Savoir Escape

A selection of my favourite examples of Lisbon photography from my time in the city, with images of Lisbon street life from a variety of angles.  p.s. I left my camera on the wrong setting for some of my favourite shots (don’t you hate it when that happens!) so I had to get creative with […]

I’ve been to Portugal twice before and both times the food was a major sticking point for me, so I knew my recent trip round the country would be make or break for my relationship with Portuguese cuisine. I’m happy to report that from green wine to roast chicken, Port to quince jam, via fresh […]

Olympic President Jacques Rogge hasn’t been the only Belgian in town over the last few weeks. I’ve been busy showing some Belgian friends round my home city of London recently, so today I’m going Team Belgian on you with a brief but impassioned 5 point guide to why I Love Belgium – and why Belgium, […]

No-one goes to the Canary islands just to shop but come evening a consumer fanatic such as myself has only one thing on her mind. Hot country equals shopping opportunities after 9pm. It’s the only thing guaranteed to get me away from the buffet…

A safari really is the holiday of a lifetime, so that means staying in just the right spot; and having the perfect safari guide makes that trip into the bush even more memorable. I stayed at Thakadu River Camp, one of the area’s most exclusive lodges. “Here comes the McDonalds of the bush, showing us his […]

You’ve heard of the Big 5 now meet the unsung heroes of the bush – The Little 5…

Miranda Glasser decided to leave her London life behind and embark on a year-long stint as a teacher in Vietnam – after entering her second year as a resident of Siem Reap, Cambodia where she’s about to become a correspondent for the Phnom Penh Post. Here she shares the 10 most important lessons she learnt […]

‘There are over 100 Ferraris parked in the underground garages of the city’ reveals Stefania, my host at the Melia Hotel in the heart of the Northern Italian city of Genoa. ‘But,’ she leans in conspiratorially to explain ‘you never see them driving through the streets. That’s because the Genoese people aren’t ostentatious, they are […]

Every once in a while a city, country, activity or some other flavour of enticing worldwide experience creeps into your consciousness for the first time and promptly proceeds to pop up everywhere – in your Sunday paper or the magazine you pick up at the dentist, on your friend’s Facebook page or on an obscure TV documentary you […]

If you’re looking for a the perfect place to stay in Perugia Hotel Gio just outside the city’s centro storico offers you two hotels rolled into one, with a choice of distinctive themes  – one will jazz up your stay and the other will have you clinking glasses and popping corks. Sound enticing?… As soon as […]

How often have you looked at places on a map and drifted off into a reverie, imagining what each destination must be like in real life? We travel lovers tend to be incorrigible cartophiles too, stroking our fingers over the exotic-sounding place-names written in a strange tongue, making our hearts beat that little bit faster, causing our minds to […]

Stick a pin in a map where you imagine the very centre of Italy to be and you’ll probably hit Lago Trasimeno – the oldest lake in Italy. Overshadowed by well-publicised show-stoppers like Lake Como nudging the Swiss border up in the North, the fourth-largest lake in the country boasts an all together more laid-back […]

A group of travel bloggers are challenged to hand-make a perfect batch of chocolates at the Perugina chocolate factory just outside Perugia in Umbria, Italy. Watch the video to see what happened next…

They said it couldn’t be done, but they hadn’t counted on my determination…or my love of Italian footwear. I had just 4 precious hours in Rome – enough time to swing by the Colosseum, snap the Spanish Steps, try out the Trevi fountain, and buy 3 pairs of shoes! Here’s how to tackle a short layover in Rome…

This is the most personal post I have ever written. It’s about how Egypt was the original inspiration for my love of travel. That’s because Egypt is in my blood and also as the first foreign destination I can ever remember journeying to, it’s ingrained in my memories. As a child I can remember drinking Coca-Cola from […]

Franschhoek is synonymous the world over with fine wines and high-class dining, but the area is not strictly the preserve of bon vivants…

One year on from the Japanese earthquake and ensuing tsunami and nuclear disaster, what are the issues surrounding travelling to post-tsunami Japan? In this guest post Japanese-born and London-based lecturer Kaori Homma gives her views.

Having gone undercover for years as one of the world’s top 10 movie locations, Cape Town’s alter ego as the film industry’s best-kept secret has now been uncloaked by none other than James Bond himself after recent rumours…

There’s more to the South African Winelands than the name suggests. But you can’t fit 55 different activities into a place name now can you? Are there really 55 Things to do in Franschhoek other than drink wine? Well actually there are 54 things to do on this list – and then you deserve to pop […]

Just back from three months in Cape Town where she filmed the current high-octane ITV thriller Kidnap and Ransom, Executive Producer Rachel Gesua picks her favourite places to take on the legendary Cape Town nightlife, and shows how to become a bona fide child of the Mother City. At one point during the on-location filming of […]

Want to feel the beating heart of southern Africa’s most-visited and most-loved city? You can’t get more urban cool than the The Adderley, a contemporary boutique hotel located in the centre of Cape Town’s City Bowl.  The Adderley’s small reception, squeezed between shop fronts on the wide thoroughfare of Adderley Street belies the scale, comfort, style and […]

There seems to be some South African terminology that has taken on a life of its own, these phrases seem to have spread overseas to folks who’ve never even set foot in South Africa. For me personally, ever since my holiday to South Africa, there are 6 words which stayed with me, and will always […]

The Soweto tour was the highlight of my trip to Johannesburg – interesting, educational, vibrant, eye-opening, and most of all, fun. Here I’m going to let the photos speak for themselves…

Finding the right place to stay in any sprawling metropolis can make the difference between a great time and a terrible experience, but in Johannesburg choosing the right suburb, and the perfect bolthole is essential if you want to buck the trend and fall in love with the city that everyone loves to bash. When […]

Be careful. That’s all I heard when I told people I was heading to Johannesburg. Please be careful. Don’t carry any valuables. Don’t stop at red lights. Lock your doors. Don’t go into the CBD. Don’t go out at night. Don’t go into the townships. In fact don’t go into Joburg at all, just land […]

Outside the charming town of  El Calafate on the Lago Argentina, lies one of Patagonia’s most famous sites: the Perito Moreno Glacier. 

Recently I was asked if it was possible to see Hong Kong in a single day. The answer is yes – and here’s what I managed to cram into my 24 hours in Hong Kong. I had exactly 24 hours in Hong Kong due to an unexpected stopover when British Airways messed up my return flight from […]

Never have I been to a more hammock-friendly country than Nicaragua. Here, hammocks are omnipresent. Every hotel, home, café and market flaunts their hammocks in front of me; ‘Come’, they seem to whisper, ‘get in, bring your book. Whatever it is you think you have to do, or wherever it is you think you have […]

If you don’t fancy elbowing your way around your local high street this Christmas to stock up on the usual gifts, you still have time to take in one of the best of the European Christmas markets, to combine your Christmas shopping with a festive mini-break.

Can you shop ‘til you drop in the Italian fashion capital, and still come home feeling virtuous? It turns out you can thanks to the city’s amazing outlet shopping. So here’s how to shop for amazing designer bargains in Milan on a high street budget… Think of Milan and let’s face it, high fashion is what […]