Weekend in Milan and Como

Weekend in Milan and Como

When I was travelling too much with work, Mr P always used to ask when he could join me for the weekend.  I always deferred as I wanted to get home from a trip as soon as I could.  Then he started travelling an incredible amount with work and so started asking me when…

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Jerusalem & the Dead Sea: Israel day trips

Jerusalem & the Dead Sea: Israel day trips

No trip to Israel could be complete without visiting Jerusalem and the Dead Sea? I think it is fair to say doing it in a day is a bit of a mission (for the driver that is – thank you) but oh so worth it!  We had a marvellous trip, we were missing…

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Rosh Hanikra & Akko – Israel day trips

Rosh Hanikra & Akko – Israel day trips

Israel spoils you for culture, history and day trip options – there is an incredible amount to see and so we took a road trip up from Tel Aviv to Rosh Hanikra and Akko/Acre in the north of the country.  Israel has some rather exciting borders to the north – both are pretty…

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Tel Aviv – vibrancy and culture

Tel Aviv – vibrancy and culture

Visiting friends in Tel Aviv, the city was a perfect base and where British Airways handily deposited us in comfort. I had two favourite cities – Singapore and Washington. I now have three – TLV has vibrancy and culture like Singers, cleanliness and safety like DC and a big dollop of South Beach to make…

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Beyond expectations in Israel

Beyond expectations in Israel

We were able to conclude within about half a day (I exaggerate, 2 hours tops…) of being in Israel that we were really glad to have ignored the UK press and any raised eyebrows.  As much as I said to people ‘it’s safer than Paris/Brussels/London’, at the back of my mind I did wonder but thankfully…

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May fun and frolics

May fun and frolics

May marked the arrival of summer, we skipped spring it would seem and went straight into warmer weather.  Not of course for the first May bank holiday – for that we still had frosty mornings and the need for multiple layers of merino if braving the outside!  For the second one, for the…

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A taste of Israel

A taste of Israel

Israel should be at the top of any foodie’s travel plans – the food is incredible, I am licking my lips remembering!  Flavoursome, fresh, varied and interesting, everything was delicious and actually we ate so much it could have been an official food tour!  Here’s to friends with good taste! As a dairy-free diner,…

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I’m a bookworm…

I’m a bookworm…

I love reading and once I’m into a book I find it hard to put it down and hate it when a really good book finishes.  Often when I am busy with work I forget just how relaxing it is to spend half an hour before bedtime reading, or a little bit of…

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Time for a drink?

Time for a drink?

Being totally honest, in my thirties my favourite place for a drink would be at home or in my own back garden, or perhaps on a picnic in the New Forest, or on a yacht. The novelty of finding a cava that is named ‘Anna’ is yet to wear off – and I…

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11 favourite dinners out

11 favourite dinners out

We eat out when we can – at weekends, on holiday, with work – and have enjoyed some splendid meals, whether they be gourmet, gastro or just good quality fast food.  So rather than give you a summary of my favourite place for a burger (Chalk Valley or Brewhouse & Kitchen in Southampton) or…

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Travel blogger problems

Travel blogger problems

As someone paid to solve problems, I raised a wry smile writing this post – my blogger problems have been the same for the years I’ve had my little corner of the t’interweb and I just haven’t done a thing about them, and have no plans to either!  I guess that is the fun…

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April fun and frolics

April fun and frolics

April is the month that ‘petrichor’ arrives – the alluring smell of warm pavements and rain showers… Not this year, there weren’t really any warm pavements, and we had snow in London just days from the start of May!  April 3rd was our 6th wedding anniversary – time is flying!  I went away with…

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Gormley at Winchester Cathedral

Gormley at Winchester Cathedral

Over Easter we took in a bit of culture.  Years back the Gormley human sculptures were lurking on rooftops across London and I loved them (after the initial panic when they first arrived that there were ‘jumpers’ all over London), in fact there is still one right outside our office!  When I heard…

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Mottisfont National Trust

Mottisfont National Trust

As they say, every day is a learning day and that was certainly the case at Mottisfont on Good Friday.  The first learning was that this was ‘the’ place to be on Good Friday, who knew!… It was queueing for entry at 10am opening time, this being the first warm and sunny day…

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Missing my wedding anniversary…

Missing my wedding anniversary…

Last year our wedding anniversary timed nicely with a Flashback Friday and so I shared happy wedding memories and wedding day yacht travel. This year – on our 6th anniversary – I got out of bed at 6am for a car service to Heathrow to spend 10 hours on a plane to Miami…

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I scent-s a vacation!

I scent-s a vacation!

For me there are a few smells or scents that I associate with vacation.  I love being able to take a deep breath and know that I’m on holiday. Especially if the sun is on my face and I’m warm and there’s an epic view… That warm humid blast of air as you…

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March fun and frolics

March fun and frolics

Well March will definitely go down as one of the toughest but most rewarding months.  Suffice to say, champagne was drunk on a number of occasions and it was richly deserved.  Now we are at the end of the month it is trying to warm up and I can almost sniff spring in the…

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I’d like an Easter staycation please

I’d like an Easter staycation please

Easter is sneaking up out of nowhere and we have NO plans!  This is incredible – not only does that never happen but it is oh so very exciting to have no plans.  March has been crazy busy (more soon) and after Easter I have a big deadline (may impact on one day…

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Sailing my greatest adventure

Sailing my greatest adventure

Adventure lasts a lifetime? I certainly hope so. My greatest adventure has many more years to go and many new places to visit and friends to make – it’s sailing! Life is full of many little fantastic adventures, but there is a theme in mine – the best are always near to the sea!…

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February fun and frolics

February fun and frolics

February started well – after a dry January, the 1st of February was always going to have just a little sparkle to it – a quiet night in on my own with a glass of pink champagne, homemade lemon cheesecake (without cheese) and my new favourite Netflix box set – Suits!  Back to…

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In search of sunshine – Tenerife

In search of sunshine – Tenerife

Normally in January we book something long haul and outrageous but this year we didn’t quite get around to it!  In early Feb we worked out we could squeeze in 3 days leave and so get away for 5 days adding the weekend.  We needed sun, a short flight and safety… The Canary Islands popped…

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Wander-full Wales Weekend

Wander-full Wales Weekend

Wales in winter?  Yes.  The UK is great all year round – and our weekend in Wales in February lays proof to that.  Chilly, yes, and a risk of rain and wind, but look at the picture above.  As one of my friends that lives near here said when she saw the photo,…

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Dream destination Israel #sendmeaway

Dream destination Israel #sendmeaway

I’ve been dreaming about holidays for a while this winter, I re-wrote my wish list and had great fun collaboration with some lovely ladies as to where we wish we were right now…   But this years dream destination for us has to be Israel – this week we booked our flights and…

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Learning from travel: lessons in life

Learning from travel: lessons in life

Travel as a teacher?  When I was 20 I hadn’t been on a plane and last year I took near on 60 flights… Whilst I’m not as well-travelled as many, I’ve definitely been taught a few important things on my travels…. It isn’t necessary to go abroad to explore and relax – some…

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Je t’adore – l’hotel parfait

Je t’adore – l’hotel parfait

No sooner has Christmas disappeared from the shops than Easter appears, but look carefully and spot the hearts and suchlike for Valentines day!  We are low-key about it, as the other 364 days (365 this year) are the ones that matter.  However, as part of the love-ly travel link up with Emma, Angie, Jessi and guest host Kaelene this…

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