Europe

I went to Devon for a weekend of cream teas and beach walks. But ever one for adventure when I discovered that the UK’s best flight simulator is right here on the south coast, I set aside a couple of hours to try it out. This is the story of learning to fly a 737 in […]

Weekend Shortcuts are posts written to help you put together a perfect weekend away without tearing your hair out during the research phase. This weekend shortcut covers everything you need to know for a food-filled 2- day break in Devon, a truly delightful part of South West England that’s simultaneously easily accessible yet somehow feels unhurried and […]

Munch on mince pies made with flour dating back to the Domesday Book I travelled to Devon this December to discover the festive history behind the first Christmas card ever designed. But while in the southerly English county, famous for its beautiful beaches and picture postcard villages, I discovered the area has another incredible – […]

Christmas crackers, the Queen’s speech, mince pies, Boxing Day, Christmas pudding – England has plenty of festive traditions which are regarded with complete puzzlement by the rest of the world. England also has an even bigger Christmas claim to fame – one that is somewhat of a secret. The first Christmas card was invented right here, conceived and designed in the English county of Devon. […]

Let’s face it the idea of visiting maritime museums on your travels could make you feel a little bit sea sick. I love all kinds of museums and galleries, and have been to plenty with nautical themes, but while some are leagues ahead of the competition giving a fantastic insight into travel by boat, others make you want […]

As Autumn turns to Winter, it may not be the most popular time to take to the skies for a flight to the Balearic Islands, which are of course better known as summer holiday spots – but for the discerning traveller that very fact makes it perfect. I share a few thoughts on why I think an […]

I’ve been looking forward to writing about my short break safari at Kent’s Port Lympne Reserve ever since I got home. But every time I sit down to tell you about the experience, I end up getting distracted by all my photos of the cute baby rhino, ickle giraffe and all the other animals they have roaming around […]

When British Airways’ (then called British European Airways) opened it’s first ever route from the UK to Spain back in 1957, the original destination for those pioneering English holidaymakers was none other than the city of Valencia. Fast forward almost 60 years and many Brits have been to Barcelona, mooched around Madrid and conquered the Costas […]

One of my best friends in the world, recently returned from the trip of a lifetime to Iceland. I was lucky enough to hear all her tips and see her amazing Icelandic photos first-hand, so I decided to ask her to share her top 10 highlights from an epic two-week Icelandic roadtrip right here, to […]

I really fell in love with Menorca on my recent trip to the island – so much so that I am seriously considering a repeat trip very soon, and am dreaming about house hunting there because it’s just that gorgeous. So here are 30 reasons to love Menorca – little insights into why you can and should […]

The very first thing I spy after landing in Menorca, and exiting those double-doors that spit you out of security and into your holiday destination, is a tall pink leaflet dispenser advertising Pretty Ballerinas shoes. Of course like any self-respecting girl, the idea of shoe shopping while on holiday – possibly at a discount – […]

The island of Menorca is sleepier and more tranquil than its big hitting Balearic neighbours, with a reputation for impeccable unspoiled coastlines and eco tourism that’s a world away from the hedonistic holidays associated with Ibiza and Majorca. Best known for beautiful white sandy beaches and Caribbean-worthy coves Menorca is the chosen destination for many nature-loving […]

This isn’t exactly a news flash, but we girls like getting dressed up. And from the moment I arrived in Valencia I was determined to do one thing (besides eat paella): dress up in the famous Fallas festival costume, and become a Spanish Queen for the day. And here’s another thing about girls; we already think […]

It shouldn’t be bright yellow, or fluffy, it isn’t intended for dinner and it’s not supposed to be synonymous with seafood. In fact, technically it’s not even a Spanish dish.  Even though the first food that springs to mind when you think of Spanish cuisine is probably paella, the dish has been bastardised beyond all recognition to a point where […]

Despite the well-documented love affair we Brits have with the Spanish coast, I never went on a family holiday to Spain as a child. Yet one of my most treasured possessions as a little girl was a delicate handheld Spanish lace fan.  So when I was given the opportunity to meet a traditional Valencia fan […]

