Yellowstone National Park is truly enormous. There are many natural wonders to explore but they are spread far and wide and so you face a lengthy drive to each destination. This fact makes checking the weather before you set out a very good idea but this is precisely what I didn’t do on the day I wanted to visit the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Continue reading
I have always suffered a bad case or paranoia when on holiday. I am one of those annoying people that stops to check that they have their passport every few minutes. I have moments when I am suddenly seized by panic if I can’t recall where I have put it and I have always thought that losing that treasured document would be my worst nightmare. Continue reading
Whenever I travel anywhere I try to avoid the overtly tourist experience. I like to discover how people live, what the local cuisine is like and to find special places that are off the beaten track. This was never more true than when I visited Alaska. As part of my trip I decided to stay in a family home to see what life was really like and boy was it an eye opener. Continue reading
Sitting next to a very smart car in a queue of traffic recently I realised how much nicer it is these days to be a passenger. The kids were in the back watching cartoons on seat back screens unconcerned about the length of the journey. I bet parents who can afford such gadgets don’t have to listen to endless wails of “are we there yet” coming from the back of the car. Indeed the kids are probably disappointed to arrive. Continue reading
Sometimes things don’t go entirely according to plan when you are hiking in the mountains. I have learnt to my cost that it pays to be prepared for all eventualities and one thing you should always do is check the weather forecast which is exactly what I didn’t do when a hike turned into a nightmare. What started as a pleasant walk in the sunshine to one of my favourite beauty spots quickly descended into a highly unpleasant experience. Continue reading
I can still remember when my fascination with the beauty of the Earth’s rocks and minerals began. I was sitting outside of the family tent in Switzerland carefully washing the stones I had collected earlier from the nearby lake. As I examined my finds a climber from the tent next door wandered over to ask what I liked about the stones and I informed him rather lamely that I was looking for sparkly ones but hadn’t found any. Continue reading
Alhambra classical guitars are synonymous with quality and highly regarded throughout the world. The path to success has been an interesting one as the company was founded almost by chance and nearly failed shortly after being established. Today the company is a great success producing beautiful, traditionally hand crafted instruments in Spain, fashioned from quality woods from round the world but the road to success was a rocky one. Continue reading
I was one of those people who took one look at e-readers and immediately decided that I didn’t want one. I liked the look and feel of a paper book and had a stockpile of titles which I had yet to read. I didn’t think that using one of the new devices would be an experience I would enjoy and I had no intention of ever bothering with them. I was then forced to reassess the situation when I waged by annual war with my holiday luggage and yet again found myself with too little room to take the number of books I needed. Suddenly an e-reader was looking like an attractive proposition and I was lucky enough to receive one for my Birthday. Continue reading