Our Travels

We visited the history museum while we were on holiday on the island. From a selfish point of view, I wanted to see what was there relating to my time living on the island, but I was also fascinated to find out more about the country and it’s development. Hong Kong really only came onto the world map in 1841, when, after the first opium war, the island was granted in perpetuity to the United Kingdom, and the new territories…

It’s hardly been worth storing the suitcases away as we are heading to Crete this week for our travel conference. Our first trip to Crete was on our spring conference 2 years ago, this time we’re looking forward to meeting up with colleagues, plus we’ve added a couple of days on to explore the island for ourselves. On our last visit we flew into Heraklion and stayed at Capsis Crystal Energy by the village of Agia Pelagia. This time we…

We were impressed by the Domes Noruz Chania beachfront property in the village of Agioi Apostoloi, this area is very popular with locals at the weekend and the natural park is fiercely protected against development. This luxury 5* hotel has 83 suites with 2 swimming pools, 1 restaurant and 2 bars. Chaniá is only 2.5km away for a city vibe and the beautiful Venetian harbour in the old town. The holiday resorts of Agia Marina and Porto Plananias are along…

After picking up our hire car from Chaniá, we decided to head for Omalos to see if we could reach the snow capped mountains. We were on the look out for a taverna stop on the way, and was intrigued by the swan signage for Cafe ?????? on the lake. We were delighted to find this lovely taverna right on the edge of the water, with a choice of tables set in a shaded garden terrace. The scent from the…

We didn’t just visit hotels during our travel conference in Crete, we have access to some stunning luxury villas on the island. Villa Ianira is a beautiful contemporary Cretan holiday villa situated within a few minutes drive to the village of Kolymvari and 20 minutes drive from the region’s capital of Chaniá. This exclusive villa is only 3 years old, it has been built in a vintage country style with state of the art infrastructure. Two of the four bedrooms…

We were all wowed by the Anemos Luxury Grand Resort on arrival in Georgioupolis, this 5 star suites and spa hotel is just one year old. Our first stop was the impressive sun terrace and two swimming pools by reception. Next we were shown a Deluxe Family Room with a private pool which was really spacious (from 65m2) and had been thoughtfully designed to include lots of wardrobe space, air conditioning, tea & coffee making facilities and a television in…

For the best panoramic view over Barcelona head for the Turó de la Rovira, a viewpoint enjoyed by locals at the weekend, but not on the tourist map. This location is approximately 15 minutes by taxi from the centre of Barcelona, we had a hire car so it was relatively easy to access, although there is limited free parking, we were fortunate to take the last space on arrival. You can also catch these buses, 24, 92, 119 & V17.…

We are really looking forward to watching Joanna Lumley’s India which starts tonight at 21:00 on ITV. Mike’s mum was born in India and as yet neither of us have been to this country, which is why it’s top of our destination list for 2018. Actually Mike has just clarified that he has been to India, but only for refuelling at Bombay and New Delhi airports during long haul flights from Hong Kong to the UK. In this three part…