Of course, there were times when planning went somewhat awry, like in India when my better half thought he’d stock up on all sorts of fabulous artefacts at the airport so cashed a £100 traveller’s cheque on the morning we were leaving. We arrived at the airport to discover it was no more than a military compound with one small kiosk where, for £4 you could buy 200 cigarettes the size of matches. As you weren’t legally supposed to take cash out of the country, not only had we lumbered ourselves with vast quantities of Rupees that we were unlikely to need again in the near future, but it also made for some squeaky bum moments at the security checkpoint.

Along with the fat wad of rolled Rupees secured with an elastic band, the tin in the bedroom contained Thai Baht, French Francs, Jamaican Dollars, Kenyan Shillings, Singapore Dollars, Chinese Yuan and US Dollars, worth in total somewhere around the £800 mark based on rates at the time it was exchanged.

When it came time to load up all our worldly goods for the move to Tenerife, we decided to gift the US$100 to our nephew in the firm hope that he’d get a chance to travel to the USA at some point, and the rest we took to Thomas Cook to cash in. We figured it just might yield enough to get us a one way flight to Tenerife.
In fact, it came to £12.43.

A bitter lesson in foreign currency exchange rates and as good a reason as you can get for making sure that you spend every last cent, dime and satang before you get back home.

Think of the Greek Islands and your mind fills with skies that really ought to have their own colour named after them – ‘Greek sky blue’; blinding white walls where crimson geraniums tumble from an old olive oil can; crooked, cobbled streets where cats stretch lazily on roofs; tavernas with tables shaded by olive trees; elderly gents sitting on stone benches and widows sweeping doorways – all set within a tranquil, heat-shimmering landscape filled with the sound of cicadas.

Despite mass development in parts, there’s still something about the Greek Islands that makes them unique; a quality of light and the perfume of the countryside. To me, they are a romantic destination where the sun is more fierce than any I have encountered, the home-made tzatziki is the best food I have ever eaten and the pace of life forces me to slow to an amble from the moment the plane’s wheels touch down at the airport.

The Greek Islands are the ultimate romantic destination and are like an addictive habit; once discovered you want to try more, then it becomes difficult to give them up. Over time you can pull yourself away but when you return, you realise how much you’ve missed them and the addiction kicks in all over again…

Over on the Sparkle website we’re doing a series of travel and holiday reviews about the Greek Islands…beginning with…well, you’ll just have to come over and find out for yourself!

Forget the travel iron – firstly you don’t need the extra weight and secondly, who wants to iron on holiday?
This method of packing will seem very odd the first time you do it and you’ll no doubt be sceptical but take a leap of faith – it’s never once let me down. You’ll get quicker and better at doing it with practice too.

Here’s how to pack a suitcase so that all your clothes come out pressed and ready to wear.

1.    Lay your open suitcase on the centre of the bed with loads of room on every side.
2.    Keep back one item that doesn’t care about creases – a sarong/towel whatever.
3.    Start with underwear and swim wear and lay them flat along the bottom of the case.
4.    Next, the largest items (trousers/jeans). Lay the tops flat on top of the underwear and leave the legs hanging out over the side.
5.    Continue to lay trousers, alternating sides so you have legs sticking out from both sides.

6.    Shirts – lay the neck and collar flat, filling the flat space and spread the sleeves out over the edge and the tail over the top or bottom lip of the case. Make sure you flatten out right up to the edges and again, alternate so that the clothes inside the case remain as flat and even as possible
7.    T shirts will fit mainly into the case with tails hanging over the edge.
8.    When all the clothes are in, lay all your toiletries/books etc in the centre.

9.    Now cover the toiletries with your crease-proof item (number 2)
10.    Fold in all the overhanging ends, one by one, alternating sides, top and bottom and ensuring they’re all crease-free as you place them.
11.    The final folds should be trouser legs which will hold the whole bundle secure.
12.    Fasten your straps and tuck your shoes around the edges of the bundle, taking care not to create creases.

When you arrive at your destination, everything will emerge from the case as if it flew there via the dry cleaners – pressed to perfection and ready to wear.

I remember my first trip to a Third World country as if it was yesterday; it was to Sri Lanka in 1990. From the moment I stepped outside the aircraft to see hundreds of Sri Lankans perched in the branches of the trees that surrounded the military compound of the airport, to the moment I stepped back onto the aircraft steps, virtually nothing was familiar to me.
To begin with I found the experience disconcerting, but a good sleep and a perfect pot of Broken Orange Pekoe tea later I was exhilarated and ready to explore.

