Xi’an is a city of seven million people, famed as the Gateway to the Silk Road and for the nearby Terracotta Warriors, an unmissable World Heritage site. But its history as a trading centre which welcomed people from across the world is reflected in the wide range of street food on offer. If you’re looking…
Tag: Travel
Celebrating Carnival in Palma de Mallorca
Being in Palma for the weekend of their famous carnival was a happy coincidence, but one that meant we could see the Sa Rua parade in all its glory. It may not be on the scale of Rio, but there’s colour and dazzling outfits as far as the eye can see in the 90 minute…
Five Christmas gift ideas for travellers
Are you looking for a Christmas gift for the traveller in your life? I’ve put together a few ideas that might make the traveller in your life smile (there are no affiliate links because I’m too lazy to sign up for any schemes ;) Ethnotek bags I have the sling bag in this Guatemala design and…
Visiting Chile’s nitrate ghost town – Humberstone, near Iquique
Ghost town. Are there many more evocative words in the English language? Maybe they conjure up images of dusty Wild West abandoned saloons, doors swinging in the breeze. Or places which once welcomed a gold or mineral rush, only to empty out twenty years later when all the mines were stripped clean of their treasures….
China on the horizon
2018 has been a quieter travel year for me, but we are heading east in a couple of months’ time to visit China! We were looking for somewhere warm and malaria free to spend some time in November and Hainan, a subtropical island in the South China sea came up – handily there are now…
Summer days in Sardinia
Sardinia is a great place to slow down. We often pack our holidays full of things to do every day, but sometimes it’s just nice to relax. So a four-night break in June was perfect to unwind a bit. We stayed on the east coast of Sardinia at Arbatax for three nights, filling our time…
The magic of Forodhani at Eid (a Stone Town sight you shouldn’t miss)
“At Eid, everyone wanna go Forodhani”. The words of our guide rang in my ears as we surveyed the sea of joyful families and friends spilling out of the gardens and into the road along the seafront. An Eid night celebration at Forodhani Gardens in Zanzibar is something to behold. Dazzling colours, peaceful crowds picnicing…
Why you should visit Herculaneum instead of Pompeii
Staying in the Naples or Sorrento area during a trip to Italy? The region is home to two fascinating archaeological sites in Herculaneum and Pompeii. But if you only have one day to spare, which should you visit? We visited both last year and although it’s amazing to see such a famous site as Pompeii,…
Five landscapes you have to see on your South American trip
South America isn’t short of spectacular landscapes, many of which I’ve been lucky enough to visit over the past ten years. Stunning salt flats, dramatic table-top mountains, thousands of waterfalls and snow-capped volcanoes, there’s something for everyone. Not to mention the world’s longest river, the Amazon which drifts through thousands of acres of primary rainforest….
Flamingos, llamas and salt lakes – a Salar de Surire photoblog
Salar de Surire is a dazzling small salt flat in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, about halfway between Iquique and Arica. Although not as large or impressive as Salinas Grandes in north-west Argentina (which remains one of my favourite-ever travel days), it’s home to a large population of three species of flamingo, including the…