I hate generic hotels. Hate them. Unless they’re very swish indeed, I don’t want to stay somewhere that looks like a car park. I want somewhere with a story, with a bit of history, or something different about it. It’s so important to me, that often the hotel is decided on before the destination. That [...]

I think that the Scottish city of Dundee is an ideal short break destination, so here are some suggestions for Dundee hotels.  Dundee is located on the east coast of Scotland, on the Tay Estuary.  There are some great Dundee attractions such as Discovery Point, Sensation Science Centre and the Verdant Works.  Dundee also has [...]

The Åland Islands are about as close as you can be in Finland without being there.  You see, these islands – an archipelago, technically speaking – are an autonomous region of Finland. The islands have their own police force, parliamentary representation, national airline, postage stamps, and other things that make it a different place than Finland. [...]

Discovery Point, in the Scottish city of Dundee, is the home of RRS Discovery, the the ship which transported Captain Scott’s first Antarctic “Discovery Expedition” to the South Pole in 1901. The ship was built in Dundee and returned there in 1986. RSS Discovery against the Dundee skyline Discovery was locked in by ice in [...]

The Greek island of Crete has seen Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman rule but some of the most spectacular traces of Venice have been left in the capital Heraklion.  The Venetians ‘conquered’ Crete in 1204, but for once not by way of bloody wars and violence; no, they simply bought it in a complicated deal which [...]

Otranto, the picturesque Adriatic town in Italy’s Salento region, is so beautiful and peaceful, that it seems hard to believe this was once the site of the gruesome “Sack of Otranto”.  Luckily for today’s tourists, Ottoman invasions are no longer a threat to this tranquil coastline. Lovely Otranto – my European travel tip this week [...]

Of the twenty-one new additions this year to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites, France has two – the city of Albi and a stunning, natural landscape on the island of Reunion. Albi is on the River Tarn in the south of France, about 85 kms to the northeast of Toulouse. Like many significant towns [...]

I stayed at the Premier Inn Dundee Centre for one night in August 2010, on a complimentary basis.  It was the first night of my Summer 2010 Scotland Blog Tour. The hotel is in a great location right on the Tay Estuary, just across from Dundee railway station.  This is an ideal hotel for a [...]

I visited the Sensation Science Centre in Dundee in August 2010 during my Summer 2010 Scotland Blog Tour.  It’s a great all weather Dundee attraction for families. This is the sort of place that our twin sons loved in their youth, where kids get involved in the hands-on exhibits as well as various fun, educational [...]

Amanda wrote earlier about Enjoying the Views of Burg Hohenzollern Castle, Germany. And I couldn’t agree more with her in regards to stumbling upon those fairy tale castles that sometimes dot the landscape of Europe. In the city of Gruyères, Switzerland sits one of those castles – the Château de Gruyères. I went to Gruyères [...]