Stories behind the stories. By Travel Writer, Amy McPherson
One of the best things about travelling off season is that everywhere feels like ‘off the beaten track’ at the moment. The cooler weather is driving most tourists away, and we have been encountering only the intrepid continental visitors who are pretty much keen to go anywhere in any weather. In Bled, there were a …
Lake Bled is the most popular destination for visitors to Slovenia. It is naturally beautiful, historically important and from the first sight of the lake from our accommodation’s window, I was in love. The dramatic mountain ranges that surround the lake is a great backdrop to the castle on the cliff top, the church on …
I’ve stepped through the wardrobe and came to Narnia, and it was magical. It was the combination of colours that made it so special: the orange yellow autumn leaves, the dark green of the pines, the silvery white of the lime stones and the part pale turquoise and part emerald green of the Soca River. …
Ideally, for such a beautiful city you should probably spend more than a day to slowly take in Avignon, however on our recent trip, we were a little restricted on time by the time we got to Avignon, we had a choice of either skipping it all together or, try to see it in a …
We stopped by Aix-en-Provence (aka, Aix) on our recent mini-road trip in France. For 2 nights, we stayed in a cute little villa on the outskirts of town, enjoying the warm sunshine and fantastic food of that Provence region is known for. The place lived up to its reputation and I was quite impressed with …
I hadn’t expected to like the French Riviera. The French Riviera, or Côte d’Azur, refers to the stretch of coast from Nice to Marseille, including the glamorous Saint-Tropez and Cannes. Why I didn’t think I’d like Nice I had classed this part of the France along with beaches of Ibiza, Mallorca, and Tenerife in the same “I’ll …
Lyon is France’s third largest city, and you’ve probably not thought of it when you were there. In fact, it’s easy to forget that Lyon is a city at all if you don’t venture beyond the old town and see all the skyscrapers by the Part-Dieu station. Because you’ll probably be having too much fun …
I have been amazed by Poland’s transformation. The last time I was in Poland was 2003, when I studied in Saarbrücken. I thought it was beautiful, I thought the people were friendly and generous and I thought the food was delicious. I thought of many pleasant things about Poland that I fell in love with …
Back to talking about Cornwall! So here’s the thing. Cornwall is filled with nature’s best gifts. Rugged coastline, beautiful little fishing villages with cute little beaches, wildlife and home to the pretty epic Eden Project, so naturally, there is room for an outdoor theatre constructed in perfect symmetry with the curve of the cove creating the …
We’ve just had the opportunity to visit my (favourite) German city Saarbrücken, for a friend’s wedding. I lived here 13 years ago as a student for a year, and surprisingly have always had an inkling to come back. Saarbrücken is not too well known, in fact, when I mentioned that I would be spending my weekend …
Switzerland Tourism advises travellers to beware of Pokemons when visiting Basel this month. It’s a Pokemon Go revenge! This footage shows a team of four mischievous Pokemons disrupting the peace around the city by throwing and slinging giant balls at unsuspecting humans playing on their phones while walking around Basel’s top attraction spots – in the …
In Cornwall, you can walk to the end of the world (Lands End) on the South West Coastal Path. You can potentially, walk the entire Cornish Coast The entire Cornish coast is served by the South West Coastal Path, England’s longest marked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. The trail begins all the way back in Somerset, …
Have you seen the seagulls here in Europe? They are massive, the size of a small cat. I am not kidding. We’ve just spent a week in Cornwall, south west of England, on a supposedly ‘summer holiday’. Unfortunately the week was mostly cold, and we were rained on for half of our trip, but that’s …
The garden of Eden is no longer forbidden. It’s in Cornwall, and is celebrating its 15 years birthday this year since being opened to public. Eden Project was our first port of call on our Cornish journey, having got a train to Exeter and picked up a hire car for the trip (not advised, but …
Ok, maybe not right now, but sometime in the near future you definitely should visit Iceland. Why? Because Iceland is stunning We visited in winter, and even under a blanket of snow, the place was beautiful. In this arid landscape, where really not much could grow and expand, is a unique environment for all sorts …
“You are going there voluntarily?” asked a few colleagues. Well, yes. Why wouldn’t I? “You do know what they say about Essex?” Yes, in fact I’ve hear plenty of bad rap about Essex, especially the stereotyped ‘Essex Girls’, known to be, as described by Wikipedia, “as females viewed as promiscuous and unintelligent, characteristics jocularly attributed to …
British beaches beautiful and enjoyable? Believe it or not, there are some stunning beaches around England, especially on the south coast! Some pebble, some sand, and some look like they really should be somewhere along the Mediterranean. If you had told me two year ago that I’d enjoy British beaches, I wouldn’t have believed you, …
Italy. One of those great destination for food lovers. And whenever I am in Italy, I just want to eat everything. It was my second visit to Italy on a recent long weekend visit, a country I will always associate with fine arts, impressive churches and incredibly lovable food. Incredibly. My most favourit-est (if that …
The most popular destination in Norther Ireland is the Giants Causeway. The beehive like basaltic rocks formed by volcanic eruptions (a long time ago) on the North Channel (the stretch of water between Scotland and Northern Island). Most people join a day tour and get here by bus, directly from Belfast and back. However, what’s the …
Preparations are under way for this year’s Asian Women Empowerment Conference (AWEConnect 2016), an initiative started by Juno Kim of RunAwayJuno to share and connect with women on work, life and everything in between. I have known Juno virtually for a long time and I had attended the first ever AWE in Kuala Lumpur …
“Thank you for visiting Belfast, it’s good of you to come.” Our AirBnB host couldn’t be more welcoming. We arrived in the wee hours of 2am on a Saturday morning, from a flight that was 3 hours delayed in London and he wasn’t the least bothered. The reassurance that we were in fact, welcome, is …
A while ago I had a chuckle when I saw this ad on the train to work: That’s one way to get your attention isn’t it? It got mine! And that’s how we found ourselves stepping off the train at Portsmouth last weekend. Portsmouth? That’s no where near Dubai! Ok, don’t scream. It’s not Dubai, …
I am going to take you back to the days when the world was still black and white – at the movies I mean – and have you check out this film: Brief Encounter. A station made famous by Brief Encounter It’s one of those oh-so-sad, oh-so-romantic and oh-so-tragic love stories that probably won’t get much …
Harrogate is posh. Posher than any other northern towns we’ve come across. There are beautifully manicured gardens, expensive tea rooms, royal looking buildings…. there’s definitely something in the water here. Ah. Of course. There IS something in the water – sulfur – and it has been used for therapeutic and medical purposes since the Georgian …
