Chile: the most varied country in the world November 17, 2013 From mountains to desert, Ashwin Bhardwaj is enchanted by the diverse delights of Chile AT UNIVERSITY, we teased our Geographer housemate for doing a degree in “colouring in.” But we secretly envied his trips to exotic corners of the globe, digging ice cores and monitoring volcanoes. Visualising geography is difficult in England as this green [...]
Culture and shopping in Shanghai and Hong Kong November 10, 2013 When Michelle Filmer went to China, she split her time between its two most vibrant cities. From luxury to history, she selects the top ten highlights of her visit 1. THE BUND The waterfront area in central Shanghai that runs along the west bank of the Huangpu river is known as The Bund. The west [...]
Tired of the rain? Try these winter getaways November 10, 2013 NOW THE embers of Bonfire Night have fizzled out, the nation can get on with the serious business of preparing for Christmas. But what about afterwards? Once the pudding has been gobbled up and the fairy lights have been put away, all that remains is frost, a terrifying credit card bill, and indigestion. Our winter [...]
A rural idyll a stone’s throw from London November 3, 2013 Under an hour from the capital, the Four Seasons Hampshire is the perfect place to recharge your batteries THREE years ago, during my first ever stay at a Four Seasons Hotel, my friend and I invented a game. In order to win all you had to do was walk from our room to the bar [...]
Hotel focus: Oitavos, Portugal November 3, 2013 TRAVEL writing tradition dictates that a property sitting amid mountains, forestry or, in this case, the windswept dunes of Portugal’s Atlantic coast, should be described as “nestled” among its surroundings. Not the Oitavos Hotel though. The five-star hotel near Lisbon looks like it has crash landed in the sand and grasses – a tower of [...]
Welcome to Miami, the US party capital October 27, 2013 Miami is a hedonist’s paradise. Steve Dinneen discovers the nocturnal delights Florida’s clubbing hotspot has to offer A FRIEND of mine became a YouTube sensation on the eve of President Obama’s 2008 election victory. He drunkenly – and, with the benefit of hindsight, ill-advisedly – resigned from his job live on Dutch TV, complete with [...]
And a little closer to home… October 27, 2013 IF MIAMI sounds a little too far away, you can get a slice of the W party atmosphere without the jet lag at the Leicester Square hotel. It recently launched three screening suites, which, at the touch of a button, transform your room into a private cinema. The bedroom is pretty swish to start with, [...]
England fans prepare for the pilgrimage to football’s real home October 20, 2013 There is only one place to holiday next summer. Jemima Sissons checks out Brazil’s top tourist spots on the road to the World Cup SO WE got there. England will be travelling to the World Cup, meaning thousands of us will be off to South America’s biggest country to watch our nation crash out in [...]
10 things every football fan needs to know about… BRAZIL October 20, 2013 Now we know the England team are going to be there in 2014, Emily Dicicco presents her top travel tips 1. Tickets – how and when shall I book?Tickets are available on FIFA.com and will be sold in three phases. The first two phases consist of both a random draw period and a first-come-first-served (FCFS) [...]
Glamp it up October 13, 2013 Away from the hustle and bustle of Cowes Week, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight are the perfect destinations for a family break – or something a little wilder SO AFTER a summer of festivals, beach holidays, muddy British weekends and garden play dens, chances are your tent has seen better days. The last thing [...]