I begin my weekend in Houston like any average tourist, knowing this city has been singled-out by its history of space exploration, is the very definition of a sprawling US metropolis, and that it’s famous for oil and gas. Fast forward 48 hours and I’m wearing my H-Town T-shirt with pride, clutching a NASA fridge magnet and nursing a hangover which underlines […]

Of all the clothes I own (in case you’re wondering, it’s a lot) those I buy on impulse, in a supermarket-sweep stylee, are the things I end up loving. Maybe it’s the fact that when you’re in a hurry pure instinct takes over, but I’ve shopped for an outfit in 30 minutes in Manila and made better boutique […]

I always seek out cycling opportunities wherever I go, but rarely have I found a city as cycle-friendly and indeed as cycle-photo-friendly as Bologna. Beautiful bikes became synonymous with my time in Emilia Romagna’s university city – here are my favourite Bologna photos which showcase the beauty of the bike… 

Looking for the perfect place to stay in Vancouver? Look no further than these 3 properties that work for luxury seekers, budget travellers and trendy young things in Canada’s West Coast capital.

In a nation obsessed with hockey, it pays to be a football fan: here are the 5 phenomenally easy stages to finding yourself cheering on Vancouver’s home soccer team…

After nearly four years in the making, and at nearly twice as high of any other London viewpoint, The Shard allows you to see the greatest city on earth in all its 360-degree glory. Here’s my report on The View From The Shard – plus I’ll show you the secret viewpoint that paying visitors will […]

Think of Cairo and you’ll imagine Tahrir Square, mob rule and flag-carrying protesters. But Cairo and Tahrir Square has changed in the last 20 months – at the end of September the Egyptian authorities pushed forward with a major clean-up of the city’s revolutionary hub. Having turfed the square they made the controversial decision to whitewash the political graffiti which adorns […]

The Taiwanese capital is chaotic and cute in equal measure. Here’s some inspiration for ten things to do in Taipei in a day – and on a shoestring budget.

‘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 […]

I love hotels, but I get even more excited about quirky and interesting accommodation which means I really love boutique hotels. I seek out, write about, blog about and recommend boutique properties, yet the question I am most often asked is simply ‘What makes a hotel a boutique hotel?’ so I went along to the Boutique Hotel Summit […]

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…