Booking your travel

The world-wide web is the perfect place to go looking for information about your next holiday, through the power of search engines, you can find out everything you need for the perfect holiday. In years gone by, this was the sole domain of the travel agent, but now the travel world has completely opened up. Not only can you search for information about your destination, you can arrange your flights, car hire and accommodation either with large travel companies or much smaller concerns and individuals through the long reach of the internet.

Most hotels and guest houses will either have their own website or be listed on an accommodation service website, just browsing for your destination should get you any number of links to hotels, motels and bed & breakfast accommodation. Many hotel-booking sites also include customer reviews of the services offered which can give you an insight to what you can expect from a specific hotel. Please note that these reviews are only a guide as some travellers may feel aggrieved with a bad experience and unintentionally exaggerate their displeasure. I would not personally lay great store by one individual bad review, but if all the bad comments are telling the same story, then one should certainly take note.

The Algarve

Our holiday in the Algarve had pleasures and horrors in equal proportions. We took a last minute 'bargain' break and were very unlucky to end up in a glorified holiday tower block (other people on the same deal had much nicer accommodation), and the weather was truly awful, nonetheless there was plenty that we found to love about Portugal.
Car hire, food and wine are plentiful and cheap on the Algarve, and for me the saving grace of the holiday was the fabulous food.
The weather was poor throughout our stay and we drove a considerable distance through the rain to spend a few short hours in Lisbon mainly because you can't really enjoy a beach resort in the pouring rain... We stayed in Alvor which is a delightful fishing town, but was being developed and is no doubt a thriving tourist resort now.

The local speciality is seafood, and if you are salt-intolerant you may not enjoy it, buy for me, the food was worth traveling all those miles for. The Alentejo district has a local dish comprising pork and mussels, an unlikely sounding combination but a real treat to savour.

On the last day, after we had packed our sunblock away the sun finally came out so strongly we actually got burned while waiting for the coach to take us to the Airport. It is a fairly long coach journey as our plane actually flew to and from Spain rather than Portugal.

New York, New York

So good they named it twice, and who could argue? I am a great fan of New York and all that it stands for. There is so much to see and do that it's impossible to talk about this city in just a few lines. Here is all life from the grandeur of the big stores and enormous buildings, to bums, entertainers and 'ladies of the night' in the streets, you never know quite what you will see around the next corner. Central Park pictured below is an oasis of green and (mostly) genteel tranquility amongst the bustle and busy-ness of the great City. Amongst the undergrowth of Central Park was a sight I was not expecting, a rat and a squirrel playing together!! Hey, we all get on in NYC! Home of great wealth and poverty, grand hotels and two-dollar breakfasts, all the nations of the world under one flag, New York is virtually indescribable.. From Battery Park on the southernmost tip of Manhatten, you can get a ferry to Liberty, or you can blow a whole load of bucks (saving a lot of time) by taking a helicopter trip instead. The helicopter can't land on liberty Island so the experience is not the same, but if you're short of time and don't fancy the ferry....
I have been to NY twice, so I am sure that I will take the opportunity to write more about this King amongst cities, New York.

BAA breakup

BAA are in the process of losing some of their grip on UK airports as the Competition Commission reported that common ownership of BAA airports is not conducive to a competitive market.
BAA currently own seven airports - Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
Recent criticisms of developments at Heathrows' Terminal Five has not placed BAA in a positive light, and rival companies Ryanair, bmi and the like are crowding in to offer their opinions...

The main criticism remains that the three main London airports offer no competitive choice as BAA owns them all, and to a lesser degree this also applies to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. It is widely believed that BAA may be forced to sell at least one London airport and continue to operate there, possibly using their own terminal so that the impact on the traveler remains minimal.

More Travels in France

Not content with going on and on about France as I have, I am going to 'delight' you with the final leg of my second epic journey around France. (This was not my last visit to France, so I may find more to write about - be warned...). After the unexpected charms of Carcassone, the West coast came into sight and we discovered inland delights at Nantes, particularly the famous Cathedral which is a truly impressive sight situated right in the centre of the town.


We passed through Le Mans and up through Normandy on our way back to Calais, spending the last evening in Boulogne and enjoying a last reminder of French beaches on the deserted sands and clear skies of the nearby 'Plage'. The area was littered with apartments (probably mostly owned by Parisians), but currently devoid of occupants and seeming not unlike a ghost town. The local 'Notary' offers his house for Bed & Breakfast and we treated to an evening in his attic rooms.

France - Travelling

I have spent many a long hour driving through France enjoying the rural outlook and visiting local 'caves' (vendors of the local wines). Even though I am a New World wine drinker in the main, there is something appealing about sampling local wines in the country most famous for it's vineyards .
I have twice travelled down from Calais to the South via Lyon, Dijon, Orange and Avignon. The first time I went back the way I came, the second time I headed over to the West Coast for the return leg. This brought me to some equally fascinating sights.
I readily admit that the place that I love the most is just North of the South coast in Orange, Avignon and the surrounding areas. If I were recommending anywhere, this would be the direction that I would point you, and if I were offered any location, this area would be the place I feel most happy. However France has more to offer, and none so romantic as Carcassone. This re-built fortified town has all the charm of a Disney set, and is quite stunning to behold. The quaint streets and surrounding countryside make this a must-see destination if you happen to be passing anywhere near this location.

This town is alive with history, having once fallen into disrepair to the point where it was on the verge of being demolished. It now stands proud as a jewel in the crown of the Aude département.. attracting visitors from all over the globe by the coach-load.

Channel Islands - Jersey

Jersey is the southernmost part of the British Isles, actually placed someway further south than many French towns, and having a distinctly Anglo-French atmosphere. The weather here is naturally better then mainland UK and is the perfect getaway if you don't want to go anywhere too foreign!
You can fly or get the ferry, I have done both but the last time I flew back from Jersey, the plane was so old it actually had genuine leather seats... There is plenty to see and lots to get involved in, with a beach at every turn for the sun-worshipers.
Every August, the famous 'Battle of the flowers' is held where competing teams dress up floats with flowers and parade them through the streets, this is accompanied by various activities throughout the week of the festival. Your main reasons for visiting Jersey might be the wartime history of the Island and the various museums, the beaches, the best weather in the UK. You will also find a friendly welcome, an island heavily geared towards it's tourist industry, and a great place to stay which also enables you to hop over to mainland France for a day-trip.Jersey is largely self-governing with it's own local assembly. It has it's own tax-laws which is why it has always been popular with the rich... and it is also extremely difficult to buy a house there... in case you were thinking about it.