The Marche aux Fleurs et Oiseaux is one of the oldest markets in Paris. In the middle of the Seine on the Ile de la Cite, the flower markets are just down the road from Notre Dame and have been there for over two hundred years. On Sundays the bird markets open and the cut flower vendors take a rest … Read more
Napoli’s port was a disaster zone. Armed police scouted the area for pickpockets and queue-jumpers, herds of tourists ambled about like migrating wildebeest, and the burning summer sun scorched our anxious faces as we hunted for a ferry timetable. From Naples, it’s supposed to be an easy ferry trip to the legendary coastline of the … Read more
A good pub these days can be hard to find. It sounds strange, but it’s true. It’s a rare thing when you walk into a drinking establishment and the staff are happy with you being there, the beer on tap is drinkable and you don’t feel like you’re going to be robbed… either by the … Read more
Wivenhoe. Ever heard of it? No, not many people have. That’s because it’s a tiny little town on the east coast of England. It’s not famous. It’s not famous at all. Sadly, this restaurant is no longer open, shutting its doors in late Feb 2017. But perhaps it should be a little better known. It’s … Read more
Let’s face it, when you go to France, you’re not expecting any bad meals, are you? In the south-west of France – in Provence – it’s like they invented eating or something. Point in case, I was watching that awesome Japanese show Iron Chef the other day and I realised it’s always poor old Iron Chef … Read more
Where would you want to stay if you were heading to Provence? I had the image of either a beautiful chateau nestled in the mountains or a picturesque little stone cottage in the green hills with a tiny medieval village down the road. The chateau thing turned out to be far too complicated and too far … Read more
There’s something so satisfying about looking down on a city, isn’t there? Wherever Mrs Romance and I go, we always look for rooftop bars or for views from the highest point in the town. We recently went up the Sydney Tower with visiting friends of ours – Nickie, Wes and little Arthur. Even though we’ve both … Read more
So here we are. The final leg of our journey. We’re in Essex with Mum and Dad, and a welcome plate of good ol’ fish ‘n’ chips – just the way we remember them. Delicious! We take a trip around Colchester, following the tourist trail. The new multi-million pound art centre is a bit of a … Read more
We see those red open-top buses going round Sydney city all the time. Every time I see one, I wonder who on earth would want to go on one of those things? Well, I used to think that until I actually went on one. On our recent trip to Europe, we had a few days … Read more
Here we are in sunny London. That’s right, you heard correctly! Sunny! Who’d have guessed it? We check in to our High Street Kensington hotel, courtesy of our friends at Creative Holidays (thanks, guys!) and head out to explore the Big Smoke. Round the corner, we find this. Yes, under all those flowers is a … Read more