Europe
Italy's 'scattered hotels': Lodging like a local
In a remote, mountainous region of northern Italy, residents have taken a pragmatic approach to tourist accommodation. Frank Partridge books a room in a 'scattered hotel'
Inside Europe
Tell the kids to take a hike – maybe in the French Pyrenees?
Sunday, 20 April 2008
I've suggested to the kids that we take a walking holiday this summer. They have yet to be convinced – "Why can't we just drive?" – but I'm working on it.
A cruise with no frills, but lots of thrills
Saturday, 19 April 2008
Just before noon local time two days ago, a sleek navy-and-white ship, with a discreet but distinctive orange stripe along its side, glided towards the Albanian port of Saranda: easyCruiseOne had arrived, bringing the era of low-cost cruising to this former Stalinist enclave.
Island getaway: where to find peace and quiet in the Med
Sunday, 13 April 2008
There are more than 200 islands in the Mediterranean which offer accommodation to holidaymakers, but to me the remarkable fact is that 90 per cent of all visitors stay on just 10 per cent of the islands. In other words, there are simply masses of islands that you can have almost to yourself.
Tra la! Oslo's opera goes upscale at last
Sunday, 13 April 2008
'Move over, Sydney!" cries Bjorn Simensen and we raise a glass. Bjorn is director of Norske Opera and he has reason to be in a bullish mood. He's just learned that as planes make their approach into Oslo, his shiny new waterfront opera house is clearly visible from the air.
Plate With A View: La Cantina, Benaoján station, Andalucía
Saturday, 12 April 2008
You'd hardly expect a functioning railway station to provide either a lunch or a view to remember, but you'll get both at la Estació Benaojá on the line between Ronda and Algeciras in deepest Andalucía. La Cantina is the no-nonsense name of the tapas bar which plies its trade on the "up" platform and whose tables, with an unexpected touch of the exotic, are arranged beneath a row of sweet-smelling orange trees. Benaojá*itself, an attractive "white village" clings to the nearby hillside, while one of the region's most appealing small hotels, Molino del Santo, is just a five-minute stroll from the station.
Full circle around Mont Blanc
Saturday, 12 April 2008
It was only as we arrived, giggling, into Switzerland after an advanced lesson in family bonding on the mountain crossing from Italy, that I realised we had finally cracked it. The Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB), a 200km trek through three countries over nine days, really was the perfect holiday for my teenage daughter and me. The only ups and downs we faced were a total height gain and loss of around 10,000m – alarmingly, further than scaling Everest.
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