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From my hotel in Paestum, I explored this rather large area in two stages. On the first day, I visited the archaeological remains in Paestum itself. The ancient Greek buildings are in unbelievably good condition. They are the best examples I've ever seen, they may even be the best around in what's left of Ancient Greece. The local museum is also worthwhile, especially to see the painted coffins like the Tomb of the Diver (as old as 480 BC).

Two days later I got back in the car and crisscrossed the valleys. I had some trouble finding the places I wanted to see (that happens quite often), so I spent more time behind the wheel than I had hoped for. But I did reach ancient Elea, where the round Porta Rosa gate overlooks its surroundings like a medieval tower.

In Padula, on the other side of the valley, the San Lorenzo charterhouse is a mighty building. It shows a far more recent episode in Cilento's history: the design is mainly Baroque. The city of Padula itself is strategically built on a hilltop, which you see quite often in this region. Roccagloriosa and Roccadaspide are two other good examples of these medieval building tactics.

The castle has been built on a hill, in the middle of nowhere. To find the road to nowhere was not so easy, the signposting is a bit scarce, but find it I did. You can see the castle from afar, towering above the endless number of olive trees in the quite lovely environment.

The perfect octagonal shape of the building is its main asset. Among the many comparisons that can be made, the Taj Mahal also sprang to my mind. The special kind of limestone with quartz used here from a distance looks like marble (from which the Taj is made). And the Moghuls had some inspirations in common with Frederick.

I also took a look inside, but there's not much to see anymore. It is hard to picture how people have lived here. From the many stories mystifying this castle, I didn't get the impression that it was used regularly. Probably it was "just" meant as a work of art. And for that the Castel del Monte still is admired, more than 750 years after its construction.

A visit to the Amalfi Coast is a refreshment course on driving curves. In my rented Nissan Micra I followed the road from Salerno to Positano. Some of the views of the coast and the small towns are awesome, but when you're the driver you've got other things on your mind. There's another majolica church tower - but be careful, there's also another bus coming around the corner.

The highlight of my day was Ravello. This town lies a few kilometers inland. Loud traditional music sounded from the Dome square when I arrived, it could be heard all over town. A band was playing (in celebration of New Year's Day, I suppose) with children singing. The people at the square sang along to the catchy tunes. I felt so happy just standing there and being able to enjoy this moment.

After a while, the driving and the lack of places to stop got the best of me. The roads also got busier and busier. To enjoy this coast more fully, it's probably best to stay in one of the towns so you can sightsee on foot. I decided to end my trip to Amalfi with a fine lunch in Majori: caprese, with fresh mozzarella.

They are everywhere in Alberobello, the Trulli. The Trulli phenomenon could be considered as one big tourist trap, by which the livelihoods of a whole town are supported. But I found them too picturesque and too much fun for that. The Aja Piccola area is less commercialized than the Monti, and therefore generates a more authentic feeling.

You can spend a few hours roaming around both quarters. Only more time is needed when you want to make a study out of the small differences between all Trulli (don't bother, someone has done that already and came up with 5 categories).

There are some exceptional Trulli in Alberobello. For example the two-storeyed Trullo Sovrano. It's quite spacious inside: it has several rooms downstairs, a garden and a second floor to house guests. Another, with more subtle differences compared to the normal ones, is the Trullo Siamese. Siamese twins are said to have lived here, or maybe it's just two Trulli under one roof.

I had read "Christ stopped at Eboli" by Carlo Levi in preparation for this trip. This classic describes the poor living standards and the neglect of the people in Basilicata, during the author's exile to the area in the 1930s. There's only a short passage specifically about the Sassi in Matera. However, it indicates that the conditions there were even worse than in the surrounding countryside.

What to expect in the year 2005? I had prepared myself for some gloomy rocks, with small passages between them. But it's quite different from that: the Sassi overlook an impressive canyon, and a wide panoramic road encircles the quarters.

