Polonnaruwa: Gal Pota

Gal Pota, or Stone Book, is an long granite carving of a palm leaf book that was used to record Buddhist texts and royal genealogies. However this slab praises the works of King #2, Nissankamalla, a Tamil prince from India who married into the Sinhalese nobility. He is the third Polonnaruwan king. The inscription is…

Polonnaruwa: Vatadage

The Vatadage consists of a central shrine and dagoba, which is now missing its wooden roof, enclosed by a brick wall. Four sets of steps lead to the terrace.  Two stone platforms are decorated with stone carvings. The lower one is accessed through a single entrance and the raised one is accessed through four doorways…

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Tromso, Norway

When my husband and I decided to head to Lapland, Tromso seemed like a good start- and end-point. It is in the middle of the Aurora Borealis zone, there were regular flights to and from Oslo and it was large enough to comfortably spend a few days in the Polar Night, which is the period…

St-Émilion, France

Medieval St-Émilion is the oldest wine town in France. It is about 22 miles northeast of Bordeaux and sits high on a limestone rock overlooking the seemingly endless vineyards, châteaux and Romanesque churches of the Dordogne valley. St-Émilion is a cluster of stone houses, churches and wine shops surrounded by ramparts. The most famous sight…