04 July 2025

My recent adventure through Morocco was a tapestry of mesmerizing landscapes of mountains, cities and deserts, historic sites, and vibrant cultures. Initially we flew to Marrakech before taking a 3 hour train journey north to Casablanca the following day. Upon arrival in Casablanca we took a walk through the streets and markets to the Hassan II Mosque. It is an imposing building on the coast cov

20 March 2025

A four night trip to Tromso, a scenic city above the Arctic Circle. This journey was filled with nature, adventure, and magical moments...and three first time experiences that I’ll forever treasure. Arriving in Tromsø, we checked out Polaria, an Arctic aquarium unlike any other. This eco-friendly wonder is a great introduction to the region’s marine life, including seals and the fascinating exhib

24 December 2024

The journey began in New Delhi, at Humayun's tomb, then to the imperial mosque of the Mughal emperor, the majestic Jama Masjid Mosque, one of the largest in India, with a cycle rickshaw trip and then onto the Gandhi Smriti, where Gandhi spent the final weeks of his life prior to his assassination there. Next day, we ventured into the wilds of Ranthambore for a thrilling tiger safari. We saw two m

16 July 2024

The adventure began in Tirana, the vibrant capital of Albania. This bustling city, with its mix of history and modernity, a perfect starting point for the trip. On the first day, we delved into Albania's intriguing past by visiting Bunk'Art 1 and Bunk'Art 2. These bunkers are amongst the 200,000 or so that were built between 1975 and 1983 during Enver Hoxha's regime. These two bunkers have been tr

08 May 2024

We accessed Granada via Malaga airport with a straightforward coach journey from Malaga to Granada. By staying in the hilly ancient Albaicin district, the narrow cobbled thoroughfares made for a peaceful stay with the absence of traffic. The skyline of Granada is somewhat dominated by the 13th century fort and palace complex, the Alhambra. However, we elected to walk past it on day two, and int

09 January 2024

A captivating adventure through Southeast Asia, our three-week tour took us on a mesmerizing journey across the enchanting landscapes of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. From the bustling streets of Hanoi to the serene riverside caves of Luang Prabang, each destination has a unique tapestry of history, culture, and natural beauty. Our trip commenced in the vibrant capital of Vietnam, Hanoi. Amidst th

03 October 2023

Upon arriving in Bologna, we wasted no time and wandered off to immerse ourselves in the city's vibrant atmosphere, with a jazz festival adding to the summer feeling in the main square, the Piazza Maggiore. One of the square's standout features is the Basilica of San Petronio, a colossal church that dominates the skyline.The lower parts of the exterior are covered in marble. It is worth visiting i

16 August 2023

A Memorable Cruise from Budapest to Bucharest... Starting in Budapest, the vibrant capital of Hungary, the journey took us through five countries in Eastern Europe with picturesque landscapes, historic towns, and culturally rich cities upon the way. Before we set sail, we had a day in Budapest and visited the House of Terror at Andrássy út 60..a house of torture used by the Arrow Cross party an

24 May 2023

A visit to Salzburg, Austria. On our first full day there we took in a scenic trek from Großgmain in Austria, walking to Bad Reichenhall in Germany. The picturesque route led us through lush green meadows, abeam of charming Bavarian villages all with a beautiful alpine backdrop. Bad Reichenhall, is a lovely pedestrianised spa town with traditional architecture on the Saalach river renowned for it

18 April 2023

Malaga is not just an airport on the Costa del Sol, it is a beautiful compact port city with stunning beaches, rich history, a vibrant culture...and has a mountain backdrop behind it. Easy connections are available into the city from what is one of the best airports I have ever visited. As with last year in Valencia, we elected to settle down for a longer citybreak this year. Many of Malaga's

08 February 2023

A Christmas trip to Berlin. My last visit was in Summer 2013, the blog of which is further down this page! This time we stayed in the bustling Potsdamer Platz area, which is known for its modern architecture and vibrant atmosphere. A good location in between the centre of Alexanderplatz and the erstwhile centre, Kurfurstendamm. Both walkable. Our first venture, was an evening stroll down the U

31 October 2022

A revelation. A craggy, but really very beautiful island. Not a flop and drop holiday...but with all of the walking and clambering around, it needs to be done at times! Madeira, is an autonomous region of Portugal, it sits in the Atlantic ocean 250 miles north of the Canaries and 600 miles south west of Lisbon. With minor exceptions, nothing here is built on a flat surface, even the airport runw

26 September 2022

A different type of European river cruise as such....as it started and finished with train travel from, and back to, the UK. Firstly departing on Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord, with a local road transfer to Gare du Lyon and then onto the high speed train à grande vitesse to Basel in Switzerland. A very nice way to travel....at a stately 196 mph at times through France on

