There’s nothing like an English breakfast. Admittedly, the Americans do their best, bless them, but they get the bacon all wrong, and have a strange obsession with syrup. Also, from what I can tell, a phobia of baked beans in the morning, a staple of the classic English breakfast. The Europeans (I am aware the UK is in Europe, but we often gloss over this with us vs them … [Read more...]
Staying in Paris with Homestay
I’m thrilled to say that we’ve recently signed on to become Homestay ambassadors. What does this mean? Well, we’re going to be using the Homestay service in various destinations around the world, and then sharing our stories, adventures, and thoughts with you guys. In case you’re not familiar with Homestay, here’s a quick brief. Homestay is a service that lets you find … [Read more...]
Experiencing Arabian Hospitality with Rotana in Dubai
When I had a real job that involved me wearing a suit and tie every day, I spent two and a half years living in a major brand chain hotel as a result of a project I was on. When it got to the point where I was invited to the staff Christmas party, I realised that perhaps it was time to move on with my life. Although I did have some pretty excellent holidays thanks to all the … [Read more...]
How to stay in a Villa for less than the price of a Hostel
When I lived in the UK, friends and I would often band together and go on holidays to giant houses in remote parts of the country, including the Scottish Highlands or the Lake District. We usually hired extravagantly huge houses for these adventures. I remember one on a 10,000 acre estate which came complete with its own Scottish Loch (prehistoric monster as an optional … [Read more...]
Relaxing in Vougliameni, Athens
I recently had the pleasure of popping down to Athens for a few days, ostensibly to take part in the Travel Trade Athens show, but also to have a bit of fun exploring this city. Since it’s the place where Western civilisation started and one which somehow I have never visited, I leapt at the chance to explore, and even tacked on a few days to my itinerary to take in a few … [Read more...]
No Hablo Espagnol: A Homestay.com Experience
When we went to a travel blogging conference in Dublin last year, we met some folks of an interesting new company, who built a website that lets you find and book homestays all over the world via the internet. But they are not just a search engine – their unique approach is that all the hosts they work with have been certified through them, either by a local … [Read more...]
A warm welcome in Copenhagen at the Absalon Hotel
I like warm weather. This fact should be apparent by the destinations I’ve covered in the blog, and the way that they rarely seem to include snow, or ice. Other than that trip around New Zealand, where poor timing meant we occasionally saw some actual snow. So when I booked my trip around a number of Scandinavian countries in March, it was with high hopes of a beautiful … [Read more...]
Tips for sleeping on a plane
A lot of people tell me that they have difficulty sleeping on planes. Well, I’m here to tell you today that sleeping on a plane is easy. You just need to find the right plane. Here’s a quick rundown of four tips to know you’ve found a plane that is going to offer a good nights sleep: Find a plane with no engines. This is likely to be much quieter than a normal plane, as … [Read more...]