Grand Hotel La Cloche Dijon – Accommodation Review
Grand Hotel La Cloche Dijon. A luxurious hotel right in the heart of the city. It has everything you would expect from a 5 star city hotel.
Discover Dijon’s Delicacies in Burgundy’s Gastronomic Capital
Discover Dijon's Delicacies in the Gastronomic Capital of Burgundy. A myriad of regional specialties are waiting to tempt your palate in this fascinating region of France.
Discover Delectable Dijon in 1 Day
Discover the Delicacies of Dijon in 1 Day. Dijon is a foodie destination not to be missed. Come & take a stroll through its quaint streets with me ...
Facades are fiercely protected - this one is being re-built from behind.
10 surprising facts about Amsterdam
A city full of surprises - here are 10 surprising facts about Amsterdam you might not know ...
Pulitzer Hotel Amsterdam Bedroom
Accommodation Review – The Pulitzer Hotel Amsterdam
The Pulitzer was a perfect choice of hotel for our short break in Amsterdam. The Pulitzer is a comfortable hotel and ideally located right in the centre of the city. Everywhere you want to visit is within easy walking distance. The rooms are nicely decorated with a modern feel and every effort is made to provide you with everything you need for your stay including a shopping bag, a brolly and even a bike repair kit!
Goodbye Amsterdam!
Amsterdam Day 4 – Left wanting more …
3 days in Amsterdam is a challenge. There is a lot to see in this city - although we saw most of the major sites and walked through every part of the city - we were both left wanting more.
Amsterdam Day 3 - Stroopwafels - Albert Cuypstraat
Amsterdam Day 3 – Stroopwafels and Those Dam Boat Guys
Amsterdam Day 3 - Museum Het Grachtenhuis, Albert Cuypmarkt Stroopwafels and a Canal Cruise with Those Dam Boat Guys.
Amsterdam Day 2 – Think Once, Think Twice, Think Bike!
Amsterdam Day 2: Anne Frank's House, Van Gough Museum, Vondelpark and - after dinner - an Evening Canal Cruise
3 Days in Amsterdam Day 1
I am travelling with my daughter on this trip and we have three days to get to know Amsterdam and appreciate the best it has to offer. I am looking forward to sharing the journey with her and seeing a new city through her eyes as much as my own. We have based ourselves at the Pulitzer Hotel right in the centre of Amsterdam so we don't waste too much time getting from A to B (see accommodation review for more detail). We have 3 days in Amsterdam - how best to fit everything in?
Posada el Corcal de Liébana Picos de Europa
Accommodation Review – Posada El Corcal de Liébana
The Posada el Corcal de Liébana nestles beneath the beautiful Picos mountains and provides guests with the warmest of welcomes and Spanish hospitality.
An appropriate last photo - Forget-me-not.
Wildflower Walking – Picos de Europa
Colletts delivered a well organised wildflower walking holiday with expert guiding to ensure you could locate all the best examples of the Spring flora in the Picos de Europa.
Globularia Ripens and Helianthemum oleandicum ssp. piloselloides - shot at at F22.
Mountain Heaven in the Picos de Europa
The Spring flower season in the Picos de Europa is short but spectacular. There are around three weeks between 20th May and 7th June when the mountains burst into life with a wide array of colourful alpine plants.
Lovely sea views from our geranium filled balcony in warm sunshine.
Springtime in Gran Canaria
The thermometer is your ally in Gran Canaria! We visited at the end of March when it was grey and wet back home in the UK and were treated to pleasant tempera
Photo I wished I had taken - Farewell to the Land of the Midnight Sun
Ha Det og Tusen Takk Hurtigruten!
Goodbye Hurtigruten - and Tusen Takk - Thank you very much ! Tourism was always part of the basis for the Coastal Express though with brochures printed in several languages…
Never let the things you want make you forget the things you have
Seasickness on Hurtigruten – The Lowlight
Gale force winds were blowing all day today meaning that the ship was rocking about a lot leaving many people feeling nauseous - including me. The on board shop was doing. roaring trade in sea sickness tablets - even the crew were taking them. The decks were closed, which meant you couldn't even get a breath of air. Everything began to feel very claustrophobic. Unfortunately, seasickness on Hurtigruten is something you may well have to put up with if the weather is rough - which it often is - so come prepared!