19 August 2022

My first dedicated river cruise. Travelling with Titan Holidays on their MS River Discovery II, Melodies of the Danube. Due to the current environment of flight changes, not in the control of Titan...they did remarkably well...and we ended up with an extra morning in Budapest, which was rather fabulous. Budapest is beautiful...and the extra morning there, gave us the opportunity for a 7 mile wa

28 March 2022

Well, when I last visited Valencia two years ago...little did I realise that my next overseas trip would be to....Valencia! In the covid interrupted interim, we have visited Malvern, Cotwolds, Norfolk, Wales amongst other UK delights. When visiting Valencia In March 2020 we vowed to return for a longer trip, as the city and the surrounding area offers many things to do. The thinking was to trav

08 April 2020

A city that had been on my radar for quite a while. Valencia, actually, has it all...it truly ticks so many boxes! The city has been gently and beautifully crafted further after a disastrous flood in 1957. This is due to the original river, the Turia being rerouted to the south of the city due to the flood. As a result, the old river bed meanders through the city environs as the Jardin de Turia

13 September 2019

My first visit to the southern part of Lake Garda in Italy. A short flight from London to Verona, with a 25 minute transfer to Sirmione, where we set up base for the duration. We stayed 3 km south of the centre, in Hotel Gardenia, very close to public transport links serving journeys eastwards to Peschiera del Garda and westwards to Desenzano. Sirmione centre is located on a narrow peninsula ju

13 June 2019

We decided to slip in a week’s skiing to Livigno in Italy, as the snow conditions were still rather good despite it being a late Easter trip. We travelled via Innsbruck airport in Austria, being small and in a stunning location with a mountain backdrop, it is always a pleasure to fly through there. The road journey was good (2hr 50m) via Switzerland, ending as it did with the final approach into

09 November 2018

On our city break to Belfast we stayed very centrally, close to the railway and bus station. This afforded the opportunity to travel around the country with great ease using public transport. It is just 90 minutes by bus to Causeway Bay to see the extraordinary Giant's Causeway. Formed by volcanic activity 62 million years ago, there are 42,000 interlocking basalt columns, some as deep as 120 m

14 September 2018

Ontario, Canada - such friendly people in a lovely country. I have primarily been a bit of a winter visitor to Canada in the past, not in the guise of a wolf, but as a skier, in Jasper, Louise and Whistler etc. This was a little different! We started with a flight to Toronto, all went fine, and we picked up our rental car and set off eastwards to Cobourg for a night stop. Cobourg is rathe

10 January 2018

A very quick road trip! I started by flying from Gatwick to Las Vegas. On arrival we checked in at the Paris hotel on South Las Vegas Boulevard, with a quick visit to the Bellagio across the road with its lively fountain display. In this area, all the hotels, generally, have casinos within the locale, or adjacent to the hotel lobby. In the evening we went to downtown Vegas to the north of 'Paris

19 September 2017

A two-centre holiday to the lovely fresh air and mountains of Austria. The first week commenced, in the ever so traditionally built, Austrian village of Alpbach in the Tyrol. The village is located 1000 m above sea level and just over an hour's drive east of Innsbruck and has won quite a few accolades for its sheer perfection. The local mayor there, a while back, forbade the construction of an

05 July 2017

Located in the Greek Cyclades islands within the Aegean sea, Mykonos is the archetypal Greek island, covered in white stone washed buildings with blue framed windows and domes. Therefore, is it a very pretty island, hilly and rugged in places. Despite its small size, it still takes a while to navigate the island by road. Bear in mind that there are not many registered taxis here, so car rental may

05 May 2017

I had been to Krakow before, albeit briefly, 19 years ago for a friend's wedding. It is a major city, once the capital of Poland, located in the south of the country. We were very centrally located in a fine property just metres from the main market square, Rynek Glówny. Something that really strikes you is the sheer number of churches and religious buildings here. This is despite the many ra

06 September 2016

My first time to the beautiful and ever so friendly, Slovenia. I flew to the capital's airport at Ljubljana and the airport is located between Bled and the capital itself. I woke up to stunning views over Lake Bled. The town of Bled is located at the eastern end of Lake Bled, a very picturesque area. The leisurely 6.5 km walk around the lake takes a couple of hours and takes in views of the Ch

13 June 2016

So, back to Italy, to another ski area, Cervinia. After a 1 hour 30 transfer time from Turin, we arrived ...to take a gondola up to our hotel at 2600 metres, Lo Stembecco. It was our first time staying in a hotel effectively cut off from the main resort, 600 meters below. Once the lifts stop operating in the late afternoon you are there for the evening. No way up and no way down! The resort

03 November 2015

Having sampled the delights of Southern Croatia last year, we decided to return to central Croatia for our summer holidays. Split is in Middle Dalmatia, located on the adriatic coast, just a short flight (2h.15m) from London. It is the second largest city in Croatia and is located on the Roman Palace of Diocletian. In fact some shops have glass floors where the palace can be seen beneath....

