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As the only city in the world located on the border with three countries - Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary - Bratislava, the Slovak capital, is worth at least a weekend trip away. There are also some excellent things to see and do in ‘Little Big’ city. And, with Vienna around 40km away, it’s a perfect place for a getaway.
The pace of everyday life is such that a holiday without any pressures in idyllic, uncrowded countryside does not always sustain its promise. Luxury and total relaxation have to be essential ingredients whilst relative isolation and lack of passing interest can soon lose its appeal. However, adding the ingredients of the home of some of the world’s best wine – Burgundy and the most relaxing, eco-friendly and luxurious means of travel – Hotel/Barge through unspoilt countryside is an unbeatable combination.
It wouldn’t be at all difficult to think of 360 reasons why staying at 3Sixty Hotel in Nafplio would be one of the best ideas you’ve had all year. A list as glorious as a never-ending gelato menu – and equally as scrumptious. But life is enough of a list as it is (albeit, for me at least, a ‘to do’ one), so instead let’s take a leap into the Hellenic microcosm of Nafplio, home to the Neoklasiki Hotel Group, and, quite frankly, home to the friendliest Greeks I’ve ever met.
I popped over to Turin for the launch of the new Fiat 500 Star and Rockstar. Turin is a mere two hours away in the very north of Italy, just shy of the border with France. Typical of the area, Turin boasts a mixture of post modern industrial buildings and classical Latin Renaissance, Baroque and Empire architecture. It feels like you’re travelling through time as you jump centuries from one building to the next.
It could be described as “Czech Mate” for Euroboozer, a leading UK importer of fine speciality craft brewed beers, which has teamed up with CzechTrade’s London branch to showcase the best of the Czech Republic's beer wares in 2019 next month.
Based in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, Euroboozer is organising a number of events around the annual 'Czech Beer Day' - being held this year on 19 June - at the Czech Embassy in London’s Notting Hill - that illustrates the breadth and diversity of beer production across the central eastern European country.
Bordeaux, oui.
Cognac, oui.
But Angoulême… Still yes?
Unless you’re an avid cartoon fan (I’ll explain more about this later), Angoulême may be somewhat of an enigma. A sign-post flashing past, the “Is it worth us stopping by?” question fleetingly hopscotching through your thoughts.
Well, to save such indecision, I’ll answer your question for you. Yes, indeed it is.
I loved Verona and Lake Garda as the perfect week away.
Especially before Easter, as the season starts and when the traffic is reasonable and it’s all round not too taxing, when things are just opening up and the staff have more time and there’s a catching undercurrent of excitement for the season ahead when it’s quiet around the lake and when the boats are a rarity upon it. Take a copy of by far the most interesting and informed book on the area ‘111 Places in Verona and Lake Garda That You Must Not Miss’ by Petra Sophia Zimmermann.
An Eclectic Collection of Latin American Craft: From Designer Bowls To Tequila
I was warmly greeted by Brendan as I ambled out of Dublin airport security. It’s been a while since I was last in Dublin and his easy charm and humour made me regret that as he escorted me over to the Jameson's Bow Street Distillery, for a couple of days whiskey blending and tasting to launch the new Bow Street 18 YO Batch 2. In half an hour we had covered our similar family histories, Brexit and exchanged a jokey tale or two. It was good to be back.
What a blessed, fertile, cultured and cultivated island Madeira is. This ‘island of eternal spring’ was a ‘paradise of naturalists’ with its exoticism attracting Thomas Cook and Joseph Banks. I’ts immensely fertile, everything seem to grow here, having been colonised by Henry the Navigator who introduced the sugar cane from Sicily and the Malvesia (Malmsey) vine, mentioned by Shakespeare’s Falstaff, from Crete. And it’s a big enough island to house different dialects with some pronouncing the second syllable of Madeira with an ‘E’ and others with an ‘I’.
