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Joel Beighton

@joelbeighton

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Writing about place, culture & the spaces in between.
↓ Passeggiare @passeggiare_official

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Puglia again, but not the last.

We arrive and it rains for the first time in months. You’re welcome.

Crickets. Dry-stone walls along narrow lanes of olive trees. A whiff of fig from somewhere. Whitewashed homes and towns so quiet you wonder if you’ve missed something.

Old palazzi. Peeling plaster in pinks, yellows and white. Looking up, looking through doorways. Generally being nosy.

Trattorias, cheap wine. Another pasticciotto.

People watching, then joining the passeggiata to give someone else a turn.

And the sun of the Mezzogiorno. Softer now than at its brutal height in summer. Fading a little earlier, but still enough warmth to sit out and put off whatever we’d vaguely planned to do.

Probably wasn’t that important anyway. taken in Puglia, Italy by @joelbeighton

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21 hours ago

First Polish summer settings on film. 📸 taken in Poland by @joelbeighton

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12 days ago

Out east for a little weekend in Zamość. Envisioned as an ‘ideal city’ by Jan Zamoyski, Grand Chancellor of Poland, who brought in an Italian architect to design this Renaissance town.

Ideal it was too. Compact, pleasant streets. A massive main square with a market selling amazing smoked sausages. Great restaurants, local bakeries and, of course, plenty of pubs.

Well done Jan, you nailed it. taken in Zamość by @joelbeighton

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a month ago

Yesterday afternoon I took myself off for a couple of hours to see some lower-league Polish football at @rksgarbarnia. Free entry for their 105th anniversary and £1.40 pints of Żywiec made it a very cheap afternoon out.

Only one stand from the old ground remains, yet it’s full of character. Low-backed seats, cracked concrete steps and an away-end cage tucked into the corner in full sun.

As is mandatory at Polish football, there’s an old guy tending a grill full of kiełbasa. A few dogs are also in attendance among a mixed, relaxed crowd.

Hopefully this is a local ground that can retain some of its charm and character. Another batch of soulless apartments is being constructed opposite, and you’d assume developers will be eyeing up this site next.

A genuinely great, friendly afternoon that I’ll be looking to relive. taken in RKS Garbarnia Kraków by @joelbeighton

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2 months ago

Singapore again - early May. The end of being south East Asia and a fitting place to transition back into life in the west. I still like Singapore but after months of travelling to other cities in the area, I did find it a bit more sterile this time around. Less raw energy than Bangkok. Fewer bits of historical interest than Kuala Lumpur.

Still, for a couple of days stopover before a big flight, it really can’t be beaten. taken in Singapore by @joelbeighton

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4 months ago

Returning to the island that, just 12 months before had inspired our decision to take life a little less seriously for a while and go travelling, felt strangely nerve-racking. I needn’t have worried. If anything, I left loving Gili Meno even more.

Morning walks just after sunrise. Swimming over coral reef alongside tropical fish and turtles. Long breakfasts in the shade of the hotel bar. Reading on the beach. Freshly grilled seafood as the sun set. The best fresh coconuts I’ve still ever had.

No major attractions or big events. Just a week spent living simply in a place that seems to encourage calmness. Something I’ve come to value more.

It was hard leaving again, but I’m hoping it was just goodbye for now. taken in Gili Meno by @joelbeighton

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4 months ago

Naxos.

A bit of a comedown after Sifnos, if I’m honest. But there was still plenty to like. Mountain villages, morning walks in Chora, and sunsets that turned our terrace gold for half an hour before dinner. taken in Naxos by @joelbeighton

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4 months ago

Sifnos, Part II

There’s something truly magical about the Mediterranean, isn’t there?

After months of travelling on the other side of the world, it’s the islands and coastlines that surround this small sea that keep pulling me back.

The food, the light, the pace of life, the feeling that people still know how to spend an afternoon.

I’ve loved so many places over the past seven months, but this corner of the world still feels like a spiritual home. taken in Sifnos by @joelbeighton

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4 months ago

Sifnos 🔵⚪️ two-tone Pantone

The only blue and white I like is the two-tone blue and white that’s ever present on Greek islands like Sifnos. White churches dramatically framed against the clear blue sea. villages, stacked like jenga pieces to the hillside - all uniformly whitewashed to protect against the hot sun and positioned in contrast to the vivid blue sky.

It feels very Greek. The kind of Greek island AI would generate if it was actually any good at interpretation. taken in Sifnos by @joelbeighton

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4 months ago

Athens.

The birthplace of western civilisation, democracy, philosophy and, I’m guessing, graffiti.

The gritty underbelly of the modern city provides a fitting counterbalance to the ancient sights, which need no introduction.

Unsurprisingly, there’s excellent food and drink. More surprising is how much of it is a modern interpretation of Greek cooking. Not molecular gastronomy or anything too clever, just thoughtful, refined takes on familiar dishes that still respect where they came from.

It would be easy to spend weeks here eating and drinking your way around the city. We had three nights.

Meaning, I’ll be back. taken in Athens, Greece by @joelbeighton

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4 months ago

The seemingly strange, mysterious island we saw across the sea last year from Bali and Gili Meno finally became real. Dominated by Mount Rinjani, an active volcano visible from almost everywhere, the island felt both vast and strangely calm. We cycled narrow paths through rice fields on its lower slopes, passing workers in the fields and small roadside huts roasting local coffee over open cast iron fires. Tourism exists here, but lightly. Along the coast that means surfing, dusty roads, and long hot afternoons spent in jungle courtyards, with the pool never too far away. taken in Lombok, Indonesia by @joelbeighton

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5 months ago

First time surfing a few weeks ago. 🏄‍♂️ Fell off loads at the start and then all of a sudden it clicked and it was actually fun, if not surprisingly tiring. Also spent fair amounts of time reminiscing about that old Guinness advert that was on tv when I was child - perhaps this lack of concentration is why I fell off? taken in Selong Belanak Lombok Indonesia by @joelbeighton

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5 months ago