05 September 2015

Luxembourg...what a lovely city and country break this is. My first, brief, visit to Luxembourg. I was flying there on Laker Airways in 1981 but the aircraft diverted to Brussels due to weather... so it was about time I got to see what I have missed! It is very much geared up for local tourism. a straightforward bus from the airport and some good healthy walking around the sights. We staye

29 May 2015

Lisbon. A fantastic value destination at the moment. We stayed in a property close to Avenida da Liberdade which gave us a 25 minute walk downhill into Lisbon centre. Sat in the Praca do Comericio for late afternoon meal. The following day we took a bus to Belem Tower and then to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, the concrete structure overlooking the Tagus river commemorating the Portuguese

18 March 2015

As part of a group I arrived at Luxor in the middle of the night. Boarded the RA2 Nile cruise boat to sail overnight to arrive Denderah early morning. Woke up to clear skies as the sun rose, very peaceful and a lovely sense of tranquillity as we glided along. Visited Denderah temple in the morning. This temple dates back to more than 2000BC and is the site of the first ever recorded Zodiac.

16 October 2014

First time to Croatia. Flights to Dubrovnik airport, adjacent to the pretty village of Cavtat. We stayed in Plat betwen Mlini and Cavtat. The day after arrival we took a local boat taxi to Cavtat (return fare £5pp). A nice harbour area with short walk across the peninsula to an even prettier one! The mausoleum at the top offers good views of the surrounding area above the headland. Cavtat is l

08 August 2014

We took Air France flights to get to Stockholm; a great service and very comfortable. We arrived late in the evening at the main Arlanda airport, so we took a cab ride to our hotel in the North of the City, 25 minutes away. Firstly, getting around this city and its outskirts on public transport is pretty good value. Buying an SL travel card for 72 hours was approximately £20 - for this you g

29 April 2014

As a nice surprise, my wife treated us to a ski holiday at short notice! Sestriere was my first experience of skiing in Italy. Very friendly people, it was brilliant. A brief flight to Turin was followed by a short 100 minute road transfer to Sestriere. It is at the heart of the Milky Way (via Lattea) ski system with a total of 146 runs. Sestriere is positioned at 2035m above sea level. Over th

18 September 2013

Berlin is an old stomping ground for me. This was a trip I was very much looking forward to, having spent many a summer's day here in my childhood when the wall was in place. It was my fifteenth visit here and will not be my last. I arrived at Schonefeld airport on outskirts of South East Berlin, a 400 metre walk to the rail station (trolleys available, 1 euro). Here you can access local regional

29 May 2013

Tignes is in the French Alps. It is a three hour coach transfer from Grenoble. This was my first visit to this lofty ski resort, we were looking for some traditional spring time skiing as is the norm in April. However, we had a massive deluge of snow. But when it was sunny it was fabulous! A big ski area with 129 ski runs, you can get passes for the adjacent Val d'Isere ski area to use in combi

23 January 2013

I’ve just returned from another fabulous trip to Orlando. I cannot believe this was my eighth visit to Florida...and there is still plenty to do. We flew with BA from Gatwick, which was as good as ever. We arrived at dusk, picked up a brand new rental car (Ford Focus) with all the trimmings and set off for our villa in Davenport (35 minutes from the airport and a 15 minute drive from Disneyworl

10 November 2012

Seefeld is a small Alpine village located in the Austrian Tyrol, 11 miles from Innsbruck. Located at 1150 metres, and previously home to the Winter Olympic cross country events, it has two ski jumps and a roller skiing (dry) Nordic cross country ski area. There are also many walking and cycling trails. This pretty village also has a public outdoor/indoor pool with slides. Gschwandtkopf, at the

29 June 2012

The flight from Heathrow to Casablanca is surprisingly quick - less than 3 hours flying time to another continent! I was travelling with a group of fellow travel agents and the Moroccan National Tourist Office. After we arrived our first stop was Mazagan Beach Resort, a stunning five star property that opened in 2009. It is 100 km from Casablanca and has a courtesy airport transfer service

09 December 2011

My first long haul holiday for 3 years. Started perfectly, with an on time departure on BA from Gatwick to Cancun. The in flight entertainment kept us occupied, my young daughter enjoying total control of her seatback TV. Arrived mid afternoon and took a pre-booked transfer down to Xcaret to stay at the Grand Occidental Hotel which is adjacent to the fabulous Xcaret eco park. The hotel, is