Since then, I have travelled much of the world, always setting out with a map and a guide book to explore the surroundings, taking local transport to nearby towns and villages and booking directly with locals as guides whenever possible.

But the odd thing is, in all my world travels, the place that felt most foreign to me was France!
And that was for one simple reason. Wherever I’ve been in the world, I have found that most people understand and will speak English; the Caribbean, the Far East, the US, much of Europe etc. But not France. In France they speak French and expect you to do the same. And why not? So they should. After all, how many of us when asked directions by a visitor from France, Italy or Spain would be able to respond in one of those native tongues? My money’s on “not many”.
My schoolgirl French was decidedly faltering on that trip but I managed to get by and my confidence grew as time went on and I was forced to dig deeper and deeper into my memory to dust off vocabulary and accents.

But nevertheless – there it is.

For me, the reason it felt so foreign was because I couldn’t communicate very well with those around me and therefore felt alien and stupid much of the time. Despite the familiarity of the landscapes, the food markets, the advertising billboards and the livestock, I was well and truly out of my comfort zone.

So that’s why I smiled at the report about Spain being sidestepped for not being “foreign enough”.
I wonder how many of those interviewed actually leave their resorts and explore independently or even choose to vacation away from the British enclaves of the Costas in the first place?
I can’t help thinking that if they did, and had to get by entirely in Spanish, they’d soon discover they were in a foreign land.

What do you think?

If you’re going to be knee-deep in snow anyway, why not head to the poet’s homeland where they know how to do snowy scenery better than anywhere else in the world (or so they told me). Make an effort and don your kilt for the occasion and if you choose to wear it traditionally, give my regards to the brass monkey.

On the bonnie, bonnie banks…
Where could possibly be more romantic than on the banks of the truly breathtaking Loch Lomond? Strolling hand in hand along the shore before returning to a warming wee dram and a candlelit supper of traditional haggis, neeps and tatties.
Romance by the silver spoonful permeates every aspect of The Auchenheglish Cottages with their mesmerizing views over the Loch to the mountains. Set around the edge of the loch, each lodge is in its own private setting and is the perfect romantic getaway.

If you don’t want to have to track down your own haggis, then head to local bar and restaurant The Cruin where, famous for dishing up ‘Scotland on a plate’, their chef will be giving the classic Burn’s supper a signature all of its own; 3 courses for £18.95.

In Auld Reekie
Edinburgh knows how to celebrate, and this most Scottish of nights is no exception.
Head to the Whiski Bar and Restaurant for a classic Burn’s Night supper followed by a Ceilidh with footstomping music provided by Muckle Flugga (yet to make it onto Music Man Mike’s radar); 3 courses £19.95.

Push the gastronomic boat out with a 5 course gourmet Burn’s Night supper at Channings where all the pomp and ceremony, including the address to the haggis and a Scottish folk band, will be rolled out for £45 per person.

Spoil yourselves with a two night stay at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and spend Tuesday recovering in its life-renewing spa. Classic room with King sized bed from £118 per night.

Celebrate with the Sassenachs
You don’t have to venture north of the border on Burn’s Night to enjoy the taste of Scotland.
The events people Vinopolis are celebrating the event in style on the 25th January at their South Bank venue in London. A whisky tasting which includes an 18 year old Glenlivet and a 15 year old Dalwhinnie will be followed by a haggis supper for £45 per person.

Albannach on Trafalgar Square will be hosting an extravagant, 5 course gourmet feast and will have all the speeches and toasts and a piper to pipe in the haggis. With a 140 strong whisky list, you’ll be reeling to the band before they’ve struck up a note and you’ll still be reeling when they hand you the bill for £95 per person – gulp.

Finally, if the poet in you wants all the romance of a Burn’s night supper but the Scot in you can’t stomach the thought of all that expense, I’ll be telling you how to stage your own special supper. So get the whisky, haggis, neeps (swede if you’re English, turnips of you’re Scottish) and tatties (potatoes) in and check back here on January 25th.

Just 4 flying hours from a UK that seems to have slipped into a second Ice Age, the Canaries are currently enjoying average temperatures in the mid 20s (70s Fahrenheit), six and a half hours of sun a day, and daylight to near 7pm.
So it won’t come as much of a surprise to discover that a sizeable percentage of the UK is already booked to make their escape to these idyllic islands and hotel beds are as scarce as gritting salt.
But what few people realise, is that there’s a whole lot more to the Western Canary Islands than just sun, sea and sand and if you choose to stay even a short distance away from the coast, you can still find vacancies.