It’s like a dream come true for a girl to visit not just one but 12 Italian jewellery stores and learn about gem stones, design and precious metals from classically trained Roman jewellers. It’s even more perfect when these happen to be Rome’s best hand-crafted jewellery boutiques, all on the official list of the 28 best shops in Rome. […]

Italy is of course famous for food, but its cities are also celebrated for iconic fashion, classic style and luxurious shopping. So when I was asked to spend a weekend in Italy, meet the 28 best artisans in the Eternal City, and visit the best shops in Rome, it was an invitation I was unlikely to turn down. Here’s what […]

A romantic weekend away for Valentine’s Day – sounds like a great idea in principle, right? But as anyone who has tried to book even a simple night away with their partner already knows, the process of finding the perfect hotel for romance isn’t all hearts and flowers. You’re searching for seclusion and sophistication in […]

I’ve been asked the same two questions consistently since I began travel writing. Firstly: How do you make money? Secondly: What’s your favourite country? The answer to question 2 is Italy! (question 1 would take more than a single word to answer!). It may be an utter cliche to say that the best things about Italy […]

At the start of winter I usually struggle with the idea of weekends away to colder European countries – ever clinging onto that last bit of winter sun. But that all changes come Christmas when I’m a sucker for short breaks to snowy cities and can’t wait to hit the European Christmas markets to stock […]

I recently wrote a post sharing some of my favourite things about Iceland and called, rather unsurprisingly, 5 things you should know about Iceland. But of course in compiling this list I ended up thinking of way more than just 5 things that I really believe all travellers, including you should know about Iceland. So, […]

The first time I visited Iceland I was blown away by the Nordic nation’s mysterious mix of Scandinavian-style scenery spread across a vast canvas of North American proportions. As I plot a return visit, I’m reminded of my favorite things about the utterly unique island nation – here are the top 5 things I think […]

Most people think of Mayfair and imagine upscale hotels, the beautiful boutiques of Dover Street Market and the high-end establishments of Shepherd Market but take it from a local girl, whether you’re more of a Professor Higgins or an Eliza Doolittle you can still find your fun in Mayfair…

I’ve got a different kind of seven step program for you in this post; one that won’t help break your addictions to travel, shopping and good food but which will show you where to find your fix of the luxurious Monte Carlo lifestyle without leaving London. Here I share my 7 favourite places in the […]

The reputation of Dutch design precedes it, so what better way to truly connect with everyone’s favourite canal-laden city than to seek out some of that Amsterdam style during your holiday to Holland…

Mention Portugal and its Lisbon that’s on everybody’s lips, occasionally the Algarve and possibly Porto. The hilltop towns, cork farms and deserted beaches of the Alentejo are a mystery to most – they’re the most magical part of Portugal that you’ve never heard of. These are my most treasured memories of the Alentejo… I’m driving […]

When we think of a big city like London we automatically think of the headline attractions that make it famous – and we tend to assume that a trip to the big smoke has to cost the earth. For me moving away from London highlighted the fact that the best things in life, and in […]

Some years I’ve travelled farther afield, some years I explored a little closer to home, but every year I consider myself a traveller. That’s because wherever I go, I’m always looking for change and adventure. This year I changed where ‘home’ was – instead of London, England it was Vancouver, Canada – meaning adventure has […]

In my previous post I got all nostalgic about summer and highlighted 7 spectacular spots from my summer months in British Columbia – but even though I’m happily embracing Autumn (complete with at least 7 pairs of boots to assist me) I’m still singing the praises of some of last season’s most special memories. Here […]

When we travel we always hope for picture-perfect weather, and seek out postcard-worthy images, but perhaps it wasn’t a bad thing that I visited Slovenia’s most famous lake, which has a reputation as an Alpine fairytale location, on a day when the weather was wet, and the area shrouded in mystical clouds – meaning it was almost […]

