Home in Time for Tea

Enjoy a more traditional and untouched Europe in these quaint and interesting towns and areas dotted around the continent... Mostar - Bosnia & Herzegovina A place now recovered from the conflict of the past, Mostar is a  fascinating  place with a  strong Islamic and Ottoman history,  where Muslims, Christians and Jews now live happily alongside one another. Mostar is a place seemingly  untouched by mass package tourism  and general mainstream Western culture.   Local music plays in bars, and the streets of the old town buzz with a flurry of activity and colour in the bazaars . Visitors are mainly independent and the town has a traditional and atmospheric feel.  The old Bridge is the focal point and I just loved the way it reflected magically in the clear green-blue river. Unlike many tourist landmarks, we liked that it is extremely popular with locals. They take dips in the river in summer, jump off the bridge, and even k...

Both Dubrovnik and Split in Croatia make fantastic holiday cities for beaches , history, atmosphere, eating out, and value for money. However they each have a distinctive appeal of their own and our little road trip covering them both highlights the differences between them, as well as what they have to offer: Dubrovnik Walking around this ancient medieval walled city without the crowds from a whole fleet of crusie ships is a far more pleasant experience than when the cruise ships dock and literally thousands of people flock to the suprisingly small historic centre. The thing is that Dubrovnik's walls are impressively intact which also means tourists don't naturally disperse like they do in other popular cruise destinations like Nice for example. In summer it isn't possible to predict how busy it will be, however we found the town quieter on the Thursday, and heaving on the Friday. Dubrovnik's uniform light-coloured stone buildings with green shutt...

Mostar Old Town If you were born in the early 80s or before, you may remember Mostar being synonymous with war . Now over 20 years on from the former Yugoslav conflict, it is hard to imagine the trauma this historic place and it's multi-ethnic people endured. Despite obvious reminders in the form of  derelict buildings on the edge of the old town and engraved ' never forget ' stone signs incongruously but poignantly placed next to busy bazaars and buzzing restaurants . Mostar means ' old Bridge ' and this famed Ottoman Bridge gets some well-deserved attention. I couldn't stop taking photos! Richard coined the term 'bridging' as a verb to describe this new hobby of mine! The Old Bridge was originally built in the 16th century by the Ottomans in significantly Islamic style . The current structure is a replica due to its destruction in the 90s conflict but the entire UNESCO World Heritage old town retains its historic appeal despite restor...

Want to see a great load of sights in one trip? Want an adventure and stories to tell , without sleeping in the slums? Road tripping is the way to go! Frozen lake in Arctic Scandinavia Views high up away from the resorts in a very rural Gran Canaria Driving the famous racing route in Monte Carlo Road trips take away the time spent waiting for public transport on holiday and working out timetables - that really adds up. We have spent most of the day on a bus from Cannes to Nice before now... then we went back, but in the car and oh boy! The day we saw Michaelangelo's David, the Leaning tower of Pisa , and beautiful medieval San Gimignano in one day , I was particularly grateful for the variety a road trip affords.  You can still get exposed to a bit of local culture on a road trip holiday - in addition to  stopping at funny little places off the beaten track - just turn on the radio, you might be lucky enough to hear some great loc...

Here's just a selection of my favourite wine-related experiences, dotted around the globe in my favourite places, including tastings, tours, and cellars... Some involve popular and well-known wines, while others involve something a little different. Let's start fairly local: Wine Tasting & Food Pairing: The Wine Bar – Stamford, England For a unique experience in quaint English town Stamford , head to The Wine Bar for a food-paired wine tasting. This trendy, classy bar is a friendly place to enjoy great wines, spirits and snacks. Stamford makes an interesting, historic visit to the East of England. A traditional stone market town, it has a plethora of tearooms, gift shops and restaurants, with postcard-pretty lanes and streets. We sat comfortably in the dedicated tasting room, and the host took us through the wines in a relaxed, informal way. He had a great way of talking about the wines informatively without an ounce of pretension – no eas...