Barcelona is one of those amazing cities that can easily whisk you off your feet, enthrall you and before you know it, you’re on your way home, breathless and consumed by a whirlwind of impressions and vague memories. There’s so much to see and do in the city that you’ll soon find yourself zooming from [...]

Ten alternative things to do in India
India. The name conjures images of ancient temples and palaces, aromatic markets, colourful saris, curries and oh yes, the Taj Mahal. Dig deeper and one will quickly discover that India has much more to offer to visitors. With its amazing breadth and depth of attractions and experiences, it’s very easy to visit India and only [...]

Impressions of Abruzzo
I knew very little about Abruzzo other than that it’s a region to the east of Rome, on the other side of the Apennine mountains, and that it’s home to Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, a sublime red wine that instantly makes you daydream of rolling hills bathed in sunshine and fragrant herbs – well, that’s the effect [...]

Temple-hopping in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a tropical island nation in the Indian Ocean, just off the coast of the Indian sub-continent. Shaped like a tear-drop, Sri Lanka is most famous amongst visitors for its sandy, palm-fringed beaches; colonial architecture; its mountainous core with lush forests and picturesque tea plantations; and its many fascinating Buddhist temples. In this [...]

Medieval towns in the Costa Brava
The name Costa Brava literally means ‘rugged coast’, a reference to the spectacular cliffs and hundreds of coves that line the coast. While the coast is a perennial favourite amongst many Europeans looking for sun, sand and sangria, there’s a lot more to discover starting just a few miles inland in the Baix Empordá region [...]

Inside Albania
Albania is for many a relatively unknown destination. Located in southeast Europe, bordering Greece and the Republic of Macedonia, Albania has a long and often tempestuous history. Today, the remnants of this history as well as the country’s natural beauty make Albania a fascinating destination that is still very much off-the-beaten path. Here are a [...]

Shifting capitals
As a kid, I would spend hours studying my geographic encyclopedias. I memorised all the data I could find, like the size of each country, its population and its capital city and used this to challenge my friends at school to a game of “Name The Capital”. There was one guy at school, Raymond, whom [...]

History and art on the Sunshine Coast
Málaga is in Andalusia, on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain, a ferry’s journey north of Morocco. Owing to its location, it has a warm climate and some of the warmest winters in Europe. For those intending to find cheap holidays in Málaga, consider booking between April and November when the average daily temperature [...]

Culinary Journey: Cal Sastre in Santa Pau
What: Fine-dining at a small medieval village in the Garrotxa region of Catalonia. Where: Cal Sastre restaurant, Santa Pau. Notes: Santa Pau is a sleepy medieval village in the Garrotxa Volcanic region of Catalonia, north of Barcelona. The village is tiny but there are a variety of reasons that make a visit absolutely worthwhile: its [...]

A guided tour of Westminster Abbey
A guest post by Andrea Kirkby. Westminster Abbey is one of the London landmarks that I always think takes an entire day to itself. I know some people ‘do’ it in an hour and a bit, but it is the sort of place that richly repays a more leisurely, lingering visit. And there’s far more [...]