When it comes to idyllic winter sun walking destinations, La Gomera, La Palma and, surprisingly, Tenerife take some beating.

La Gomera
Second smallest of the Canary Islands, La Gomera lies just 28 kilometres off the coast of Tenerife but in that distance you travel back at least fifty years.
Shaped like a tablecloth that someone has pinched in the centre and raised above the table so it hangs in folds, the island is carved into deep ravines that run from its centre to the coast making driving a time consuming affair and walking an ever changing vista of rugged highs and lows.
Well signposted and informative trails matrix the entire island from its coast to its UNESCO protected rainforest of Garajonay 1,487 metres above sea level. Ancient rainforests, enchanting lakes, woodland waterfalls and rocky coastlines set into a lush, tropical landscape make La Gomera a walker’s paradise.

Stay: Rural Hotel Tamahuche sits at the foot of Roque Cano in Vallehermoso, the heart of walking country. Polished wooden floors and beamed ceilings in a beautifully restored traditional house. Double rooms from €71 per night (€51 for singles).

More information

La Palma
Known as the Isla Bonita (beautiful island), La Palma is one of the least known islands to the UK market and yet is, in my opinion, the most beautiful. If La Gomera is the rugged macho element of the archipelago, La Palma is its softer, more feminine side. The island’s capital of Santa Cruz de La Palma is a perfectly preserved Colonial town with narrow cobbled streets and carved wooden balconies above a surprisingly sophisticated collection of shops, bars and restaurants.
The entire island is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve where over 744 species of wild flowers bloom amongst the bananas, vines, tobacco, almonds and tropical fruits and through which more than 1000 kilometres of hiking routes weave their scented way.

Stay: In the La Fuente Apartments in the heart of Santa Cruz de La Palma. Ask for a room in the old house. Apartments from €37 per night.

More information

Getting there: Naviera Armas and Fred Olsen run ferries daily from Los Cristianos on Tenerife to La Gomera and La Palma.

Tenerife
Away from the popular image of overcrowded beaches and Pina Colada, the northeast of Tenerife is home to the Anaga Mountains where ancient laurisilva forests, survivors from the Ice Age, play host to dramatic ravines and swirling clouds. Tiny hamlets cling to the valleys like shipwrecked mariners to a lifebuoy and small communities still inhabit caves. In the north and west of the island scented pine forests swathe the hills, carved by narrow trails with track-stopping vistas and carpets of sub-tropical flora and at the centre of the island a 10 kilometre wide crater plays host to the planet’s third largest volcano, Mount Teide. Up here with the Gods, you’re not just walking on air; you’re walking above the clouds

Stay: Perfectly placed for exploring the interior and the north of the island, La Orotava is Tenerife’s most beautiful town and the Rural Hotel Victoria is a gem in its crown. Double room with breakfast from €98 per night.

More information

Getting there: Monarch flies daily to Tenerife South from all major UK airports from £44 one way – once they’ve de-frosted the runways.

Happy Trails!

So here, in no particular order, are my predictions for where’s going to be hot in 2010 .

Sparkle’s Top Ten Holiday Destinations for 2010.

1. South Africa
The world’s TV cameras will showcase South Africa for a whole month this summer as World Cup fever grips us. Promoters are hoping that the publicity will finally get this most beautiful of countries onto the world tourism map and as major tour operators are already reporting that they’ve sold out their World Cup packages, it looks like 2010 could be South Africa’s year.

2. Costa Rica
When Thomson and First Choice add a destination to their summer schedules, you can be sure that others will follow. Long enjoyed by US citizens, this lush jewel of jungles, wildlife and beaches has finally made it onto Britain’s radar and is set to woo long haul travelers this year.

3. Croatia and Montenegro
All the beauty of Tuscany without the price tag, that’s how travel writers describe Croatia. The beautiful, unspoilt Adriatic coastline caught the travel market’s attention in 2009 and is set to grab an even bigger slice of it in 2010. Combined with a trip to the pearl of the Med, Montenegro, this Adriatic adventure will be in next year’s travel Oscars.

4. USA
Keeping out of the Eurozone means that the UK will once again look across the pond for their holiday kicks. As ever, Hollywood will set the tone for destinations with next year’s release of Sex and the City 2 shining a spotlight on the buzz of New York and the release of Twilight ‘Eclipse’ drawing people to Washington State. Would-be wand wavers will be heading to Orlando in spring for the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios.

