Did you attend the Deventer boekenmarkt (book market) last Sunday? If not then mark your calendars for the next year’s event. The largest book market in Europe, held every year in the small but gorgeous Dutch town Deventer, is a book lover’s paradise. So, if you have seen the windmills at Kinderdijk and the miniature [...]

Only an hour north of Venice, close to Bassano, you find the small village of Asolo, where Freya Stark the travel writer, used to live, and where she died in 1993. The houses of Asolo are built along the steep hill, with an amazing view. On clear days you can see all the way down [...]

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that all Jane Austen fans will eventually find their way to Bath Yes, embarrassingly enough, I am one of the “Janeites” :  a lover of all things Jane Austen who has read and re-read her six novels and watched countless adaptations of her works by the BBC, ITV and [...]

I was offered a complimentary copy of Paris Movie Walks by Michael Schurmann for review purposes. I’m not a great movie buff but I thought that movie themed self guided Paris walks sounded like a great idea. Paris is already renowned as being one of the best places to visit in Europe, so it would [...]

I was given a complimentary copy of “Good Night & God Bless” Volume One to review. The book is a guide to convent and monastery accommodation in Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy by Australian author Trish Clark. I was already familiar with this Europe travel tip after reading Heather Cowper’s post “Staying in a [...]

When I’m travelling I like to go for the total immersion experience – podcasts, films, guidebooks, local food and wine – anything the intensify and prolong my precious holiday experience. Another thing I’ve particularly enjoyed when on holiday is to have with me some holiday reading about the place I’m visiting. Some of the guidebooks [...]

Edinburgh is one of my very favourite European cities and one of the best places to visit in Europe and that’s not just because I’m Scottish, so I was looking forward to reading and reviewing Andy Hayes’ Historic Walking Guides Edinbugh. As Andy says, Edinburgh is fairly compact so exploring the city on foot is [...]

Cafe Tempest, written by Barbara Bonfigli, is a fictional novel about Sarah, an American writer and theatrical producer. Sarah currently lives in London, spending her fourth Summer holidaying on the Greek Island of Pharos. Sarah ends up spending longer than anticipated on the island due to the venue of her forthcoming show becoming unavailable. She [...]

If you’ve visited the towns of Wales that border England such as Brecon, near the Black mountains, you’ll know that this area is fantastic for those who love outdoor activities. You can hire mountain bikes, canoe down the river Wye, go horseriding, climbing and abseiling at one of the numerous outdoor activity centres, not to [...]

I’ve recently enjoyed the new murder mystery film, Angels and Demons, set in Rome which I visited last year. The film features Tom Hanks as Harvard professor Robert Langdon and Ayelet Zura as scientist Vittoria Vetta, racing through Rome to unravel the secrets of the Illuminati Brotherhood in time to save the lives of four [...]