Beyond the Battlefields – l’Aisne, France. A trip to l’Aisne in Picardie, France, is often triggered by an itinerary to explore the battlefields of the World Wars – but there’s much more on offer in this little-known region just an hour or so from Paris. Here’s a taster of what you can expect if you […]
Visit Antwerp – An Atypical Adventure
A Whistlestop Visit to Antwerp, Belgium. ‘Atypical Antwerp’ is the marketing slogan for a city that is creative, dynamic and vibrant, a small city of half a million people that punches far above its size in art, fashion, architecture and more. I had passed through Antwerp once before en route to Amsterdam and I suspect […]
Comté cheese – the Jura region France
The making of Comté cheese. An iconic French brand, Comté was one of the first kinds of cheese to receive an AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controlée) status in 1958. Having lived and worked in the French Alps I was already a fan of Comté and Tomme cheese, both of which are made in this area, and […]
Eating Europe – Lisbon Food Tour
Cuisine, Culture and Heritage in Lisbon on a Food Tour with Eating Europe. ‘What do you know about Portuguese cuisine?’ asked our guide, Beatriz Pestana, at the start of a long afternoon exploring Lisbon’s food culture. Salt cod, seafood, pastéis de nata were some of the responses. All true, but we were about to discover […]
De Witte Lelie Hotel, Antwerp – Review
A Luxurious Stay at the De Witte Lelie, Antwerp. Two words sum up Antwerp’s luxury hotel, De Witte Lelie: Absolutely Fabulous. I do believe that Patsy and Edina would have loved the Baroque gorgeousness of this boutique hotel and would have wasted no time in cracking open the Bolly in its bijou Bronze Bar. The […]
Mistral Crete – A Home for the Independent Traveller
Mistral Singles Hotel, Maleme, Crete: Solo travelling has plenty of plus points. There’s never a need to agree on plans. You can spend as much time by the pool, on the beach, at the museum or hiking to the top of the mountain as you like. The downsides? Well, who do you share those experiences […]
Wallonia, Land of Water
Wallonia, Belgium – Beer, Waterloo and More: Have you ever wondered where to go for a break and escape the heat of London? Wanting to escape the crowded heat of London, I got the chance to spend a few days in Wallonia, known as “the land of water”. Wallonia is the French-speaking region of southern […]
Conti di San Bonifacio hotel – Review
A luxury boutique Tuscan wine resort and hotel – Conti di San Bonifacio. Ever since reading Lampedusa’s The Leopard in my twenties I have wanted to be an Italian aristocrat of noble lineage. However, the Count of San Bonifacio got there first and his family line can be traced back for over 1000 years whereas […]
Five top places to visit in Basilicata, southern Italy
Exploring the beautiful region of Basilicata, southern Italy Basilicata, a beautiful region in southern Italy, is one of the lesser known parts of the country but, as I discovered recently, certainly somewhere worth exploring. The stunning hilltop towns and villages rise above verdant green valleys. This region is very mountainous with the Dolomiti Lucane mountain […]
Hotel Leone, Montelparo – Compact Boutique Hotel With Much More
A Wine Lover’s Break to Hotel Leone, Montelparo, Marche. What happens when you follow your dreams? For Tim and Madeline Jones you end up with a stunning boutique hotel in a picturesque and unspoilt hilltop village in Marche. It just so happens that the hotel was once a Palazzo, part of the village of Montelparo. […]