The second half of my month-long trip to Australia with my 16-year old son Max was wonderful. Having spent a week in Sydney and then a week in Queensland exploring the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest (you can read about the first half of our trip in this post), we headed into the heart of […]
2-week itinerary: Sydney & Great Barrier Reef with a teenager
I used to live in Sydney in the 1990s and absolutely loved my time there. My children have grown up hearing stories of big skies, wonderful scenery, sea and sunshine. It was hardly a surprise when my 16 year-old son Max declared his burning desire to go to Australia when we were deciding on a […]
Best places to ice skate in London
If you enjoy ice skating, or if you’d like to try it, there are many ice rinks to choose from during the winter months. Each year from around November onwards an array of temporary festive ice rinks pop up in locations across the city. Outside the Christmas period, there are also several indoor permanent ice […]
Elephant Hills Thailand adventure review
When you stay at Elephant Hills tented jungle camp in Thailand, all of the scheduled adventure activities are included, as well as your accommodation, meals and transfers. When you book, you need to think about which activities you’d like to do, so that you choose the package which is right for you. Elephant Hills is […]
What’s it like to stay at Elephant Hills, Thailand?
The second part of our family summer holiday was at Elephant Hills in Khao Sok National Park in Southern Thailand. Our flight from Bangkok (you can read about where we stayed in Bangkok here) to Surat Thani took just over an hour, and we were met there by a driver who took us to the Elephant Camp, […]
A four-day trip to the Algarve, Portugal
My first ever trip to the Algarve has left me determined to return there. The Algarve is Portugal’s southernmost region and enjoys more sun each year than California (according to the Met Office). This beautiful coastal area is easy to reach from the UK, and I was there on a spring trip with my husband, […]
A relaxing yoga retreat in the Algarve, Portugal
This post is by Anglo-Italian journalist Lorenza Bacino. In May Lorenza went on a yoga retreat at Casa Vale da Lama in the hills near Odiaxere on the Algarve in Portugal. It sounds like a very relaxing and enjoyable trip. ‘Once a year I try and take a week to do yoga somewhere nice with […]
Ria Formosa Algarve bike tour
As we stand and watch the serene flamingoes, our guide João asks: ‘Do you know why these flamingoes are white, rather than pink?’ We don’t know, so he explains that flamingoes become pink because they eat shrimps. These particular flamingoes eat shellfish, so their feathers are white. There are fish leaping and splashing in the […]
How to explore the Pilgrims’ Way by car
The Pilgrims’ Way is an ancient route in the South of England, connecting the shrine of St. Swithun in Winchester Cathedral with the shrine of the martyr St Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. It’s impossible to know how many pilgrims followed this route in medieval times, but historians believe that as many as tens of […]
Best hotels with pools where you can actually swim
Swimming is my favourite form of exercise. I find it really relaxing and when I’m at home I aim to swim two or three times a week at our local leisure centre. When I’m booking places to stay on my travels, I always try to find a place with a decent fitness pool if I […]
