Top 5Country Pubs Pubs are a great part of Australian culture, egalitarian spaces where tradies and CEOs drink side-by-side and everyone feels at home. In the old days there was a public bar for the blokes and a ladies’ lounge for the gals, with no cross-pollination. Today’s public bars welcome anyone who enjoys gaming and […]
Top 5 Places to Stay in the British Isles For a couple of relatively small islands, Great Britain and Ireland offer an awful lot to discover. They’re the perfect size for a driving holiday, whether it’s a long weekend in just one area or a few weeks taking in as much as possible. The scenery […]
For me, one of the most exciting things about travel is stepping outside my comfort zone and exploring ‘the other’. On holidays we spend our days hearing (and sometimes speaking) different languages, eating different foods, and observing different cultural practices – but then usually retreat to a somewhat standard hotel room and bed to sleep. […]
Top 5 Scottish Breakfasts My favourite meal in Scotland is undoubtedly breakfast. Although I’ve had some fine lunches and dinners in my father’s homeland, what always stands out for me is the quality (and often quantity) of Scottish breakfasts. Perhaps because of the cold climate, they are inevitably hearty affairs of smoked fish, porridge and […]
Top 5 Group Getaways I recently spent a wonderful weekend with friends in the Flinders Ranges at a self-contained lodge on a working sheep station. We did some sightseeing, cooked, drank some great wines, talked, relaxed, listened to music and enjoyed each other’s company. While holidays in hotels and resorts have their place, it made […]
Part of the joy of travelling is the chance to stay somewhere different – from beautiful provincial villas through funky boutique hotels to charming B&Bs. Then there are the Grand Hotels – properties with such a sense of history, and service so polished, that they are destinations in themselves. I love the grandeur, the marble, […]
Top 5 French Hotels I don’t know about you, but I travel for diversity, to see ‘the other’. I live in a beautiful city – multicultural, on a magnificent harbour, full of great art, culture and architecture, with some of the world’s best eats. So why travel at all? Because I like to wake up, […]
Switzerland is to the hotel industry what France is to restaurants, so it’s not surprising that some of my favourite hotels are in Switzerland. Rustic or palatial, beds are comfortable, service polished and breakfasts hearty – usually a generous buffet of cold cuts, such as excellent raw ham (Rohschinken) and air-dried beef (Bündnerfleisch); a selection […]
You’ve probably guessed by now that I love Italy – its food, wine, people, scenery and history. I also love its beautiful, distinctive hotels that have a real sense of place within the rich tapestry of Italy’s diverse landscape. Here are five of my favourite Italian hotels. Hotel Londra Palace, Venicewww.londrapalace.comA couple of minutes stroll […]