Do you love souvenir shopping on your trips too? There’s something special about collecting treasures from our travels which keep the memory of the place we visited alive long after we return home. Going to an unusual locale invariably means extra items come home with me – typically I’ll go for something I can wear […]

Food can make or break a destination. I remember my first trip to Portugal, when I was distinctly underwhelmed by the food – and as a result didn’t venture back for years (though when I did I found its foodie side.) When planning my trip to Ljubljana I wasn’t sure what to expect from Slovenia’s […]

One of my favourite ways to discover a new destination is to take a tour  – usually not long after arriving – to help me get my bearings and create some context to my new home, even if I’m only in town for a couple of days. I’ve tried everything from food tours and cycle sightseeing to art […]

Slovenians will tell you their country is shaped like a chicken, and their food obsession doesn’t end there as I discovered when I attended a Slovenian cooking class in the capital. Being let loose in a Ljubljana kitchen with five different dishes taught me a lot about a national cuisine to which I was totally new […]

I’m settling into my seat on a flight from London to Ljubljana along with a plane load of other city-breakers taking the short hop to the Slovenian capital. The young professional couple next to me are obviously snatching a romantic weekend break and they both get calls on their smartphones after boarding – he from […]

One thing that pulls me back to Italy time and time again is its underdog cities – yes I love Rome and Florence, but give me unsung urban heroes like Genoa and Turin and I’m truly happy….

As the year drew to a close I found myself writing a post recapping my favourite travel memories of 2013 and I learned a couple of things about myself in the process – firstly that many of my favourite moments of the year involve nature and animals, and secondly that when I’m not looking for […]

It’s been quite a year for me and my travels; I wrote about the best bits of the financial year in an earlier post: How To Do An End Of Year Tax Assessment Travel Blogger Style – so I decided to round up my top travel memories from the rest of 2013. They are…

Tiramisu is the legend of Italian deserts – everyone’s heard of it and almost everyone knows it means ‘pick me up’. So it’s surprising to learn that the dish didn’t even exist until at least the late 1960’s. As one of my favourite puddings I seek it out all over the world and I’ve had […]

This is a true slice of rural back-to-basics Italian cookery; walking through the plentiful land surrounding a quintessential Tuscan villa, down steep verdant hills and into the flourishing vegetable garden I crouch down to hand-pick huge succulent tomatoes. Together with my friends we collect the fruit in baskets and the folds of our aprons, then, glass of wine […]

Everyone who know me knows what a sweet tooth I have. So when I signed up for a residential cookery course at a secluded villa in the heart of the Tuscan countryside, plum jam making was one session I was never going to miss. It turns out that making your own jam – with a […]

If ever there was a time to call to mind a Hamlet soliloquy, I’d say mid-stargaze is that time. Which of us doesn’t seek out beautiful night skies on our trips? Man by nature is in love with ‘this most excellent canopy the air…this brave over hanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire…this congregation […]

I like my food, but I’m no scientist. So when I’m invited to learn how the UK’s most famous sea salt is hand-made on the Straits of Menai I’m intrigued, but wonder if I’ll actually understand the process behind it all. It turns out I’ve got nothing to worry about, as Halen Môn co-founder Alison Lea-Wilson […]

The island of Anglesey is most famous for its previous royal residents Prince William and Kate Middleton, but as this list of my favourite 3 places to eat in Anglesey shows, Ynys Môn really deserves to make a few headlines of its own. There’s plenty of locally-sourced seafood and the island is home to award-winning Halen Môn sea salt – […]

Remember the bad old days when our idea of Parmesan was that powdery substance we’d sprinkle on spaghetti through tiny holes in the top of a cardboard shaker? Little did I know that decades later this condiment would make way for the real deal when something called a rocket and parmesan salad would become de […]

I always seek out cycling opportunities wherever I go, but rarely have I found a city as cycle-friendly and indeed as cycle-photo-friendly as Bologna. Beautiful bikes became synonymous with my time in Emilia Romagna’s university city – here are my favourite Bologna photos which showcase the beauty of the bike… 

