Europe a la Carte Blog

Welcome to my blog, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

It seems wine has been our minds lately.  First it was Jason telling us about wine tourism in Croatia.  Then Karen reminded us of the release of Beaujolais Noveau 2008.  Of course, then I went on the bandwagon about free wine tastings in Lisbon,  and now I can’t get enough of the red and white stuff.

Personally, I have not done much wine tourism myself in Europe – I have been to Napa Valley in California and Hunter Valley in Australia, but for some reason I’ve not done any Euro-vineyard wandering, apart from a particularly extensive wine binge while on holiday in Alsace for Easter a couple of years ago.

A Rainy Day in the Vineyards in Alsace - Copyright Andrew Hayes

Anyway, to bring me to my point, I’ve been reading a wonderful book called Red, White and Drunk All Over, Natalie Maclean’s “wine soaked journey from grape to glass” and it has really given me another perspective on wine.  Natalie gracefully enlightens the reader on technical information and interesting facts, and then uses those to explore the fascinating (and often hilarious) chronicles of wine.  The best part, for me, though is the pragmatic approach to this travelogue.  And I quote: 

“I wouldn’t be writing about wine if it weren’t’ for the buzz…and yet when I read about wine, I often get the odd impression that it has no alcohol in it”. 

Amen.  Natalie tours a number of classic European wine destinations, including Champagne and Burgundy in France.  After reading her tales, I’ll be adding these to the top of my ‘to do’ list.

If you enjoy the book, then you’ll love Natalie’s website, http://www.nataliemaclean.com/.  You can sign up for her free newsletter – full of tips and stories – but the best part is the food and wine matcher.  Did you know that Valdepenas goes with garlic bread?  Reisling with pineapple and ham pizza?  Or Sancerre with popcorn?  Indeed – try it – it really works!!

What’s your favourite food/wine pair?  And have you toured any vineyards in Europe – if so, what would you recommend? And pick up the book- you’ll love it!

Introduction

When Darren of Travel Rants asked me to give a presentation at the Travel Blog Camp he was organising in London on the 11 November 2008, I decided to further explore “The Future of the Travel Blog” the theme of a live blog hosted to celebrate the 2nd birthday of the Europe a la Carte Blog.

In order to examine the future of the travel blog, it’s important to start with defining what I see as the main categories of travel blog and their aims. Of course this isn’t rigid and there may be some overlap between categories. After explaining the three categories of travel blogs and their aims I will then examine the future of each category.

Travel Blog Categories

1 Personal travel diary or travelogues

Personal travel diaries or travelogues, either hosted free on a general blogging platform such as Blogger or as part or a travel social networking or community site such as WAYN or Travelerspoint. The blog author here is not aiming to make any money from their writing but to keep friends and relatives up to date on their travels. If personal travel diaries are part of an community or network then the host is getting a good variety of content, free of charge, which enhances their site and the host may also have advertising alongside the posts.

2 The travel blog as an online interactive travel magazine

The travel blog as an online interactive travel magazine, either as part of a established print media outlet such as The Guardian travel blog or independent self hosted blog such as Travel Rants or my own Europe a la Carte Blog. This type of blog aims to make money from advertising and/or affiliate links on the blog.

3 The travel blog as a marketing tool

The travel blog as a marketing tool of a website which sells travel products or services to the consumer such as Smith Travel Blog part of the Mr and Mrs Smith boutique and luxury hotel specialist site. This type of blog may anticipate making directly attributable income but it adds to the content of the site, increases brand awareness, encourages regular visits to the site and can lead to increased sales and profit. Many aspiring writers also use a blog as part of their portfolio to showcase their work.

What’s the common thread with all types of blog - quality, unique content. This will attract readers, encourage links from other sites and blogs which increases ranking which in turn leads to increased visitor numbers. This then makes for a good platform for advertisers to reach readers interested in travel products and services.

The Future of the Travel Blog

1 The personal travel diary or travelogue

People will always want to write about their travels and keep family and friends in the loop, as well as have a record of their trip. The individual is probably not thinking of making any income from their writing. although there’s always the chance they could progress to being a paid writer. If an aggregator can amass a steady stream of good content with relevant ads they are onto a good thing on the back of free content. However it could be difficult to ensure that all blogs have quality content.

