Travel and the Call of the Familiar

I’m a part-time adventurer when I travel in the sense that I like to go back to familiar, favourite places again and again rather than new all the time. My current ‘again and again’ place is probably Turin, where I went in March for the third time in as many years and can’t wait to […]

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9 City Break Ideas: Eat, Drink, Do

Since starting to contribute some of my travel articles to the GPSmyCity app a couple of years ago, I’ve been a bit more organised about how I write up city breaks. It’s been a really positive step in helping me develop my writing and also great to know that some of it is published and […]

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Yellow Split Pea & Bacon Soup

I’m still bathing in some of the glow of having spent a weekend in beautiful Amsterdam recently and that was my inspiration for this soup I made for lunch today. It’s become a ritual that when I arrive in the city, usually late morning, I check into my hotel, leave my bag, and head straight to […]

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Amsterdam at Night & Favourite Haunts

Here I am in Amsterdam for the 5th year running early in the year. Why do I keep coming back? Because I love it! And short of travelling far and spending lots of money, there aren’t many options in January. Better to come to somewhere that’s great with lots of things to do and not […]

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GPSmyCity Seasonal Giveaway

I’ve got together with GPSmyCity again to offer a seasonal giveaway, which means you can upgrade two of my latest travel articles for free over the coming week (15-22 May). These are posts on my visits to Amsterdam and Turin this year, so if you’re planning to go to either of these wonderful cities soon, then why not […]

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Travel Gourmet’s Top 5 City Breaks

    I’ve been writing this food and travel blog for nearly six years so it’s not surprising that I often get asked where I most like to travel to, and which are my favourite restaurants (usually referring to hometown London). Most of my travelling is city breaks: 3 or 4 nights in the heart of […]

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Amsterdam 2016: The Traveller in Amsterdam

I had a lovely time in Amsterdam and despite it being quite a short 3-night trip, I feel refreshed from having spent a good and relaxing time in a city I love. The Dutch are generally very laid-back, friendly people and it’s easy to slip into a relaxed pace. If you haven’t been, then I’d […]

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Amsterdam 2016: Last Day

The sun was back for my final day in Amsterdam and as my flight home wasn’t until early evening, I had most of the day to enjoy all my favourite things in the city. There was only one direction to head and that was to the Jordaan. After breakfast, I checked out of the hotel […]

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Amsterdam 2016: Last Evening

The last evening in a favourite place on holiday should be filled with favourite things. We all like a good ending so for me, a last evening isn’t a time to try out new places but to go back to the best I know. There was no contest. I’d known exactly where I’d go on […]

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Amsterdam 2016: And Then The Rain Came

After the glorious sunny weather yesterday, I woke to grey skies and drizzle. It had been forecast and fortunately the rain was light but I still needed an umbrella as I set off from the hotel this morning. It seemed a good day for visiting a museum or two. Staying in the Museum Quarter suddenly […]

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