In one of the houses, you can also have a look inside. It doesn't look too bad at first sight - but you have to bear in mind that this one is now cleaned every day, the horse standing in the corner is not a live one and sharing the room with 18 family members is quite crowded. Besides poverty, malaria was also a big problem for the inhabitants.

An easy drive of a little over 3 hours took me to Bremen. It's quite a pleasant city, not too big, nothing spectacular also. The old center still is its heart, which this time of year results in a big Christmas market on the old marketplace. The people of Bremen (and a lot of foreign guests) were clearly amusing themselves by drinking Glühwein, eating Bratwurst and shopping for Christmas decorations.

I was most interested to see the Roland statue: a real phenomenon of Northern European culture. There's a Roland in Riga (Latvia), where I was earlier this year. Bremen's Roland is supposed to be one of the best, but today it was almost hidden between the Christmas stalls. Difficult to get a good look at him this way, but some details do stand out. He has very pointy knees for example!

There's some discussion about the worth of this site as a WHS. The old Town Hall survived the Middle Ages (and WWII) quite intact, which is remarkable for German monuments. Its architecture though is very common in The Netherlands and Belgium. And poor Roland: not much of him is original. Even his head was replaced in 1983.

The night before my trip to Naples I read the ICOMOS evaluation of this WHS, which states "It is difficult to identify a city or cities with which Naples might be compared. Its cultural roots are so completely different from those of any other Italian city that comparison would be worthless. It is equally difficult to equate Naples with other major Mediterranean cities such as Barcelona or Marseilles."

There are so many historical city centers on the World Heritage List that this came across as an exaggeration. Walking around Naples by myself proved me wrong, however. Naples is a unique European city, which in my opinion can only be compared to places like Jerusalem and Kathmandu because of the narrow dark streets and the overall highly religious atmosphere.

Probably the artistic highlight of Naples is the inner courtyard of the Santa Chiara monastery complex. Between 1739 and 1742, Domenico Antonio Vaccaro here created a garden with blue, yellow, and green majolica benches and pillars. The surrounding walls are totally covered with frescoes.

In one day you can only get a glimpse of this fascinating city. Another part that I loved is the area around Via San Gregorio Armeno. This time of year the streets here are filled with the stalls of the Christmas market, selling all from tiny trinkets to huge pastoral scenes.

A rather profane remark first: the Reggia of Caserta has a large underground parking, from where a footpath leads you exactly to the front of the building. Great service in this often so difficult country for an average car driver. Caserta lies just north of Naples, on the way to Rome.

Because of the sunny (though also stormy) weather, I decided to start my visit with the gardens. Water is the central theme here. There's a large "canal" in the center, and innumerable waterfalls and fountains.

Another thing absolutely not to be missed here is the giant staircase that leads up to the apartments. It's all marble where you look, with imposing statues looking down at you. Don't forget to look upwards, where colourful paintings decorate the ceiling.

The site at Pompei is extensive and takes at least half a day to explore. The granary shows plaster casts of victims of the eruption, their expressions especially impressive after hearing the stories on the news about the South Asian tsunami disaster. Just like those victims, these ancient Pompeians had no chance.

I've seen quite a lot of ancient excavations, but due to the special circumstances under which it was preserved this one is really special. The feeling of the town as a whole has survived: not only the major buildings but also the streets, the normal houses and the restaurants. Take for example the ubiquitous Thermopolia, where snacks could be bought. You can just imagine having a quick lunch there yourself.

The rich preferred to build their villas just outside the town, overlooking the sea. One of these is the Villa of Mysteries. Here I sheltered from a hailstorm. The villa is decorated with several extremely beautiful and well preserved/restored frescoes. The dining room in the front has a large painting of a woman's initiation to marriage. Elsewhere there are delicate Egyptian motifs waiting to be admired.

The Brazilian town of Paraty holds the record of having submitted an incomplete dossier: no less than 4 times! But finally, the Brazilians succeeded last year in putting everything together and Paraty will be brought forward as their WH nomination for 2019. Its new title ‘Paraty Culture and Biodiversity’ suggests a very broad approach.

