For millennia Istanbul has been recognised and admired as one of the most beautiful and exciting cities in the world. This unique metropolis was once the capital for three world-spanning empires: Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. The hundreds of emperors and sultans that reigned over the city for more than 16 centuries have all left a legacy of valour and beautiful relics.
Istanbul has a broad historical and cultural canvas with Roman architecture and Islamic mosques
If you are in the mood for a little country music along with great food, fabulous hotels and truly friendly people, there is no better place for a little getaway than Nashville, Tennessee.
The expansive Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center was our first stop in Nashville and it is the perfect place to stay, right by the Grand ole Opry, close to downtown and all the music venues. We have stayed in hotels all …
It’s been named one of the “Top Resorts in the World” and “Best Beach Resort in the Caribbean” by Conde Nast and Travel & Leisure respectively, and it’s earned a Four Diamond ratting from AAA.
What exactly does it take to earn that honor? A stay at Nisbet Plantation Beach Club proves that it’s worth its weight in awards, but not necessarily in the way you might expect.
The Island
Nevis is located in …
Africa isn’t normally associated with tropical islands where you can wallow in luxury. It’s a continent painted with the brush of poverty, but beneath that false impression lie some wonderful countries waiting to be explored – and you don’t even have to be adventurous or a fan of roughing it to do so.
For an exotic holiday where the taste of Africa is wrapped in style, take a magnifying glass to your map and find …
I took a bite of the delicious, hot quiche I was enjoying in our fabulous Carson Ridge Luxury Cabin in Carson, Oregon and just about swooned with pleasure. Not only was the breakfast delicious in every conceivable way, but it was even packed in a large basket and hand-delivered with an ice cold carafe of orange juice right to our door. I was enjoying breakfast in my pajamas in one of the most luxurious cabins …
With the first snow fall of winter approaching, who can resist that fresh blanket of snow for a frosty adventure? But far beyond traditional snowman building, skiing or snowboarding is the ultimate snow adventure – staying in a snow palace crafted from slabs of ice, packed with igloo guest rooms and illuminated ice sculptures. Most of the best snow hotels are located in Europe and offer a tranquil arctic experience that you will never …
Just across the North Wales border in Whitchurch is Willington Lodge – a tranquil boutique B&B that’s been painstakingly restored by its owners, Pamela and Richard Morris, who’ve managed to retain much of its original Georgian features. Bordering Snowdonia National Park, the location is idyllic, especially for weddings, which they specialize in.
The Lodge, which is more like a country mansion, is set back off the road in a landscape garden. The guests sitting- and …
If the name Soweto is familiar, it is probably for all the wrong reasons, as it’s where the struggle against Apartheid played out, turning the township into a virtual war-zone in the 1970’s and 80’s. Now the city of 4.5 million people, the most populous black urban residential area in South Africa, are keen for tourists to stay and experience the real Soweto rather than a mere tour bus stop-over. Locals are opening their homes …
The sweet, raw-onion and acrid wood-smoke smell of Africa rushed to greet me as I stepped off my plane in Livingstone. I was here to experience the famous Victoria Falls which was first discovered by explorer David Livingstone, a Scottish medical missionary, in 1855.
The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya, which in Lozi means ‘the Smoke that Thunders’, have captivated the imagination of mankind for thousands of years and is one of the world’s seven …
Wanting to explore Flanders’ WW1 poppy fields and old battlegrounds? I tapped in the GPS coordinates for Dover – just a stone throw from London only 82 miles away. In Dover I took a ferry which deposited me across the English Channel in France’s Calais 90 minutes later. I planned to explore the territories where The Great War had been fought and to see the appalling conditions in which the soldiers lived and the immaculate …
Cape Town is South Africa’s holiday city. Few urban centers could match its picturesque setting along the mountainous Cape Peninsula spine, which slips into the Atlantic Ocean. The most striking of its sights is Table Mountain, rearing up from the centre of the city and often draped in white clouds. Standing on the tabletop, beyond the mountainous Twelve Apostles, the drop to the ocean is sheer with Africa’s priciest real estate tacked to the slopes. …
When the temperatures start dropping this fall or winter, it’s the perfect time to start planning that trip to Phoenix, Arizona. This incredibly gorgeous and scenic location has the perfect weather in the cooler months of the year. While the desert weather is well into the 100’s in the summer, the cool, dry desert weather is absolutely perfect in the fall and winter. Outside is warm enough to swim and relax by the many pools …
Heading northwest, towards the Mozambique border, we left Wonderboom Airport (near Pretoria) via a chartered Cessna. Ninety minutes later we arrived at Cheetah Plains, a privately owned game reserve located within the 65,000 hectare Sabi Sands reserve, which itself shares a 50km border the Kruger National Park. Sabi Sands is world renowned for Super Seven* viewing, with Cheetah Plains the hot spot for Big Cats. There are no dividing fences, which sees game moving freely …
Driving from Parma, navigating a winding mountain road to Tuscany, I came across Castello di Compiano, a medieval castle embraced by fortified walls and built atop a rocky outcrop of a mountain village. The castle’s jaw-dropping views across the Taro River and the Apennines mountains make it one of the most spectacular locations in northern Italy.
Its origins are uncertain but archaeologists claim its existence dates back to the first century. In its life Castello …
