Rome / Two things to do around Rome

 

Pope’s Summer Palace in Castel Gandolfo

Day Trips from Rome

Two things to do around Rome

Maya de Silva
20 de mayo de 2019

1. Ostica Antica: Stepping back in time

What to do
As you enter the site you will step onto what remains of an old road; large blocks of stone inlaid in the ground provide a different (if somewhat harsh on the knees) walking experience. It is considerably easier walking along the ground on either side of the road but I would recommend walking on the stones at least for a while to truly enjoy the experience of walking down a vast avenue with ancient ruins on either side. This main road is called Decumanus Maximus and as you walk along you will encounter remains of arches along the right side as well as marble pillars. 

London Insights 2

The Globe Theatre

London Insights

Five things to do around London Bridge - Part Two

Maya de Silva
1 January 2017

This is part of a continuing series on places to visit and things to do in London from a local’s perspective. From watching Shakespearean plays to visiting museums, seeing London from several hundred feet above the ground to having a drink in a pub going back to medieval times, there is never a shortage of things to do. 

London Insights 1

London by night

London Insights

Five things to do around London Bridge - Part One

Maya de Silva
1 November 2016

Visitors may not think of London Bridge as being a tourist hot spot in the same way they think of the West End but recent developments have resulted in a variety of restaurants, bars, cafes and open spaces which have created a fantastic atmosphere. The area is all the more special because it successfully balances the modern and the historic; you can walk along cobbled streets while gazing up at the Shard. 

Copenhagen / The most perfectly designed city I have seen

 

The Little Mermaid

Copenhagen

The most perfectly designed city I have seen

Maya de Silva
20 July 2019

Copenhagen may just be the most perfectly designed city I have seen. The roads are broad. The pavements are broad. All roads have a cycle track (this is necessary because 52% of the population cycle). Buses are frequent and cover most locations, supplemented by a metro. Recycling bins are divided into various categories instead of the catch all ‘recycle’ bins seen in other cities.

Carole Puéo

 

CAROLE PUÉO

Carole Puéo is a contemporary French painter born in Trévoux in 1973, who currently lives and works in Burgundy. She is a renowned figurative artist whose work focuses primarily on female portraits. Carole Puéo has a solid academic background. She studied at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Dijon and then continued her university studies in the history of contemporary art. Her artistic research is strongly inspired by art history, particularly feminist art movements. While she is highly recognized for her acrylics, dry pastels, and ink works, oil painting serves as a foundational medium for her deeper psychological explorations.

Carol Carter | Watercolor on paper

 

Carol Carter (American, born 1955)

Watercolor on paper 

Carol Carter is an internationally recognized artist whose career has spanned more than 35 years. 

Photographer Torbjørn Rødland is Returning to His Perverted Roots

Another Bricolage, 2024-2026. Chromogenic print. 7 7/8 x 12 inches. Courtesy David Kordansky Gallery.

Photographer Torbjørn Rødland is Returning to His Perverted Roots

Lily McMenamy

March 17, 2026

For three decades Norwegian artist Torbjørn Rødland has constructed images that at first glance seem controlled: glossy skin, wholesome setups, meticulous lighting. But if you stick with them, reality starts to crack, and an unsettling, uncanny presence emerges. His latest show, Bones in the Canal and Other Photographs, which opened last week at David Kordansky, marks a return to the calculated perversions he’s spent years perfecting, only this time with a much smaller camera, and a different view. As he told his friend and collaborator Lily McMenamy (who also appears in the exhibition), over Zoom, it’s all about composition, Enneagram types, and his inexhaustible inner world. 

Eduardo Carbonell and Lubia Rodríguez during the new nationwide blackout in Havana.NORLYS PÉREZ (REUTERS)

Cuba in the dark: ‘There are days that go by, the full 24 hours, without electricity’

The island, already used to an unstable grid, suffered its seventh total supply collapse this year

Juan Carlos Espinosa

Abel Fernandez 

Mexico / Miami - AUG 05, 2026 - 05:58 COT

In everyday Cubans’ lives there are two unwritten rules. The first is resolver — finding ways to get by. The second is no coger lucha. In other words: keep your composure even when everything is going wrong. But recently both precepts have been pushed to the limit. Squeezed by U.S. sanctions and cornered by decades of mismanagement, islanders have seen that even after hitting rock bottom a new sinkhole always opens. Within hours the country suffered yet another total collapse of the National Electric System (SEN). The second in less than a day, the seventh in 2026, and the eleventh in the past two years.

The Treachery of Images by Rene Magritte

The treachery of language: the limits of translation

Why language never says what we think it does

Madison Leeson

5 August 2026

In The Misery and Splendour of Translation (1937), José Ortega y Gasset relays his response to a conference attendee who remarked on the “impossibility of translating certain German philosophers.” Rather than dismissing this claim, Ortega leaned into it. He suggested that translation, as a practice, is in some sense utopian – that is, that it aims toward an ideal outcome (perfect equivalence between languages) that can never actually be achieved. In other words, there is no single correct translation, only approximations shaped by context.

 

‘There have been nightmares’ … George RR Martin in 2019. Photograph: Antonio Olmos

‘Getting old is no fun’: Game of Thrones author George RR Martin speaks out about depression amid further book delays

A new blog post by the fantasy writer has outlined his recent difficulties, as fans continue to speculate on the elusive sixth book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series

Emma Loffhagen

Wed 5 Aug 2026

Emily Wilson | An Umcomplicated Man

 

An Uncomplicated Man

By Emily Wilson

Vol. 48 No. 14 · 13 August 2026

The Odyssey 
directed by Christopher Nolan.

Christopher nolan’s $250 million action movie version of Homer’s ancient Greek poem is an entertaining way to hide from the high temperatures for a few hours. Nolan’s trademark jumps and twists in the narrative structure are relatively easy to follow, and appropriate for The Odyssey, a narrative of tales nested in tales. My teenagers had a good time. Unlike some of Nolan’s other films, The Odyssey is not boring, thanks to the source material, which is impossible to mess up entirely. It’s a family-friendly audiovisual spectacle, like an elaborate Fourth of July fireworks display – and with about the same level of narrative and emotional depth.

View image in fullscreen

‘And all the food looks horrible’ … Emily Wilson. Photograph: Elijah Ellis

‘I would be ashamed to have written any part of this’: Odyssey translator Emily Wilson attacks Nolan blockbuster

Wilson, whose work on Homer’s epic was praised by Nolan, said his film was grandiose and superficial with ‘nothing convincing to say’

Andrew Pulver

Monday 27 July 2026

‘The crude language of Maga folks’: Joyce Carol Oates criticises Emily Wilson for criticising Nolan’s Odyssey

 

‘The crude language of Maga folks’: Joyce Carol Oates criticises Emily Wilson for criticising Nolan’s Odyssey

The novelist suggested Wilson should have been ‘a wee bit more thoughtful and respectful’ towards a film-maker who may have helped boost her book sales

Catherine Shoard

Thursday 30 July 2026

The off-screen drama surrounding Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster version of the Odyssey stepped up a gear overnight, as the novelist Joyce Carol Oates sought to defend the film-maker from an attack by classicist Emily Wilson.

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Nolan’s film could make The Odyssey the most sought-after book in the US

The nearly 2,700-year-old epic poem is flying off shelves at bookstores and libraries after the blockbuster film came out

Marina Dunbar in New York

Monday 3 Aug 2026

Christopher Nolan’s new movie The Odyssey has already broken several records, but its most significant accomplishment might be turning a nearly 2,700-year-old epic poem into the most sought-after book in America. Libraries and bookstores alike are experiencing a rush.