An unabashed tourist and her family explore the world one holiday at a time.
One of my new year’s resolutions for 2017 is to read all of Shakespeare’s plays, something I’ve been meaning to do for ages. Although I’ve read quite a few of them over the years, mostly for university assignments, I think it’s about time I should fill in the blanks of the plays I haven’t read Continue Reading
Many years ago, on our first visit to Scotland, Gareth and I, along with my parents, visited Hadrian’s Wall. For those of you who don’t know, this ancient structure was built in 122 AD by the Romans to protect the northern frontier of their Britannia province from the fierce barbarians of Scotland. It stretches 116 km and I’ve heard Continue Reading
I remember the day we went to visit Stonehenge. Gareth and I were still living in Penarth in Wales at the time. We jumped onto the train one morning and arrived before the shops had opened in Salisbury. With hot take-away coffee and tea in hand, we caught the shuttle bus to that most famous Continue Reading
When two people are travelling together, there are bound to be some things that the one didn’t enjoy quite as much as the other one. I think it’s a good idea to reflect on the trip afterwards, to learn from possible mistakes and to better plan for the next one. So… the verdict is out Continue Reading
Before our trip to the Finnish arctic circle, Inverness was the most northerly point Gareth and I had ever been to. Since we were in the region again and had fond memories of our first visit, we decided to take a day trip from our resort in the Cairngorms National Park to this iconic highland city. Unfortunately, Continue Reading
As South Africans, we can sometimes be excused for thinking we have a monopoly on animals and game watching. After all, the Kruger National Park is world-famous and synonymous with the Big Five. In our preoccupation with lions, rhinos, elephants and other interesting denizens of the bushveld, we tend to forget that the world has Continue Reading
Clack-clack-clack! As the funicular climbs steadily up the mountainside, I count the number of tall mountains I have visited during my travels: Mont Blanc (4,810m) in France was my favourite and the highest I’ve ever been, but there have also been the Eiger (3,970m) and the Männlichen (2,343m) in Switzerland, Sass Songher (2,625m) in Italy Continue Reading
As 2013 draws to a close, I’m reminded of how we started this year. Gareth and I were in Scotland at the time and, like everyone else in the region, we had made our way to the Cairngorms Hotel in Aviemore for what is locally known as Hogmanay. Our breath steamed in the frigid air, Continue Reading
Clouds rolling over a moody, windswept countryside. Green and yellow grass waving in the wind, leading to red and black heather covering undulating hills topped by snow. Woolly sheep or inquisitive shaggy-coated cows watching us from behind ancient stone walls. And above all, a sky that quickened from clear blue, to ominously grey, to orange Continue Reading
The last week of our holiday was spent at the MacDonald Lochanhully Woodland Club situated inside the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland. We chose this resort because it was the most northern place in the UK where we could find accommodation and we thought we may have another chance at glimpsing the aurora. The week Continue Reading