What’s your worst culinary habit? Mine’s pouring copious amounts of balsamic vinegar over anything and everything, so I was interested to find out a bit more about the stuff I’ve been practically drinking out the bottle for most of my adult life. But despite all my conspicuous consumption of aceto balsamico I didn’t know any […]

‘It’s marvellous this tortellini with ricotta cheese’ exclaims Daniela, whose traditional family pasta shop has been here in Bologna’s Mercato della Erbe for 70 years. It’s where she and sister Monica hand make lasagna, tortellini and tortelloni for the people of  Emilia Romagna, helped by their mother Renata. ‘Is this one your favourite?’ I ask. ‘Everything here is […]

In which I use my favourite arty little Instagrams as a guide to the lesser-known unsung Dutch ‘Dam – I’m talking of course about the port city of Rotterdam. Here are 5 Things to do in Rotterdam…

I often evangelise about the saving grace of apartment rental as opposed to hotel stays for a certain type of trip. Usually I’m preaching to the converted but some people would need a miracle of water-to-wine proportions before they’d give up 24-hour room service, the breakfast buffet and a decent concierge (though perhaps not the in-room […]

This week a brand new tax year started, and those in traditional jobs have been running year-end assessments and shuffling spreadsheets left, right and centre. So I thought I’d do some rather taxing assessments of my own and calculate the 10 best things I’ve done this financial year, and their real value – monetarily and of course in […]

I make no secret of my somewhat controversial love affair with Belgium. Where others see Belgium as an ugly sister to France’s more deserving glass-slippered mademoiselle I see the destination as the unsung heroine; rather cute and easy-on-the-eye but distinctly self-aware and modest to a fault. But outside the classic fairytale looks of Ghent, Bruges and any […]

I’d call Belfast Ireland’s underdog city. But let’s not forget that it’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, rather the size of the fight in the dog. And while Belfast’s history is all about that fight, it’s the city’s present on which I’d rather shine a light – with this list of […]

If you want a cosy cafe-bar in a super-cool hotel whose complete hipsterness shouts ‘we stock soya’, this is your place. And if you want to take some nice photos over coffee like I did while I was there, it’s even more perfect.

Can you think of a single city as synonymous with über-cool street life as Berlin? On my recent trip to the erstwhile divided capital this coolness extended its grip to the elements, with a sub-zero snow-covering lending an extra dimension to the urban landscape. Shooting in the snow with frozen toes kicking fresh drifts and tingly […]

Warning: negative post! If being given shot glasses of paint-stripper by a grumpy man then being yelled at and chased away for not buying bottles (of the worst wine you’ve ever tasted) is your idea of a wine tasting then do visit Sterna Winery. If not, I recommend you try one of Cyprus’ many other boutique […]

* Disclaimer* This post tackles a sensitive subject so I want to be clear about the fact that I’m not on the side of anything here, except peace.* I went to Belfast to enjoy the city, to shop at the Christmas Market, drink in the bars, see the Titanic exhibition and explore the Antrim Coast – […]

Turin might be best-known for Winter Olympics, Fiat and Lancia factories and that eponymous Shroud but it turns out that the once-industrial hub is hiding an artistic secret, for nestled in the Alps of Northern Italy is a contemporary art epicentre bursting with challenging and inspiring contemporary art. Here are the top 5 modern art galleries in […]

Think of Northern Ireland and you’ll probably think of Guinness, stunning green scenery, Game of Thrones tours and the Giant’s Causeway. But the famous Unesco World Heritage Site isn’t the only natural wonder this stretch of Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast has to offer. There’s a wealth of Ireland attractions here in County Antrim, so come […]

When I booked my flight to Belfast I was looking forward to a pre-Christmas weekend of shopping at the Continental Market and drinking Gluhwein and Guinness in equal measure whilst discovering the Yuletide side of the Northern Irish Capital. I had no idea that my trip would fall on the most contentious weekend Belfast has […]