Vesteralen Hike
Day 9 – Vesterålen Hike
Vesteralen Hike Yesterday, we made a brief stop at Hammerfest - the Northernmost town in the world. It is a tiny place, but there is a really interesting Restoration Museum…
Snow Hotel Kirkenes
What is it like to live in an Igloo? – The Snow Hotel Kirkenes
The Snow Hotel Kirkenes 25 tonnes of ice and 15000 cubic metres of snow are shifted each Winter to build the famous igloo Snow Hotel Kirkenes.Every year, the hotel is built…
Snowy Kirkenes - you can just make out the MS Nordlys in the dock.
On the Edge of a Forbidden Frontier – Where East meets West
Where East Meets West On the Edge of a Forbidden Frontier Kirkenes - the turning point of the Hurtigruten's voyage - is just a few miles from the Russian border…
Friluftsliv
Day 6 – World’s End at the North Cape
World’s End at the North Cape The ship docked at Honningvãg this morning - the capital of the North Cape. At 71 degrees north, this is as far north as…
Hurtigruten Cruise Northern Lights
Winter Nights – Northern Lights
What ARE the Northern Lights? The northern lights are a physical phenomenon that occurs when electrically charged particles from the sun hurtle towards the Earth. The light becomes visible when…
Tromsø by night - breathtakingly beautiful .
Day 5 – Entering the High North (Tromsø)
Entering the High North - Tromsø The sunrise was beautiful this morning - a gentle pink light hung over the coastline for quite some time. A beautiful Norwegian sunrise Mount…
Bodø
Day 4 – Crossing the Arctic Circle
Crossing the Arctic Circle We are crossing the Arctic Circle at 7.30 this morning. You could have bought a postcard with a special stamp and posted it from here all…
It's time for the Snowshoes!
Day 3 – It’s time for the Snowshoes!
It’s time for the Snowshoes! The Nordlys docked at Trondheim this morning allowing us time to lace ourselves into our snowshoes (snøskoene) for a hike through the deep snow covered…
Art Nouveau Ålesund
Day 2 – Friluftsliv
Day 2 - Friluftsliv Bergen We left Bergen at around 10 last night and headed for the pretty Art Nouveau port of Ålesund. If you wanted time to visit Bergen…
The World's Most Beautiful Voyage - Norway Hurtigruten Itinerary
The World’s Most Beautiful Voyage – Hurtigruten Norway itinerary
Tomorrow, we embark on "the world's most beautiful voyage" on the Hurtigruten line, departing from Bergen and travelling over 2,500 nautical miles to the Top of the World at the North Cape. We hope to see the Northern Lights (there is a guarantee of a free cruise of you don't) en route and then retrace our steps slowly back South down the coast to Bergen. The voyage will last a total of 12 days, crosses the Arctic Circle twice and visits 34 Nordic ports along the way.
Finland can be really beautiful
Homeward Bound – Thank Goodness!
A 5.30 start was again scheduled – we didn’t go. Good move – bacon was back on the breakfast menu this morning and was still quite hot early on. Temperatures on the vans were -14 this morning and the only bird anyone saw was the red grouse, again. No Snowy Owls then (which was the one bird we had really both been hoping to see).
OK - Finland can be beautiful
Putting a Pin in the Map at the Arctic Circle
We drove right up to the Arctic Circle in the afternoon, which took a long time, but it was sort of satisfying to be able to say we had actually been there and could justifiably put a pin in the map. Scary thought – if I am getting satisfaction from putting a pin in a map, maybe there is something of a twitcher in me? Let’s move on …
Another empty nest box - we saw an awful lot of these!
Can Finland get any worse? Yes – it can!
Can Finland get any worse? Yes - it can! I was still hoping that things might get better as we went further north and into the Kuusamo National Park…
Help - I am on the wrong holiday!
Owless Oulu
It was hard to see how this trip could get any worse, but the suggestion was then made that a trip to the rubbish dump might be just the thing to raise the spirits. Seriously?! Yes – this was serious. Rubbish dumps are a food source of course, so there just may be some gulls there … Yes, you guessed it, we waited two hours at the rubbish dump, but it was another no show.
Finland has potential to be very pretty
HELP! I am on the wrong holiday!
HELP! I am on the wrong holiday! I could have chosen to stay at home, munched a few Easter eggs, dug the garden or just chilled out - but I…