If first impressions count for anything, my friend and I were wondering what we had let ourselves in for when the driver who picked us up at airport zigzagged through…

Guizhou is in southwest China, a flight of just under 2 hours from Hong Kong. In December 2015 when my partner and I were in Hong Kong we joined a local…

 I do not normally visit the same place twice. However Vienna is one of the few cities where I happily revisit just to see those beautiful palaces! My first visit…

Royal Olympic Hotel A memorable trip started with the hotel. I have a very good reason to be pleased to have chosen Royal Olympic for the recent 4-day break for…

When my partner and I accompanied my sister and her husband to Vienna, we decided to take in another city for a couple of nights. It was a toss-up between Český…

Lianzhou is a county in northern Guangdong province in China. I never heard of the place until I joined a tour to Huangchuan River Three Gorges with my sister, her…

I love sunshine and warm weather when on holiday but I happily made an exception for Iceland in late February 2016 hoping to see the Northern Lights. In the event the…

Alberobello, Puglia is home to “trulli,” whitewashed stone huts with distinctive conical roofs. Alberobello is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the trulli but many of them are now gift shops When…

Matera in Basilicata was the scullery maid that becomes a duchess, the Cinderella that became the belle of the ball! Chosen as The European Capital of Culture for 2019 and a UNESCO…

Lecce is known as “Florence of the south”. It’s easy to see why!   I first visited Lecce in 1988 when my Italian friend and I took the overnight train…