2 The travel blog as a online interactive travel magazine

Travel blogs which are part of an existing media empire have the advantage of being a known and trusted source of information by readers and a safer bet for advertisers. In theory the revenue from advertising should enable the publisher to pay for well researched and written content but I don’t think this is always the case.

Independent blogs face major hurdles in attracting readers in the crowded market. It’s always said that if you have quality content you will succeed but I don’t think that’s enough for an independent blog. Independent blogs were beginning to make some revenue from paid text links until Google started to downgrade the Page Rank of blog with paid text links. It’s also hard to attract advertisers to an independent niche travel blog which may have a relatively low number of hits.

I see the way forward for independent blogs as working in partnership with other quality travel blogs which inform, inspire and entertain readers who love travel. Travel blogs could work join together in ad communities in sites such as Adroll where I’ve set up a quality travel content ad community.

Or the collaboration could be taken step further If the content of several travel blogs is aggregated, this should increase the profile and hits of each of the individual blogs. The aggregation then becomes an more attractive option for advertisers and much simpler than seeking and contacting each blog separately. I believe that content should in the aggregation would have to be manually edited to ensure quality and I’m not sure that all content from the participating travel blogs would be included.

3 The Travel Blog as a marketing tool

Travel blogs which are marketing tools will have to evaluated for their effectiveness as maintaining a blog is going to take up a fair bit of time and effort. However they could be a very cost effective way of marketing a travel business, especially for the established travel business where the brand is already know by the consumer or for small businesses to help increase their visibility.

Conclusion

I see more collaboration within travel blog, as well as between travel blog, categories as the way forward. to illustrate this concept I will use my own vision for the future of Europe a la Carte blog. I envisage some content from the Europe a la Carte blog being included in a platform for great content about travel in Europe. This could have sub divisions such as budget travel, luxury travel and getting off the beaten track.

This aggregated travel content site would include content from personal travel diaries or travelogues written by travellers visiting destinations in Europe, other travel blogs which are online interactive travel magazines both independent and part of a media empire with content about travel in Europe and relevant content from blogs which are marketing tools. However the aggregated travel content site wouldn’t be limited to content from travel blogs any quality travel content could be included with the publishers permission.

I’m looking at this from the perspective of the consumer. I know as a travel consumer myself you end up looking at so many different sources when researching and planning a trip that I’d find it really useful if there were a lot of relevant, quality information in one place.

To create a resource such as this would require very selective and unbiased editing to ensure the highest quality and relevance of content.

I believe that all sources contributing to this aggregation would benefit by increased readership and revenue.

Please let me know your thoughts on my aggregation ideas.

Christine Mordue, owner of the holiday cottage, Holly Lodge in Bamburgh, Northumberland gives us some insider tips about what to do and see in this beautiful area.

Bamburgh Castle

“Bamburgh is a beautiful village on the Northumberland Coast dominated by Bamburgh Castle. The beaches are wonderful and you can walk for miles at low tide. Grace Darling Museum, Bamburgh Church and the Castle are well worth a visit.

The village green, Bamburgh

Bamburgh is within easy reach of Alnwick with it’s Castle and beautiful Gardens; Berwick upon Tweed with it’s fortifications and interesting history; Holy Island which is steeped in religious history; the Farne Islands - now a bird sanctuary which is a short boat trip from Seahouses, and the Cheviot Hills, a stunning area for walking. Bamburgh Castle Golf Course is a very well kept course with amazing views.

Berwick upon Tweed

There is an excellent butcher in Bamburgh who has won awards for his ‘Bamburgh Bangers’. The Greengrocer - opposite the Church grows a lot of his own produce. The Pantry is wonderful, making sandwiches to order, very good quiches and mouthwatering sticky toffee pudding. If you like fish, ‘Swallows’ in Seahouses is a very good wet fish shop.

There is an excellent restaurant called Blacketts. Sunday lunch there is a favourite with the local residents and well worth trying to book. The Victoria Hotel, Bamburgh Castle Hotel and The Lord Crewe Arms all do bar meals and have restaurant facilities.”

My parents recently returned from a touring holiday in Turkey and the highlight of their trip was a hot air balloon flight over the rocky landcape of Cappadocia.

