Travel helps you develop skills for life, and shows you that there are worlds beyond your own. I’ve loved going on journeys ever since my parents first took me on the ferry across our local river, the Tyne in north-east England. Many ferries, trains, buses and planes later, I still get the same buzz of excitement as that wee version…
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One of the oldest cities in America, Boston is home to some of the sharpest intellects on the planet, has a proud feisty history and punches above its weight in all kinds of ways. Being a free spirit myself, I love the place – it’s my favourite city in the whole of the US. When you fly in and look…
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Spain has been a favourite destination of the British since long before the package holiday boom started in the 1960s. As far back as the 1930s, southern Spain in particular was attracting independent spirits who wanted to wanted to experience a different way of life and escape from whatever they disliked about British society. Some ended up staying permanently. One…
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Have you found an insect repellent method that unfailingly works for you? Because I haven’t. Avoiding bites is my single biggest and most frustrating travel challenge. I should add that it’s also a thing in my home base country, New Zealand. Sandflies are so troublesome in some regions that, with typical Kiwi humour, they are celebrated. Mosquitoes, sandflies, fleas, all…
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If you want to get your bearings, in a new place or even in life, climb a tower. It’s one of the best ways to start exploring a new city, provided of course that you don’t suffer from vertigo. Nowadays, towers are rather fashionable, so the odds are that there will be an accessible one somewhere in your city, even…
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The sad demise of British travel agency Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel company, has shown that in the cut-throat world of high street retail, nothing is sacred. When I first started travelling in the 1970s, everyone made their bookings through travel agents. It was the exciting first step to turning a dream into reality. Their offices were rather swanky….
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