I have experienced several spirit-sapping, early morning departures from UK airports (mainly Luton) recently. This makes me wonder, and not for the first time, whether flying (early, it is always early) with budget airlines was worth the effort. On one occasion, at Luton, we had to leave the car we were travelling in well short… Continue reading
Browsing Category Travel
How good food became Northern Ireland’s big selling point
Wine and Brine, a small restaurant in Northern Ireland, was named as local restaurant of the year in the Waitrose Good Food Guide 2017. Another culinary coup for the province in 2016, which is Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink. —- I was delighted to see Wine and Brine in the small Northern Irish town of Moira… Continue reading →
Rosy future as Covent Garden spills over and extends its day
The first “Covent Garden After Hours” takes place this month (July, 2016) from Wednesdays to Saturdays, with a series of special events every Thursday. It’s a smart way to put a focus on the area, and draw its many component parts together, with late night shop-opening, free gifts and inducements, and street food from local restaurants. ****… Continue reading →
Football success gives Iceland tourism boost money can not buy
Close to economic melt-down in 2009, Iceland is staging a remarkable come-back. And on June 22nd, this nation of 300k reached the knock out stages of Euro 2016 in France. Forget all the financial computations on the level of improvement in the economy, this single event has done more to promote Iceland positively to the… Continue reading →
Is Lyon an easier version of Paris, with better food?
Lyon is a city for all seasons. An easy visit by train (five hours by direct Eurostar from London St Pancras in the summer) or plane, this UNESCO world heritage-listed destination offers fine old buildings, sensational shops and heavenly eating. And as the nights draw in, the lights go up (it is, after all, the… Continue reading →
Toulouse, elegant city in France’s south west reaching for the stars
Toulouse, La Ville Rose, the “Pink City”, deep in the south west, is one of the venues for Euro 2016. Wales played there on June 20th. It is of France’s most handsome cities, mid-way between Atlantic and Mediterranean and close to the Pyrenees, it contains elegant ancient wonders alongside the modern marvels of the European… Continue reading →