This area of Turkey is known for the volcanic rocks which have been eroded over the centuries into strangely shaped pillars known as fairy chimneys and carved out by the local people for their homes and churches. The early Christians hid here from Roman persecution, creating underground complexes and refuges in the hidden valleys and gorges. You can visit underground cave cities at Kaymakli and Derinkuyu and some of the old cave houses have even been restored as hotels.

Normally the balloon experience starts at 5.30am when you are collected, bleary-eyed from your hotel, arriving at the launch site as dawn breaks, to be offered a warming cup of coffee. The crew unload the basket and balloon canopy which is inflated with a giant hot air fan. As the balloon launches gently and drifts silently across the countryside, you will see other balloons rising from behind the rock pinacles and filling the sky. The pilots navigate the balloon by making use of the wind and air currents and adjusting the height with the burner. One minute you can practically taste the apricots on the trees, the next they’re just a speck on the ground.

After an hour or more, the balloon descends to a plateau where the ground crew, who have been tracking its progress, race up to grab the basket and pull it down to earth with barely a bump. The bubbly is cracked open, photographs are taken and certificates liberally handed out to commemorate the flight.

The experience of drifting over this landscape in a hot air balloon is not cheap, costing between €160 and €250 per person, but my parents assured me it was worth every penny. Travelling in Turkey is inexpensive so maybe you can splurge once on your trip to give yourself this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

There are many different companies around Goreme and Urgup offering the balloon rides. For more information you can check out the websites of local operators such as Kapadokya Balloons and Goreme Balloons based in Goreme, or Ez Air Balloons based in Urgup.

If you enjoy reading about places you plan to visit, you might like to try the detective novel Dance with Death set in Cappadocia, by Barbara Nadel from her Inspector Ikman series.

I have a bit of a love affair with Estonia, I have to admit, since my first visit (of two) in 2003. And while all the better known spots like Tallinn, Tartu and Saaremaa are great, I have a particular soft spot for Narva, a town on the north-eastern border with Russia.

Narva was my first stop outside Russia after spending three weeks travelling on the Trans-Siberian, and after the relative gruffness of the Russians I found the people in Narva were so incredibly friendly I could hardly believe it. The tourist office that I wandered into looking for an accommodation tip was amazing - both the staff stood up and shook my hand and welcomed me to Narva. (Possibly they didn’t have too many Australians passing through in those days, but I’m sure they’re just as friendly to everyone).

But the town itself is also fascinating because of the Russian influence (much of the population are still Russian speakers) and because you can literally see the Russian sister-town directly across the river - which is bordered by castles; you can also visit the Narva Fortress. If you are thinking of heading on into Russia then it’s a relatively short bus ride from Narva to St Petersburg, or you can just make a side trip to Narva from Tallinn. But it’s worth visiting to get a different perspective on Estonia.

It’s a memorial park with a difference. Grūto Parkas, located near Druskininkai in the south west corner of Lithuania, hit the media when it opened it’s display of decommissioned Soviet-era statues and garnering the sound-bite nickname Stalin World. It even won the 2001 IgNobel Prize for Peace.

In the re-establishment of Lithuanian Independence following the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc in 1989, symbols of Soviet rule were systematically removed. Statues were torn down and left to rot in junk yards around the country. However in 1998 a canned mushroom tycoon gathered these together and established Grūto Parkas as part historical, part art and part tourist attraction.

It is an almost disturbingly pleasant atmosphere in the park. Pleasant pathways wind through the forested area, speakers pipe tinny propaganda music and green clearings scattered throughout are now home to the representations of some arguably horrible people. A museum houses documents and films which cover the history and brutality of the era and the suffering of the Lithuanian people while outside Lenin stands, arm raised, on the banks of a pretty river.

Grūto Parkas is worth a visit if you are in the area. It’s five kilometres outside Druskininkai and you can get there by bus as it lies on the Vilnius-Druskininkai route which runs several times a day. Ask the bus driver and he will let you off, but it is still a kilometre walk down a small road to get to the park itself. Entry is 15 Lita (around 4.50€) and an audio guide will cost an extra 40 Lita (11.50€).

