All posts filed under: Practicalities

[Hotel Review]: Palazzo Versace, Dubai

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[Disclaimer]: If you’re into minimalist and understated design, this hotel is not for you. Styled on a 16th century Italian palace, this hotel is all about the gold antique furnishings, high ornate ceilings, Italian art and fashion, with splashes of bright colour and intricate patterns and, with every single piece of furniture and fabric in the hotel designed and made by Versace herself, is an absolute symbol of the extravagant Versace lifestyle. Dotted around the hotel are original sketches and prints of Versace’s designs and collections, which is a nice touch. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not one for ornate and OTT, I’m much more of a fan of a modern hotel, so although I was looking forward to living a plush lifestyle here for a few days, I was unsure what my opinion would be. The lobby can only be described as extravagant. There were huge glass tables filled with marble vases and ornaments, paisley settees dotted with patterned cushions and centered around rows of bright flowers and some form of chandelier lighting …

Travel Planning For The Year

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In the first week of January, we all have a chance for a fresh start. It’s a new chapter, a blank page, a fresh slate. It’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on the previous year, what you gained or lost, what you achieved or what you maybe pushed to the back of your priorities, intentionally or not. And of course to focus on the upcoming year ahead and what your goals or aspirations are, what you want to review or change in your life and much more. When it comes to travel, it can be all too easy to let the weeks and months go by without planning your much-needed holidays until it gets to the point where you’re desperate to leave the country or go on an adventure and you end up booking something last minute – as an easier or cheaper alternative to something on your real bucketlist. All it takes is a little planning! As it’s the first weekend of January, why not make the most of this fresh start to grab …

Christmas Gift WanderLIST For Travel Addicts

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If, like me, you have globetrotters for friends, send them on the road with the perfect present this Christmas season…Here are my top 5 ideas: 1. Lonely Planet Travel Book // £10-20 These are the best travel books around in my opinion – from handy and informative travel guides to inspirational coffee table books, I don’t think you can ever have enough! Lonely Planet’s The World (as featured in above image) – I LOVE my copy of this and they have just released an even more beautiful hard-back copy in purple which I love even more (is it too much to have both versions?!) Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travelist – this also forms part of my ever-growing travel book collection and I am obsessed with it! Really great for general travel inspiration and a great looking coffee table addition for any keen adventurer. Lonely Planet’s Best In Travel 2018 – I don’t have this one (yet) but have been eying it up for a while and am really keen to get my hands on it to …

[Hotel Review]: Banyan Tree Seychelles

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So after a really disappointing experience at our first hotel, it wouldn’t be exaggerating to say we rushed back from breakfast first thing to pack up our bags and check out of our rooms in the keen desperation to get to our next stop – what we had been savouring for our last stop and what we were (even more so than before) hoping would be a memorable end to our Seychellois experience (read all about my time on the island here)… And it didn’t disappoint. The Banyan Tree Seychelles is a true oasis of calm and serenity. No sooner had we drawn up to the grand entrance of the property than we were swept into the cool air -con of the spacious high-ceiling lobby, bags taken care of, and offered refreshing fruity drinks and cold face towels – just what we needed! After being told we’d kindly been upgraded to an Ocean View Pool Villa (!) and whilst the check-in process was taken care of by the competent and friendly staff, we were free …

[Screen Review]: The Ganges With Sue Perkins

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With winter now well and truly in full swing in England and with India and the sun on my mind, I delved into my tea cupboard to make some ‘authentic’ Chai (read all about that here) and finally settled down to catch up with the rest of the country to watch BBC’s documentary following the journey of Sue Perkins travelling down the Ganges from its source in the mountains to where the mouth of the river meets the sea. I had seen so many varying reviews and comments on Twitter about the series that I was keen to see it for myself. India has had a piece of my heart since I travelled there last year and remains in my top favourite countries – it was fascinating, engaging, eye-opening and full of the warmest and friendliest of people, breathtaking architecture and a stunning plethora of colours, smells and noise. On my trip, I travelled around beautiful Rajasthan for just under three weeks and this in itself is a vast area to cover. I don’t think …

The Essential Packing List

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So you might have read my post Plane and Simple: Packing Made Easy with my top packing tips and some essential travel items, useful for both long haul and shorter trips. Sometimes packing and the pre-travel can be one of the funnest parts of travelling! However, this week as I find myself once again hauling my barely dusty case out of the wardrobe to embark on the packing process precisely two days before I fly to the Seychelles (hard life) and wondering as per usual why I hadn’t been more organised and wishing I’d started putting together some things a bit earlier, I’m finding that this is not the case. Granted a beach holiday like this one is not the hardest trip to pack for, especially compared to my last few trips to India and Cuba which were backpacking trips so required a lot of planning for different scenarios, but it still takes a lot of time. Anyway, I thought I would potentially save you the same stress and share my full packing list with …

[Food Review]: Top Markets In Australia & What To Eat

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1. Fremantle Markets South Terrace & Henderson St, Fremantle WA 6160, Australia The market in Fremantle is up there as one of the most infamous in the country – and when you go, there’s no mistaking why. Located in a beautiful, huge, old building from 1897, its setting is just as good as its content! From authentic boomerangs and aboriginal masks to handmade jewellery and clothing, it houses everything in the Historic Hall – and you can easily pass a whole afternoon sampling the goods. Try: Its infamous Croc-Dogs or Kanga-Bangers. No prizes for guessing what they involve… 2. Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne 513 Elizabeth St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia As one of the oldest and most iconic Australian markets, I can safely say that in almost 9 months of living in Melbourne and countless daytime shopping trips, cultural shows and exhibits promoting food and music from around the world, and visits to the buzzing evening social scene of the infamous Wednesday Night Market, it’s extremely hard to ever get bored of Queen Vic market, …

[Accommodation Review]: Casas Particulares In Cuba

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Before I travelled to Cuba, the notion of Casas Particulares to me was just a general term for a homestay, a nice and more local alternative to the usual hotels/hostels that the majority of tourists, travellers and holiday makers alike use as a form of accommodation. Little did I realise just how significant a concept the Casas Particulares in Cuba has become. These government-run ‘homestays’ have all but taken over in Cuba as not just the most economical, but most popular and rewarding way of travelling for the majority of tourists visiting the island. It has especially taken off in the last few years since 2011 when bureaucratic regulations relaxed, allowing some Casas to turn into a kind of private business employing staff and even advertising online where possible. It’s definitely a hugely positive step in the ever evolving economy of the country. It’s not an exaggeration to say that you see the familiar Casa Particular logo hanging off almost every other house on every street, even in the smallest of rural villages. I think …

[Book/Film Review]: Into The Wild

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“The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life, you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty” – Extract from Into The Wild, Jon Krakauer.

[Screen Review]: The Great Barrier Reef With David Attenborough

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I have always enjoyed David Attenborough’s nature and wildlife series…who doesn’t love a bit of The Hunt, Planet Earth, Life On Earth – his distinctive calming voice teaching you about our beautiful planet?! So when I found out about his Great Barrier Reef series, especially having just returned from travelling up the coast of Queensland where I snorkelled the reef, I couldn’t wait to watch it.