Marseille is France’s second largest city and is located on the Mediterranean coast. Blessed with a mild climate and a stunning natural harbour, Marseille…
Velvet Escape travel blog
Discovering the magic of South Africa in Parys
It was our third day in South Africa and we were on our way from Pilanesberg National Park to Parys (map), a small town…
Chilling in Rio
I LOVE RIO! Who wouldn’t? It surely is one of the most spectacular cities in the world. Hemmed in between a huge bay, the…
Babylonstoren – a heavenly Cape Dutch wine farm
Don’t ask me to compare Babylonstoren with other Cape Dutch farms. That would be tricky. For starters, it produces wine – a feature typical…
One big happy Mercado
“Crisis? In Mercado de San Miguel, the crisis is far, far away”. I smiled. I knew exactly what she meant. I stood there, at…
A sea of tulips
Seeing the tulips fields in Holland is one of my favourite things to do in spring. Many people ask me where and when to…
A royal stay in Johannesburg
I’d just arrived in Johannesburg after an amazing trip to the four-country region – Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia – where I stayed on…
The historic baths of Budapest
A trip to Budapest will not be complete without a visit to at least one of its historic thermal baths. It’s said that the…
Luxury is in the details
I recently had a conversation with several fellow travellers about what distinguishes a luxury hotel from its peers. We exchanged notes about our stays…