I’m preparing for another short trip to Gdańsk (Poland), so instead of my usual Scandinavian rants, today I’m in the mood for something Gdańsk-related.

I still remember the sourpuss ladies at the Warsaw Tourist Office. And the even grumpier women working the desk at the Warsaw Royal Castle. What a bunch of meanies! When my traveling companion asked for a book in Japanese (to purchase, not just to look at), the woman behind the counter made a series of nasty comments to her co-worker. She didn’t realize that I could understand her. And because I despise racists and she was definitely one, I gave her a piece of my mind. It wasn’t pleasant.

So imagine my surprise when I dashed into the tourist office in Gdańsk about 3 minutes before closing time. I didn’t expect much. I had many questions and needed all sorts of really ridiculous info - like where the natives go for Chinese food and where to get a good but reasonable haircut on a Sunday. There was one other customer in there besides me. The lady behind the counter, who judging by her Coke-bottle glasses must have been legally blind, was patiently explaining something to him in German. About opera tickets, I gathered. The German seemed very pleased with the info he received and left.

Then she noticed me and immediately rattled off a greeting in three different languages, none of them being Polish. She didn’t smile, but it didn’t really matter. After hearing me out, she went about searching for the appropriate information with something very close to surgical precision. She didn’t seem to mind it was already after closing time and that a lost and confused group of Spaniards just walked in.

The tourist office lady prepared a massive bag of books and brochures for me, and even asked in what languages I wanted my materials. Then she excused herself and went to help the Spanish group. Turned out they were in Gdańsk only for one day, but decided to stay for the whole weekend. They needed a place to sleep. The woman actually asked what their budget was and then proceeded to give them their choices.

Up until that day I had heard only bad things about customer service in Poland. So, I just stood there with my mouth open, not quite sure if what I was witnessing was real. But in fact, during my brief stay in Gdańsk, I received nothing but excellent customer service from everybody – from hospitality workers to government officials. I explained it to the nearly blind tourist office employee and asked about her opinion. She said something along the lines of: “How they do it in Warsaw or Kraków is none of our business. In Gdańsk we’re trying to do it right.”

And Gdańsk – you’re definitely doing it right.
The tourist office I visited is located at 45 Długa Street nearby the famous Neptune Fountain. Now if they could only do something with the English version of their website, I would be really pleased.

This guest post describing the delights of Sardinia, even without a millionaire’s budget, is written by Marta of A Travel Around The World.

“I am back to the grey skyline of the London routine but I can’t complaint for now as my partner and I recently come back, less than a couple of months ago, fully recharged from two fantastic weeks in Sardinia.

Cala Luna Bay, Sardinia

I have to admit, is not our first trip to this wonderful island and if you don’t know exactly were it is, by the way you definitely have to go, is the second largest Italian island in the Mediterranean sea only few hours flight away from London.

Sardinia has some of the most amazing beaches I have ever seen, even better than some places in Cuba. It also has fantastic food and the people are so welcoming that you wish only to be there all year round, but unfortunately for us we could only spend a few weeks a year there.

Thanks to its magnificent coastline is not surprising that Sardinia is a well renowned holiday destination especially the Emerald Coast, exclusive spot for soccer players, actors and musician and among the many who own extravagant millionaire house on the cliff is also the Italy’s Prime Minister Berlusconi.

But don’t worry, if you don’t have plenty of cash to blow away on luxury yachts to show off in Porto Cervo or to party at the Billionaire Club that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy what this Region has to offer you.

Yacht in Porto Cervo, Sardinia

First of all, avoid to go during the peak season in July and August for many reasons: is pricey, unbearable muggy and the beach are packed and if you manage to find a spot to lie down sunbathing you will only find yourself like a sardine in a tin can.

Great bargains can be found on the low season and you won’t be either disappointed by the weather: we went twice now at the beginning of September at the weather was just perfectly pleasant with sunny days with a temperature of 28 Cº and mild wind, ahh….

Also we find a good deal flying with Ryanair by booking the flight quite ahead, around June, and a great offer too with Hertz, you won’t believe, a weeks rental for the price of one day!

