Home in Time for Tea

Great Intermediate Ski Pistes at La Pinilla, near Madrid And the Award for Most Unlikely Ski Location Goes to... Madrid! Skiing, Shopping and Sightseeing in Madrid... Oh Yes, and Delicious Breakfast Buffets! For our last ski break before the season ends, we decided to book somewhere different from our road trips to the French Vosges or the Alps. This was partly to save money (Richard had seen a fantastic all-inclusive deal to Bulgaria), but partly to try something new... After the Bulgaria trip seemed to be adding more costs the more windows we went through on the PC, we did a good old skyscanner search to 'anywhere' and found some cheap flights to Madrid. I originally overlooked them - It didn't even cross my mind that you could ski anywhere near Madrid, but the deal was so good I considered driving to the Pyrenees from there. I went onto j2ski.com and after looking at a map of Spain, low and behold, the nearest ski resort was about an hour's drive from ...

A Weekend Stay in London, and the Purpose? ...Food! Who said that England isn't renowned for its world-class cuisine? With such an intensely diverse variety of food, cooking and culture - and Jamie Oliver - how can London possibly disappoint?  After booking Richard in for a cooking class at Jamie Oliver's Notting Hill 'Recipease' store (Richard's Christmas present), we headed off to London for a deliciously fun food-packed weekend... Best Affordable French Cuisine in London! Once we found our hotel on Friday night (Novotel at Heathrow), we drove a little way into the town towards White City and found a Cafe Rouge . I was so impressed with the waitress, she certainly knew her stuff. I ordered a Bavette steak cooked medium but she told me quite honestly that it would be too tough unless I had it quite rare. I had a 'minute' steak instead (cooked medium-rare) and it was top notch. The creamy, eggy Diane sauce only added to its awesomeness. F...

      Road Trips in Europe (For my   actual road trips across various parts of Europe, and photos, see the road trips and links at the end of this page) There’s just something about waking up in a totally different place every morning, and heading where the wind takes you... Road trips and car hire are a fantastic way to get about in Europe and see a variety of diverse places in a modest amount of time. Whether you’re hoping to experience a taster of different countries, see different sights, or eat different foods, planning a road trip is the best way to enjoy a range of experiences. It is the best way to do what you want, when you want. The general main points which are important to remember when planning or going on a road trip are as follows: -           Cities are fun to visit but save the proper city break for just that – a city break. The traffic can be stressful and it can ...

Winter Wonderland Road Trip! Icehotel  Starry Skies  Deep Powdery Snow   Subtle and Ever-Changing Hues of the Polar Night   Stunning Mountains Frozen Fjords  Huskies Snowmobiles   Northern Lights New Year Icebar Celebrations   Moose   Glowing Decorations in Every Window  Gentle Ski Slopes   All Day Sunsets Reindeer Sledging frozen lakes snow covered forests... Northern Norway and Sweden. From the stunning Norwegian fjords to the original and biggest Icehotel near Swedish mining town Kiruna, Arctic pleasures await, on a road trip spanning 400 miles of frozen beautiful wilderness... Over a period of just 7 days, our 'itinerary' included all of the above and more. After the set of photos is a brief idea of where we flew from/to, where we stayed, and what you can do in each fantastic winter destination.  Snowmobiling Trip Coffee Around a Campfire Feeding the Feisty Reindeer! Skiing at Malsel...

Icehotel For New Year! Feel The Winter Magic... It was a quarter to midnight when we arrived in the tiny village of Jukkasjarvi after a small journey by car from the arctic town of Kiruna - one of Sweden's northernmost towns. The air was piercingly freezing, and we were wrapped up against the bite of the freshest of fresh air. The four of us walked over the road towards the fantastic Icehotel just in time to bring in the new year in a few minutes' time. Large outdoor candles lined the snowy ground and flickered in the frozen air, leading the way down to the glowing blue igloo-shaped arches of the Icehotel's magnificent entrance. We made our way by candlelight to the back of this unbelievable building, to the  expanse of the all-important Torne River and the huge lake which they cut the ice from, for next year's hotel.  After a quirky little performance involving a tractor/digger a...