Why go to Albania?

Last week, at the World Travel Market in London, I found myself wandering through the European stands and played a little game with myself. I decided to visit the stand of the country I felt least likely to visit next year and see if they could change my mind. Albania was top of the list, as I had a picture of a country still recovering from its communist years, with a bleak capital of Tirana blighted by concrete architecture. I knew from my sister who lives in neighbouring Greece that there were many Albanian economic migrants who had moved to Greece in search of a better standard of living, ending... Read more »

Decadence at the Hermitage in St Petersburg

I know some people aren’t really into visiting art galleries when they travel, but I have to say that everyone should make an exception for The Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. It’s not only a Russian icon but it’s also a truly breathtaking place to stroll around - whether art interests you or not, even just the buildings that house all the art are fascinating. Okay, enough of the lyrical adjectives, this is the plain truth: the Hermitage is stuffed full of paintings, sculptures and other works of art and every guide book likes to cite some statistic on how many lifetimes you... Read more »

Win a giant world wall map

In conjunction with Mapsinternational.co.uk Europe a la Carte is offering you the chance to win a giant political global wall map worth £30:99. To win the map, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post saying why you’d like to win the giant wall map. I’ll then select the most entertaining answer given by 30th November 2008 and then the map will be winging its way to the lucky winner.  Read More →

7 ways to showcase your travels

Years ago I was walking down a road in Los Angeles when I spotted billboard that, to me, encapsulated one of the more enjoyable aspects of travelling. It was advertising a car, but that’s not as important as the message printed above it in three metre letters: Go Away. Come Home. Gloat. I can hear you protesting “No, we go away for the experience! We travel for the adventure!” but, seriously now, you can’t tell me that you don’t get a small frisson of glee when you drop in lines like “Yes, well, in Namibia last year…” or “This reminds me of... Read more »

Sleeping in Airports - Arlanda

I love airports, I can’t help it. Some I love more than others. And even though there are some that make my blood boil and make me want to chew my leg off, I still love them. After all, wise men say there’s only a thin line between love and hate. There are some airports that I watch with morbid fascination of the kind normally reserved for car wrecks and really bad street performers. CDG definitely falls into that category – it’s even better than watching a car wreck, there’s all the morbid fascination you can handle AND you get to come out (mostly) alive at the other end. Arlanda, on... Read more »

Guest Post - Slow Travel: get the best of Spain

Mariangeles Claros Reyes of Holiday Lettings in Spain explains the benefits of slow travel in Spain. The term “slow travel” or travel without any rushing around, points to the way of travelling where the traveller becomes part of the holiday destination, there is communication with the local people and getting to know the customs and life style. It is a kind of integration to the culture while being on a holiday. As a reaction to stress, considered as the disease of the twenty-first century by many specialists, comes the slow trend emphasizing the pleasure of living without rushing and therefore... Read more »

The Elaphite Islands - Lopud

The Elaphite Islands are a small group of 6 islands that are located off of Dubrovnik, which is in the southern part of Croatia. The islands are gorgeous and a must see if you are traveling to Dubrovnik. If you are planning to go to Croatia, you HAVE to visit Dubrovnik, as it is amazing. I covered Dubrovnik in a previous article, which you can read here. The Elaphite Islands are great for a relaxing holiday and relaxing is an understatement since the islands are free of cars. There are quaint and pristine beaches, great food, and a laid back atmosphere on the islands. The islands can be reached... Read more »

Guest Post - St Andrews, a lot more than just golf

Kat Calvin of BAP World spent time as a student in St Andrews in Scotland and she describes the many other attractions of St Andrews apart from golf. St Andrews harbour Watching Chariots of Fire always reminds me of how wonderful it was to live in St. Andrews, Scotland, where the famous “running on the beach” scene in the film took place. During my junior year of college I was fortunate to study abroad at the University of St. Andrews, the oldest university in Scotland. The school is set in the ancient town where golf was invented, which makes St. A’s famous among the game’s fans. While... Read more »

European Wine Tourism

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... Read more »

The Future of the Travel Blog presentation, Travel Blog Camp, London 11 November 2008

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... Read more »

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