If you go off the beaten track you will find great deals also on accommodation. Nuoro, Oristano, Iglesias are only some areas and for a relaxing holiday you could opt to rent an apartment for a whole week which will definitely save you some quits but in our case we decided to spend the two weeks traveling all around the island and although not really a “relaxed” holiday we didn’t regret that at all.

Normally we would have stayed in some camp side around Alghero, like La Mariposa which is only a stroll from this lovely city, and visit often La Pelosa or the Costa Smeralda but in this way we discovered so many astonishing beaches such as in Villasimius, Teulada, San Teodoro, Lu Impostu and our favourite Cala Luna on the Golfo di Orosei.

Part of a national park, Cala Luna is an admirable sandy beach with astonishing crystal blue sea but is only reachable by boat from Cala Gonone or a two hour trekking along the oleanders woods of the Supramonte, if you are up to it and a bit fit well worth it the sweat!

And what better than to enjoy a day taking in the sun, swimming in crystalline sea and indulging yourself in the evening with some exquisite local food in a local Agriturismo among the choice of seafood dishes or the succulent porceddu, roasted marinated pig, or in a simple pizzeria with a fresh Ignusa (local beer) and a jummy Margherita, enjoy!

For the moment we will leave to you to explore Sardinia as we will soon be off for a trip around the world. Follow our adventures on www.atravelaroundtheworld.com”

Mali Losinj is a small port town that is located on the picturesque island of Losinj. Mali Losinj is a quaint town with great food, many attractions, many accommodation options, and a sense of humour. Humour? Oh yeah, as near Mali Losijn is Veli Lošinj, and Mali means small and Veli means big, but for some reason they named the bigger, much bigger, town Mali (small) and the tiny town Veli (big). Oh those crazy Croats.

Island of Losinj

One of the main attractions in Mali Losinj is the town’s tower, which dates back to 1445. The Tower was constructed to defend the small harbour from attacks from pirates in the area. Inside the Tower are an interesting museum and several gallery rooms. The image of the tower is the theme of the coat of arms of the town.

The Church of Saint Martin dates back to 1450 and is located in the graveyard of the town, where it is an interesting walk, as you can read the history of Losinj. The priests that used to serve in the church were Glagolitic monks.

If you want a little culture you should check out the Art Collection of Andro Vid and Katarina Mihicic and the Piperata Collection of Old Masters, which contains around 20 oils on canvas and water-colours by Italian, French and Dutch painters from the 17th and 18th century.

The parish church of the Nativity of the Virgin and the quaint piazza date from 1696-1775. This is church of 3 naves that has relics of St. Romulus and a painting of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the altar.

Mali Losinj is known for their fantastic seafood and Mediterranean cuisine. The main characteristics of this type of cuisine are fish and seafood, which are dishes that are based on traditional island recipes and use local herbs, potherbs and fresh olive oil. Many of the restaurants have great cold starters such as smoked ham, sheep’s cheese, salted anchovies, and seafood salad. Some great local hot dishes are seafood risotto or pasta, minestra or brodetto cooked in classic Dalmatian style, fresh sea fish, scampi and especially squid, prepared in various ways, shellfish. If you crave some meat try the roast lamb under peka (earthen baking lid). Most of the local dishes are seasoned with fresh oregano, basil, sage, balm, thyme, rosemary and laurel.

There is great homemade brandy on the island and head to the small nearby island of Susak for some great wine. Taking a day trip to Susak is a thing that can’t be missed if you are in the area.

In the main harbour there are many nice little café’s where you can sit down and have a coffee or drink and relax and watch life go by. At night there are also a few taverns and bars that are pretty happening in the summertime with all the tourists on the island.

Accommodations are not hard to find, as they are several hotels, many private accommodations, and several campsites.

You have to take a ferry to the island of Losinj, but it heads to and from the island several times per day.

The citizenM hotel at Amsterdam airport has won the Most Innovative Hotel award at the European Hotel Design Awards 2008.

citizenM room

I attended the press launch of the citizenM hotel in Holland in June 2008 and reviewed the hotel. I do think citizenM deserves to win the award for innovation with features such as self check in, mood light settings in the bedrooms and public areas which feel more like a trendy living room than a hotel lobby.

If you can stay in a hotel of the standard from 69 euros a night it is affordable luxury, as long as you don’t mind the toilet capsule in your bedroom.