As Gold Route in Parati and its landscape an earlier incarnation of this site was already Deferred in 2009: the main objection at the time was that only a small part of the Gold Route was included. The focus was on the town of Paraty, on which the verdict was “a 19th-century colonial town, although attractive, it is not exceptional and ICOMOS does not consider that Paraty on its own justifies inscription on the World Heritage List”. Possibilities were seen though to include a longer stretch of the Gold Route and/or to extend it to a mixed WHS or a cultural landscape “with high natural values”.

The new nomination called ‘Paraty Culture and Biodiversity’ is a mixed one indeed and a cultural landscape as well. The “Gold Route” has disappeared from the title, so we may assume that the natural setting will become more prominent than the historic route. But let’s be clear: in the end, it’s all about Paraty, a pretty coastal colonial town that is already well on the tourist trail. They might be wanting to attract even more international visitors.

For me, it was an exciting trip just getting to …

My visit to Rio de Janeiro was a short one, and I was rained out on the first day.

The next morning it was more or less dry. By bus, I went to the Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf). This is the most prominent hill in the landscape of Rio. You get to the top via two cable cars. There may have been 75 people inside and it was pretty busy. At the halfway stop I found the most beautiful: the views of the beaches and the Sugarloaf itself.

A day later the sun was shining again. So a quick taxi ride brought me to the Corcovado, the mountain with the well-known Christ statue. It is reached by a little train, a tourist attraction by itself in Rio. What I found striking was the number of people engaged in the train. It looked like an employment project for the local youth. The train ride took about 20 minutes, passing through the Atlantic rainforest of the Tijuca National Park. A beautiful ride. Up near the statue, there's a beautiful view of the city.

Back at the bottom again I visited the Museum of Naive Art. Definitely worth it, with paintings of Rio and the history of Brazil on show.

I visited the Pantanal on a 4-day tour from Cuiabá. Not to the protected zone, but to another nice part where there are lots of animals. The tour included all the local fun, like walking, horse-riding, bird spotting and piranha fishing.

Although at the end of October, it was still very dry in this area. Fortunately, because of that, there were not many mosquitos. The wildlife was still abundant though. We saw a tapir, otters, capybara's and alligators.

I think a bird spotter will find real joy in the Pantanal. In almost every tree you can see a wonderful example of the local birds here. To the more common visitor (like I am), the Tuiuiu (a 1.40 m. high creature) is amazing to watch.

Locals here must be in good physical condition: the town´s cobblestoned streets go up and down and up again. These locals can enjoy themselves though, living in such a great city, wonderfully preserved and indeed very homogeneous in its looks.

I stayed here for three days, which is a good period to get to know the place. I visited museums and churches, but wandering around is also great fun. It doesn't matter where you're going, at about every street corner there's a great view.

Some great spots: the Igreja de Sao Francisco de Assis (with Aleidinhija carvings), the Museum de Oratorio, and the view down from the road to Mariana. You can also explore one of the huge old mines (Mina de Pasagem) just outside the town. Which I did, of course, becoming some kind of mining expert after visiting other mining WHS in Blaenavon (Wales) and Spiennes (Belgium).

From Foz do Iguacu, I took a public bus to its Argentinian counterpart Puerto Iguazu. From there, another bus brought me to the falls.

This side also has some theme park-feeling. I did give in this time, and joined the Great Adventure. That's when you cross the forest by giant car and then jump into a speedboat. The boat takes you up close to the falls, and somewhat underneath. I got terribly wet and didn't dry until I got back to my hotel in the afternoon and could change clothes.

Somehow the falls look smaller from the Argentinian side. However, strolling through the surrounding forest is very worthwhile here.

The Brazilian side of the waterfalls can easily be visited from the town of Foz do Iguacu. A bus takes you through the park, which is a bit too touristy for me (but maybe it has become necessary because of the number of visitors).

