It’s so easy isn’t it? To add those just-in-case items into your suitcase. A posh dress just in case you’re invited out to an expensive restaurant, your expensive jewellery just in case your house is burgled while you’re away, your white noise...
Many years ago, just after the Second World War in fact, an area of land that was due to become prime real estate in Fort Lauderdale was nothing more than a garbage dump. Anyone travelling along the prestigious Las Olas Boulevard down to the beach would pass this area...
The initial concept of peer-to-peer accommodation services such as Airbnb was simple – have a spare room? Then rent it to travellers. Win-win. However, we all know that today, many of us are preparing rooms or full apartments specifically for rental. No longer...
The SS Palo Alto has had a chequered career. I tend to find ships and boats have a spooky aspect to them and this is certainly one of them. To begin with, the ship was built of concrete. (That alone seems weird to me). It was out of luck from the very start of its...
Many years ago, most people would take their vacation in their home country. Often the reason for this was that international travel incited the dreaded fear of ‘the language’. Today though, travellers are far more adventurous and positively revel in going...
It’s not often that anyone can use the phrase ‘you’ve seen the chair, now see the house’. But I really imagine that most of us know the chair. Look at the image of the house above – doesn’t it have familiar design features? The...
We’re accustomed to services such as Uber and Airbnb. We even know about similar services for boats, yachts, bikes, sports equipment and more. But Flyotto means that we can now rent private aircraft too. I just looked up to find out about a trip from Fort...
The idea of visiting monuments and cemeteries when you’re on vacation is a popular one today – from the historic graveyards of New Orleans to the grave of Victor Noir in Paris. Previous generations of travellers wanted to see how people in days gone by...
It’s summer in New York City, and you remembered your hat, your sunblock, and your water bottle. Suddenly you realize you kept so well hydrated, nature’s call cannot be ignored a minute longer. Most tourist destinations have adequate toilets, but if you...
At last – a solution for my husband! Sorry if that sounds a little weird but he’s a world-class loser. And I don’t mean that in a nasty way. What I do mean is that he is famous for losing important items. Car keys, the iPad, his phone … you...
So, there you are exploring London and it’s time for lunch. (Or breakfast or dinner or a light snack). Of course, there are so many places you can go. But how about something a little different this time? Enjoy coffee in a crypt! In Central London, you’ll...
Travel experts are reporting that a current trend is for families to plan their trips well in advance – sometimes even years. For couples with children, this makes a lot of sense. I don’t know about you but the first time I went abroad with my parents, I...
For the very few readers who don’t know, Mae West was a raunchy actress, writer and comedian who was born in Brooklyn in 1893. To try to explain a little about her, the first play she wrote and acted in – in 1926 – was entitled Sex. She continued to...
The subtitle of this article could be ‘The Squeamish Person’s Guide to Cleaning the Toilet’. Good hosts are pretty fanatical about cleanliness but if you asked hosts which are the worst jobs they have to do when cleaning their rentals, cleaning the...
Many years ago, Fort Lauderdale had two distinct seasons – the tourist season and off-season. Luckily this is no longer the case. Of course, it’s true that more people flock to South Florida during the winter months as they are escaping from the harsh...
In the spring of 2017, it was announced that Antoni Gaudi’s Casa Vicens in Barcelona would be opened to the public as a museum later in the year. What wonderful news for those of us who have drooled over his other buildings in this fabulous city. We’ve...
Have you ever arrived home from a trip late on Sunday night and had to be at work at 9 am the next morning? No fun, is it? Or even if you’ve arrived home at a civilised hour, getting back into the work routine after a vacation is never easy. Do you believe that...
Just over two hours away from Paris, you’ll find the Terra Botanica – the first theme park in Europe that is dedicated to plants. Yet this special place has someone for every member of the family. Because Terra Botanica offers so much more than a mere...
When we were little kids, we used to be amused by our mum’s paranoia when we were going on a family trip abroad. She used to go to see a man on the market who engraved cheap metal tags to go onto dogs’ collars. She’d have them engraved with the name...
It bothers me so much that overseas visitors who travel to the UK see London as their main point of interest. There is so much to see and do in England (and Scotland and Wales) and although London certainly does have many attractions, the wise traveller will venture...
