Take 12 Trips… August on the Luce

As part of my mission to ‘Take 12 Trips’ in 2014, I’m taking at least one trip each month – which can be anything from a local day out to an international trip. So far this year I’ve been all the way from the North of England to the souks of Morocco, from sailing the Norwegian fjords to eating my way around Catania in Sicily, and across Europe first by cruise ship and then by train.

A snapshot of Sultanahmet: One day in Istanbul

Istanbul is up there with places like New York, Paris and London as one of the world’s great cities. Places where each different neighbourhood is almost a separate city in its own right, and where you could spend a few months and still only scratch the surface. But what if you only have one day?

Summer days in St Anton, Austria

Every winter, the town of St Anton am Arlberg in Austria’s Tyrolean Alps becomes a mecca for skiers and snowboarders. Rated as one of Europe’s top resorts, winter sports fans come from around the world to take advantage of its fantastic pistes and the serious après-ski partying after hours.

My top five destinations to return to

If you had to choose five past destinations to go back to, which would they be? Although I’m always looking forward to the next place I would like to visit – and have a travel wish-list which only ever seems to get longer and longer – there are a few previous destinations that really captured my heart.

Exploring Strasbourg: Canals and cathedrals

I’ve been to France more times than I can count – everything from childhood holidays to Normandy to ski trips to the Alps and house-sitting in Paris. What I love about the country (as well as the cheese and wine) is that it is so diverse and there’s always something new to see.

Take 12 Trips… July On the Luce

As part of my mission to ‘Take 12 Trips’ in 2014, I’m taking at least one trip each month – which can be anything from a local day out to an international trip. So far this year I’ve been all the way from the North of England to the souks of Morocco, from the heart of UK politics in London to a culinary exploration of Sicily, and then across the Mediterranean on my first cruise.

Ancient Olympia: Let the Games begin

Celebrity athletes, elaborate construction projects, political infighting – when you think about it the Olympic Games haven’t changed all that much since they first started in Ancient Greece. All the way from Olympia 776 BC to London 2012, the Olympics have always been about so much more than just sport.

My third year On the Luce

It’s that time of year again – when I dig out the Champagne glasses and crack open the bubbly (any excuse) to celebrate both me and this blog reaching another birthday. The last three years On the Luce have seen 244 blog posts, 1451 photos, 19 countries covered and 7636 comments – phew!

Myths and mountains: Climbing Bergen’s Fløibanen funicular railway

Looking out over a place from high above is always one of my favourite things to do in a new destination, but after a day wandering the cobbled streets of the Norwegian city of Bergen, my feet were staging a protest at the thought of climbing a mountain.

Wandering the city walls in Dubrovnik

Conventional cruise wisdom has it that when you get into port, you should be first off the ship to get as much time as you can in each destination. Great in theory, but it didn’t take into account that our arrival into Dubrovnik would coincide with a torrential rainstorm – and an umbrella shortage!

Take 12 Trips June: A first-time cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean

As part of my mission to ‘Take 12 Trips’ in 2014, I’m taking at least one trip each month – which can be anything from a local day out to an international trip. So far this year my trips have taken me from the North of England to the souks of Morocco, back to my old hometown of London and on a culinary journey to Catania in Sicily.

Sailing the Sognefjord in Norway

It is Norway’s longest fjord, ranked as one of the world’s most beautiful fjord landscapes and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site – the Sognefjord comes with a whole lot of superlatives and even more expectations, but it certainly didn’t disappoint.

The Flåm Railway: Norway’s most scenic train journey

From the train window I watched snapshots of Norway’s stunning scenery flashing by, one after another – steep rocky cliffs, deep blue fjords, lush green meadows, neatly painted red and white clapboard houses, mountains topped with a sprinkling of snow.

Decline and rebirth at Liverpool’s Albert Dock

Despite plenty of trips to Manchester over the years, I’d always managed to miss visiting Liverpool until now. So it was well overdue when I made my first trip up there earlier this month, and the first stop on my whistlestop tour of the city was the Albert Dock.

Tastes of Sicily: Learning to cook like a Catanian

After exploring Catania’s fabulous fresh produce in its markets, it was time to learn how to put it to use. We headed up into the foothills of Mount Etna to meet Monica Consoli, our guide through the delicious world of Sicilian cookery. Monica is the daughter of cookbook author Eleanora Consoli and our class took place in Eleanora’s lovely 18th century villa.