Stories behind the stories. By Travel Writer, Amy McPherson
“Madam! Madam!” the concierge was chasing after me as I walked towards the escalator, red faced and dripping sweat. “Did you know we have a gym in the hotel?” “Yes,” I smiled, aware of the many eyes on me now. “You don’t have to run outside. It’s so hot!” I realised his concern and laughed. …
First and foremost, a disclaimer. Just because I am about to say bad things about certain genders doesn’t mean I hate everyone. It’s like that recent Gillette ad that highlights toxic masculinity, with a new slogan to call on men to be the best they can be, (instead of the old “the best the men …
I wasn’t going to write an end of year post this year. I was just going to let it all go, to allow the new year creep up silently. Pretend it’s just another normal day. Yet, personally, 2018 had been too big to ignore. Earlier this year I made a decision that I should have …
OMG where has the time gone? I’ve barely blinked since my last post and it’s almost Christmas! And you thought I couldn’t talk about Christmas early enough huh? :) It is that time of the year again, when bosses insist that everyone bond over a boozy night (some of whom pays, some don’t) – and …
I know, it’s way to early to talk about Christmas. In fact, it would normally be me complaining about the shop front decorations that seems to be appearing earlier and earlier each year. It’s not that I am a Grinch, but Christmas has never been all that special to me. Getting dragged to Christmas masses …
I am sitting here in a Michelin listed Restaurant Eugene in Orleans, France, trying to do my job. Scanning the menu with a pen and a notebook by my side, I couldn’t make the decision on whether to choose the item that I understood or, the item that sounded lyrical on the tongue. “Can I …
Is there a secret London many of us don’t know about? I recently read Charles Dickens’ Night Walks and The Uncommercial Traveller, a series of essays based on his walks around London. Known to be an insomniac, he described the London he saw, from Haymarket, which he describes as “the worst kept part of London” (Uncommercial …
When do we begin to fear? As a child, I had very little fear. At least that’s what my aunt told me. Now, I am supposed to be older, wiser, and more experienced in life yet, I have more fear than ever before, and not just a general fear of things but fear for the …
Some of you may remember, I first ‘picked up’ a healthy obsession with cycling just under a year ago. Not that I didn’t ride a bicycle when I was younger but to properly cycle for longer distances than just a round trip to the shops was a new thing for me, and it hasn’t been …
Not every little girl wanted to grow up to be a princess. As I can’t really remember much from my young childhood, so I can’t tell you what I wanted to grow up to be. But knowing what I am like now I can assure you I definitely didn’t want to be a princess. I …
Lining up on Wednesday night outside London’s Phoenix Theatre waiting to be admitted into a musical when the rest of the England gathered to shout at the TV screen for 90 mins was an experience in itself. It was as if we were defying the norm, and had chosen to be the outcasts of society. …
1. The bike will stay in the bedroom And why shouldn’t it? I mean, if I leave it in the bike shed, someone could easily steal it. In the bedroom, right there at the foot of our bed, the bike is watched all the time. So I can keep an eye on it okay? 2. …
This post took a while to write. You know the days when you wished you weren’t so bored at work? Well yeah… no longer. Anyway. So the last – last Sunday (17 June) I rode from London to Brighton for the British Heart Foundation. It was my second goal after having ridden for the same …
It’s always exciting to attend a murder trial. Is it a murder? To be honest, when I first stepped into court I didn’t know. All I knew was that I was summoned for jury duty, with no background knowledge (because I didn’t really do my homework) on the back story. But that turned out to …
Did you know that bumble bees live underground? We don’t have bumble bees in Australia and I’ve never really learned about this part of their lives. Here I am sitting In my friend’s garden in Saarbrücken, enjoying the warmth of the spring sunshine, the sight of colourful blooms, their scent carried to me by the …
It was at the town of Skagaströnd on the north coast of Iceland where I think I tripped over some elves. I had hiked along the rocky coast for half an hour, listening to the crashing waves and the aggressive chirps of the Golden Plovers and Arctic Terns, warning me not to get close to their …
At the top of the ridge at the Quiraing Walk on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, I stopped breathing for a couple of seconds. From where I stood, I could trace the route we took across the valley, which expands all the way to the ocean, where the silvery blue sea met the blue …
The Easter weekend just past was the first weekend I didn’t have a deadline to worry about. I felt free. Too free. I didn’t know what to do with myself. So, went to see The Greatest Showman (now my new favourite musical album), tried to see Winnie the Pooh exhibition at the Victoria & Albert …
When do you know when you’ve pushed yourself to the absolute limit? Well, I finally found that out last week. Here’s the long story. I am currently on a Snowshoe and Winter Walking in Bosnia tour. We arrived on Sunday and I’ve just had two great days of snowshoe adventure. It’s harder than it looks. …
Yesterday was the first day of a new year in the lunar calendar. To anyone celebrating – Happy New Year :) Last year I wrote about celebrating Lunar New Year in Taipei on this blog, but I also wrote a short feature on it in the hopes that some editor might pick it up. Well, …
I can’t write. Been sitting here for two hours now, watching the blinking cursor steadily warning me that I’ve not written more than 50 words towards my 1200 words story that’s due on Thursday. Wake up! It urged. This is one assignment you cannot fail! The cursor is right, but I am otherwise distracted. I …
All day, I have been feasting my eyes on a pair of very fine wheels. A road bike, so very shiny and pretty and is everything I’ve dreamt of is on sale, and I’ve been obsessively looking at it on my computer screen while daydreaming about owning it. To an outsider, I appeared to be …
I am back doing long train rides to Southampton three days a week. As mentioned in a previous post – the girl on the train– it gives me time to think (although, way too much time in my own head could be a dangerous thing!) and today I began to think of the many people I …
In case you haven’t been on a Ryanair flight since the 15 January or haven’t been catching up with the news, Ryanair introduced a new cabin baggage policy. Essentially, this super low cost of all low cost airlines are now charging you for wishing to bring your cabin bags into the cabin. Read: Everything you …