There's a lot of (manmade things) to see and to do here, but I came only for one: to see the falls in all their glory. And fortunately, that's still possible. From a distance of one or two km (?) you get an overview of the number of falls that together form a big and broad front.

A bit further on, you can get closer and let yourself get wet. Many rainbows colourize the falling water, lovely to see. The butterflies here are also great to watch.

Diamantina really is very different from Ouro Preto for example, and not just another mining town. It's smaller (the historical remains can only be seen in the center of the current city) and soberer. I found that it has some basic beauty.

There were quite a number of Brazilian daytrippers around, but I didn't see any foreign tourists. Maybe that's because it takes 5 hours to get here by bus from Belo Horizonte, not the center of the world itself. It's quite a lively town, with music played in the streets and a number of good restaurants. And (of course) the Diamond Museum. Here you can see some real diamonds (there's a very strong man with a gun guarding them, and selling the entrance tickets). Also, there are paintings that depict how the slaves had to do the digging, and how their masters lived.

In the town center there are a number of good sights. I liked the pure and simple Igreja do Rosario. And also the small houses along the street from there to another church, do Carmo. Not to be missed too is the very blue passageway at the Casa da Gloria.

This review could be titled "Getting there and away". Getting there was much easier than I thought beforehand: there's one direct daily bus at 7 am from Ouro Preto. Getting away proved much more difficult: taxis and buses are very scarce in the surroundings of the Basilica to take you away. As are buses back to Ouro Preto - I eventually got there again after a 3 hour's wait in the village of Ouro Branco.

The church and the chapels are extremely picturesque. Set on a steep hill, towering above the humble buildings in the neighbourhood. A clear blue sky as its background. The statues of the prophets are unique pieces, each with its own pose and character. It's good to just sit here and awe.

Unfortunately, you cannot get in at the moment: there are restoration works going on inside the church and some of the chapels. I'm sorry to have missed the rococo interior of the church.

This is a strange city, that cannot be compared to any other in Brazil (or the rest of the world). To be honest: the first thing that came to my mind was that they dropped an atomic bomb here. It must have happened in the early 1970s, in a Bucharest-like city. The people are slowly starting to return now, occasionally you see one or two moving about the fields.

To see some of the architecture, I joined a 3-hour bus tour. We visited 9 places of interest. The most impressive I found was the Sanctuario Dom Bosco. When you step inside this church, you´re surrounded by a blue light shining through the many glass-tiled windows.

The other buildings are a lot soberer. Some are beautiful in their simplicity (like the Church of Our Lady of Fatima), others are quite depressing (like the highrise buildings that were built for the ministries).

The first view of Durham, from the train or walking down from the railway station, is very impressive. The town is dominated by what looks like a huge fortress; in fact, it is the medieval complex of a cathedral and a castle. Quite hard to encapture this sight into a picture, though. I climbed bridges and followed the riverside footpath, but to no avail.

The front of the Cathedral is massive, but the whole thing is huge when you look at it from the side. The grey stones also dominate the inside, giving it a heavy air although the pillars are distinctly decorated.

Somehow, I didn't find the time to go inside the castle. There are guided tours a few times a day, but I preferred sitting on a bench, reading a book, sipping some coffee, and looking up every ten minutes or so to enjoy the magnificent architecture.

I toured the eastern part of Hadrian's Wall by bus from Newcastle, in the appropriately named AD122. This public bus stops at all things worth seeing along the way, so you can hop off and catch a later bus after you've visited the site. A good service I think.

My first stop was at Housesteads, the remains of a fort just at the wall. Because it was built on a hill, there are fine views over the countryside here.

Vindolanda is a bigger complex, somewhat inland from the wall. This Roman site is actually older than Hadrian's wall itself. Archeological excavations are still underway here, and some reconstruction has been done so it is easier to imagine what it looked like in ancient times. It's also the finding place of the historically quite spectacular Roman writing tablets, that tell about daily life in this area in Roman times.