Stories behind the stories. By Travel Writer, Amy McPherson
I don’t deny I have issues. I have compulsive urge to click [BOOK] on travel websites, the idea of spending any free days at home generates a nervous twitch in the eye. Then there’s the issue of cats. My own, and other cats. Any cat that comes my way gets a coo’ing and I mean …
The night markets are the essence of Taiwanese culture. The markets are on everyday and is where you’ll get a feel of the diversity of food and games of this fascinating country. However, what exactly do you do at a night market? Eat everything from things on a stick to sticky sweets Well, most obviously …
It was with much persuasion and parental bullying (just kidding mum and dad!) that we flew the 17 hours to Taipei to celebrate Lunar New Year (or, more commonly known as Chinese New Year). I was born in Taipei, but left to grow up in Australia at the age of ten. As far as I …
Tourists generally come to London and spend a few days battling crowds of their own kind in and around the major attractions: Westminster Abbey, the Big Ben, London Eye, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, the entire strip down Regent Street from Piccadilly Circus to Oxford Circus, maybe venture to St Paul’s, maybe nose around Soho …
I have always been a big advocate for public transport, whether at home, or on the road. Public transport to me, is a way to travel and to experience a place like those who live there. We are always complaining about being treated like tourists wherever we go, yet, many still book themselves onto tour …
Our annual festive season trip had gone way too fast! The trip was packed with relaxing soaks in the baths of Budapest, exploring the historic sights of Bratislava, going underground in Brno and discovering the quieter sides to Prague. These are some of the well trodden routes for the average tourist, however it surprises us …
Ah, the beautiful Prague… I know my last post about ways to escape the crowds in Prague may have put you off from visiting… Yes, it is absolutely chaotic and yes, we were there in winter. So, in summer during the main tourist season, it must be worse! However, there is a reason. Prague really …
I was in Prague 13 years ago, and I swear I could see the cobble stones that paved the way on Charles Bridge then. I could see where I was going. I didn’t have to push through thrones of bodies just to see the Astronomical Clock. I could walk normally, in my own strides, not …
Knowing very well that Prague was going to be in absolute tourist chaos, en-route from Bratislava to Prague, we decided to stop over at Czech Republic’s second largest city Brno to experience a quieter Czech life. We arrived by train, and just as we alighted in Bratislava, we were the very few non-locals getting off …
This is what we did on Christmas day. We got up, phoned our parents and then got on a bus heading to Bratislava. The capital of Slovakia has been on our minds ever since we’ve been to Slovenia. I know, Slovenia, Slovakia – in fact it’s a bit of a joke among people of both …
Resolutions are a thing of the past. How many times have we set resolutions only to completely forget about them by February? So I’ve decided to give up on resolutions and to set new year goals instead, and for 2017, I am going to lift that bar just a little bit higher. My personal KPI …
Call me weird, but I am really embracing the cold, and loving winter travel. It has been three years and the novelty hasn’t worn off, ever since that first trip to Moscow in winter I have been hooked! Winter travel has its merits, anywhere There are things you can do that you can’t really enjoy …
Of all Budapest’s attractions, there is one thing you should never miss when visiting this fascinating city: The city’s many thermal baths. In this part of the world, natural spring waters are abundant, and these mineral waters are believed to have medicinal powers by pretty much anyone who found them. Similar to my Turkish bathing …
It’s not that it was unplanned, but I just didn’t think of the fact that I’ll be able to experience the Christmas markets again this year after Leipzig and Dresden. However, as we began to plan our annual Christmas and New Year getaway, I realised that we will in fact, be visiting Budapest during market …
I have previously told you about Surbiton, the little corner of London I have called home for the past two years. I love it, and one of the reasons is that I was close to Kingston upon Thames, a ‘town’ with Saxon roots that make it feel more German than Britain. From Surbiton, we can …
Besides Berlin, Dresden is the most popular destination in the former East Germany. Not only does it has (officially documented) Germany’s oldest Christmas market in town, the city used to be called Florence on the Elbe, as the city is known for its beautiful architecture and a grand collection of art treasures. Today, the city …
Our second Christmas markets destination of the year is Dresden. It is about an hour and a half by Regional Express from Leipzig and is, one of the most interesting former East German cities to visit, outside Berlin. And being so close to Leipzig (and with direct flights from London currently only available to Leipzig) …
I am taking a small break from writing and we are on our annual Christmas Market visit to Germany. Since my first German Christmas markets experience back in 2003, I’ve looked forward to being able to visit the market every year if I ever lived ‘near by’, and the first destination for the year is …
I am procrastinating (a fancy word to use when I hit the writer’s block), so I thought I’d use this time to tell you about my life in Surbiton. Surbiton is on the train line to Hampton Court and is officially a suburb of London, but besides the great transport links into the city, it feels as far …
Kranj is a small town (ok, small but in Slovenia it is probably considered a city: in fact, the fourth biggest city!) between Ljubljana and the airport. It is, truly a historical town, believed (with evidence) to have been settled during the Celtic period in the first millennium BC. The Old Town is nestled on …
I get a lot of questions about how to get around places and plan the itineraries for our trips. So I’ve decided to start sharing itineraries for you to use to plan your own trips! Starting with Slovenia. For our Slovenian journey we had specifically chosen the major sights to visit. While it is my …
We ended our Slovenian journey in the capital Ljubljana. The small, quaint city isn’t all that much of a ‘capital’ as you would imagine, but with only a total of 2 million people in this country, it is still vibrant and full of life! It’s impossible not to love Ljubljana. Having explored the city, Will …
On our Slovenian journey we had the opportunity to travel with Vesna from Slocally around Soca Valley. It was a beautiful day, and the day in fact, begun in the living room of Herbal Rooms, the lovely homestay retreat run by Vesna and family. As we arrived at the Herbal Rooms, we were greeted by the …
One of the best things about travelling off season is that everywhere feels like ‘off the beaten track’ at the moment. The cooler weather is driving most tourists away, and we have been encountering only the intrepid continental visitors who are pretty much keen to go anywhere in any weather. In Bled, there were a …
