California and the Canyons
Our 4 week family holiday started in San Francisco and finished up in San Diego, ~ 3,000 miles in all. We ticked off a whole string of bucket list sights along the way (in Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, Las Vegas, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon and LA). These were some of the highlights. […]
Cuba
The Caribbean’s ‘forbidden island’ was always on our ‘to do’ list and with the rumblings of ‘see it before it changes’ ringing in our ears, we made a last-minute decision to explore its treasures. We wanted to travel independently, to go beyond the colourful photos of pastel pink buildings and 50’s vintage cars. But where […]
CLIA Cruise Conference
A record two million cruises were taken by British and Irish customers last year, a 2% rise on 2017, showing how cruising is now a mainstream holiday choice for many people. These figures were revealed last month by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) at their conference in Southampton. The increasing popularity of cruise holidays […]
Disneyland Paris
John helped us plan and book our trip to Disneyland Paris, arranging the hotel, park passes, meal deals. We wanted to include a day trip to Paris, travelling on trains and Metro. John advised us to visit Paris on a weekday, to stay clear of the weekend “yellow vest” protests. He planned a route for […]
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Post a January holiday in the garden route area of South Africa, a location we visit regularly, my wife Mary and I decided rather than flying back directly to UK, to make a three day trip to Victoria Falls. We travelled on Mary’s birthday and were pleasantly surprised to be upgraded, to business class, on the […]
The Vatican, Rome
Rome has absolutely everything from ancient history to the latest fashions. The city is so good it must be seen at least twice: firstly for an overview of the major sites and then again for a more personal discovery. My husband and I were excited to take our eleven year-old grand-daughter for her first visit […]
Astana, Kazakhstan
At the summit of the Baiterek Tower the handprint of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first president of the post-Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan, is cast in gold. Visitors are encouraged to place their hand into the cast and make a wish. My guide did not know the success rate of Kazakhstan’s curious take on the traditional wishing […]
Iceland
How would I describe Iceland? ‘The moon with atmosphere!’ The people are welcoming, the wildlife captivating and the scenery… well, it’s literally out of this world! We visited in early July… and boy were the days long. The sun set for a couple of hours just after midnight – but twilight and dawn seemed to […]
Lisbon, Portugal
I was excited to dock overnight in Lisbon, my first visit to Portugal. This beautiful city captured my heart, becoming one of my favourite places. A short walk from the port, I discovered a burst of red-tiled buildings, Gothic towers and old church domes set over the steep hillside. One of the oldest and most […]