I had three reasons for going to Romania last month. One was Therme București, the second was seeing Bucharest a bit further on from its communist day and the third was to correct all the mistakes I made on my trip there in 2009. So this us everything I did wrong back then and how … More The 7 mistakes I made in Romania in 2009 and how I did it right in 2025
I’ve seen a lot of people go all the way to Bucharest to go to the Therme but very few – actually, none at all come to mind – spend any time in the big city a few kilometres south of it. But although Europe’s biggest spa was a lovely bonus, I actually was in … More How to spend two days in Bucharest after your Therme trip
“Are you going to the spa in Bucharest sometime?” It was just a comment on someone else’s Instagram, left over a year ago, on a post I shouldn’t even have been stalking but it set it all into motion. From the moment Therme București shoved its way into my consciousness, the biggest spa in Europe, … More Is the biggest spa in Europe overrated? My day at Therme București
Well, this wasn’t something that was in my initial plan for things to do while I was in Bucharest. I was quite contented with the massive spa, getting to know the city and succeeding in getting the train to Brașov. In the course of figuring out how to get to know the city, by reading … More I visited the grave of Vlad the Impaler
Because I had four days’ annual leave to use, a spa to visit and some mistakes to fix, I found myself in Romania over the autumn half term last week. Brașov was on my list of things to do and because it’s in Transylvania, it made sense to leave it as late as possible to … More Halloween in Transylvania (Bucharest to Brașov by train)
I think this is something I’d like to do for these Weekends Away, an itinerary detailing what I did (although the next two in my calendar aren’t really going to lend themselves to it). The thing is, I’m not sure my actual itinerary is one that other people are going to want to recreate, especially … More 48 hours in Paris: two itineraries
There aren’t many secrets in Paris. With 30-50 million tourists coming to the city of love each year, there’s very little left that hasn’t been discovered, dug out and paraded on social media. But I have found one thing that I’ve never seen anyone else do, that I didn’t even know existed – the Ballon … More The best kept secret viewpoint in Paris
While I was in Paris to visit Notre-Dame, I wanted to find some other interesting things to do. I tend to repeat the same circle of tourist stops: the Eiffel Tower, Sacré-Cœur, the Arc de Triomphe, a boat trip. And while I enjoy those, I’m trying to do new things. Last time I was in … More A first-timer’s evening at the Moulin Rouge
Last weekend, I went off to Paris. Because these days I occasionally take inspiration from people rather than throwing a dart at Google Maps, this was inspired by Brogan Tate, who went to Paris earlier in the year for a press trip and put a picture on Instagram of her with Notre-Dame in the background. … More I went to the restored Notre Dame (don’t bother trying to reserve tickets)
If you’re looking for an easy hike in Iceland with something worth seeing at the end, you’re spoiled for choice. A popular one is Stuðlagil, which is about a 6km round trip from the lower, eastern car park and is pretty much flat and paved all the way. But today we’re going to a more … More Easy hikes in Iceland: Svartifoss
I Am A Polar Bear 