Stories behind the stories. By Travel Writer, Amy McPherson
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Lyon is France’s third largest city, and you’ve probably not thought of it when you were there. In fact, it’s easy to forget that Lyon is a city at all if you don’t venture beyond the old town and see all the skyscrapers by the Part-Dieu station. Because you’ll probably be having too much fun …
Back to talking about Cornwall! So here’s the thing. Cornwall is filled with nature’s best gifts. Rugged coastline, beautiful little fishing villages with cute little beaches, wildlife and home to the pretty epic Eden Project, so naturally, there is room for an outdoor theatre constructed in perfect symmetry with the curve of the cove creating the …
The garden of Eden is no longer forbidden. It’s in Cornwall, and is celebrating its 15 years birthday this year since being opened to public. Eden Project was our first port of call on our Cornish journey, having got a train to Exeter and picked up a hire car for the trip (not advised, but …
I am, in a railway museum and I love it. I am not a train nerd. I really am not. I don’t know the ins and outs of a train engine, I can’t tell the difference between a R class steam and RC 4 electric, and I certainly do not know the history of train …
Looking for things to do in Kuching? Most international travellers heading to Borneo side of Malaysia think of going to Sabah, and few show interest to venture west into Sarawak, not realising they are missing out! Being the crazy cat lady that I am, I was originally drawn to Kuching for its name – for …
“Mum! This is like fairy land!” a little girl said as she excitedly ran forward to view the cartoon-like animals illuminating our path. My inner child laughs with delight as I too, were mesmerised by the fantastic lanterns surrounding us. As the Lunar Calendar steps into a new year on Monday into the Year of …
There was only one reason, and one reason only for my recent trip to Cardiff. Doctor Who. Go on, call me the nerd, but I am simply in love with this quirky time traveller created by the BBC and couldn’t help but make this special journey to the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff. For the show’s …
We’ve had a couple of visitors in London since moving here and many of them have displayed a desire to see musicals in London as one of their must dos. I love a good musical production, with its colourful costumes, fantastic music, and spectacular stage sets. Moving to London had been fantastic for the theatre loving …
One of the best things about living in a ‘global’ city is that you get to experience film and tv sets everyday. How many times have you seen the Tower Bridge, the Big Ben and those iconic red Double Decker buses on screen? From James Bond to Harry Potter to Doctor Who to Thor. London …
I’ve been bear hunting on the weekend, apparently Paddington has hit London town, and it’s become an obsession to track him down! He is everywhere, all 50 of his ‘incarnations’, but my priority was to find the Dr Who Paddington, and whichever one I see on my way are just bonuses. My hunt took me to …
I’ve been eating too much. Oh but I have been in food heaven. Not only have I had the opportunity to sample some regional Javanese snacks with Agata from Withlocals where we zigzagged the back alleys of local communities in search of her favourite street snacks and eating at some of the best local eateries. In …
When I was in London last month, I had planned to just sit around, drink Earl Grey and chill. I’ve been to London so many times and have exhausted most of the tourist activity options that I was out of news things to see and write about. Then, something caught my eyes on this wonderful …
One of those things that excite me about Europe is the abundance of its history and heritage that surrounds the everyday life, especially from a time when no one can no longer ‘remember’ (seriously, no one is that old!), the time of kings and queens, prince and princesses, and their elaborate castles and palaces. Castles …
Like anywhere else in the world, you have to come to London with an open mind. It is a city that is old and new at the same time, and it is constantly evolving, and that is what makes this city so fascinating. The current skyline is dominated by buildings of various nicknames: the gherkin, …
Why did I come to Bohol? I could have gone to Boracay for the white sandy beaches, or Palawan for the unspoilt nature. However, we chose Bohol, because I wanted to meet the smallest primate in the world and Will wanted a piece of the Chocolate Hills. We stayed in the main city (town) Taglibaran …
Wow, yesterday was a big day. As you know, I arrived in Kuala Lumpur at 3am in the morning, was able to ‘go to bed’ at around 5am and I slept for about three hours before my body clock woke me up due to the time difference between Sydney and KL. Never mind, I needed …
8am. There were very little people about on the beach and Bundeena felt like a ghost town. Still sleepy for an early start, all I wanted to do was to lie down on the beach and snooze away, however the promise of a great day out and the ability to check out the environment around …
It has been a good weekend. Since Friday, there has been ships invading Sydney Harbour. It is the 100th anniversary of the Royal Australian Navy and warships from all over the world are here to celebrate with us with an International Fleet Review week. The warships arrived on Friday after a week of joint military …
It’s a funny thing. We are drawn to randomly placed large objects and when giant colourful snails invaded Sydney last week as part of the Art & About Sydney 2013 festival, I noticed that we all can’t help but stop and pose with them. It’s an urge even I can’t resist. The annual Art & …