5. Dubai
Oil price slumps and the global recession created a dint in Dubai’s economy that sent fear tremors through the UAE’s burgeoning luxury travel market. As a result, many hoteliers are already slashing their prices and making Dubai more affordable. Luxury lovers could grab some great bargains here in 2010 if they’re quick off the mark; with all this freezing weather, oil reserves will deplete fast and prices will rise.

6. India
October sees India’s capital and third largest city, Delhi hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games. This fascinating city which has been destroyed and rebuilt seven times is creating an additional 25,000 rooms to accommodate athletes and visitors. The Games will be a springboard for many people to discover the unique sights, sounds and colours of India.

7. Thailand
It’s difficult to go anywhere nowadays and still feel you’re getting the sort of value for money that used to come so easily when you ventured abroad. But Thailand is one place that still delivers the goods. Beauty, tranquility and hospitality by the baht-load will keep Thailand on the UK’s travel map next year.

8. Morocco
Just three flying hours and a million miles away from the UK, Morocco offers a fascinating culture, breathtaking beaches and almost guaranteed sun. Rising in popularity in 2009 as an alternative to the Eurozone, the Riads and souqs of Marrakesh will continue to enjoy a sizeable slice of the UK market next year.

9. Istanbul
One of next year’s European Cities of Culture, Istanbul is set to consolidate its reputation as one of the World’s hippest cities in 2010. With a multitude of budget airlines delivering holidaymakers from the UK in under four hours, Turkey’s going to be on the menu all year.

10. Egypt
Set to rival Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt’s hottest newcomer onto the UK market is Marsa Matruh on the Mediterranean coast. Thomson Airlines are flying direct to Marsa Matruh from Gatwick and Manchester from May 2010. Sparkle predicts that many former Tenerife and Costa del Sol holiday-makers will be walking like Egyptians again next summer.

I’d dithered and pontificated for the best part of 1999. I was not going to pay through the teeth to travel somewhere special to see in a new millennium, no matter how hard the travel media tried to sell it to me.
And then the millennium-bug rumour mill sprang into action.
All the computers would allegedly stop at midnight on 31st December 1999 it said. Wall Street would crash, life support machines would seize up, we’d all be plunged into darkness and airplanes would fall from the sky. That was enough to do it; bookings dried up and suddenly you could go just about anywhere for the millennium at lower prices than you’d ever seen.
Never one to miss a bargain, that’s how I ended up in New York’s Times Square along with a million others to see out the old millennium and welcome in the new.

Security was so tight following terrorist threats on the Mayor’s life that once you were in Times Square, you had to stay there or not get back in. So any chance of popping out to an off-licence for a bottle in a brown paper bag or to a deli for some doughnuts was out of the question.

It was all so exciting when the millennium arrived in Tonga, twelve hours before it was due in New York. It was still exciting when it arrived in London seven hours later and to celebrate the USA’s special relationship with the UK, we were all showered with Union Jack flags while The Beatles blasted out All You Need is Love over the giant Tannoys. As the century slipped away around the rest of the globe I was tempted to call it quits and head to a restaurant but I’d come all this way and I was determined to stick it out. When it was finally New York’s turn, at five in the morning UK time, exhausted, starving, frozen to the marrow and stone cold sober I can honestly say I was heartily sick of the thing.

No sooner had the infamous ball dropped than I was brushing off the ticker tape and heading back to my hotel where two bottles of champagne were drunk in 40 minutes in an effort to make up for lost drinking time.
It’s one of those things that you can tell people; that you were in Times Square for the new millennium, but if the truth be known I’d probably have had more fun in Tenerife, which is where I’ll be this year.

And, it seems, I won’t be the only one as the second most popular destination according to the survey, is Tenerife.

This time I’ll be standing in warm air beside a glistening harbour, in arm’s length of at least 25 beer kiosks and assorted food vendors, watching amazing fireworks, swallowing a grape for every stroke of midnight and dancing ‘til dawn.
Who needs the Big Apple, give me the Big T any day.

Here’s Skyscanner’s top ten venues for Brits to spend their 2009 New Year’s Eve:

1. New York
2. Tenerife
3. Paris
4. Amsterdam
5. London
6. Alicante
7. Malaga
8. Edinburgh
9. Geneva
10. Dublin

Where will your date with New Year be?

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

I was browsing last minute deals to Berlin’s Christmas markets this year and wondering how people managed to buy anything with the luggage weight restrictions which nowadays act as therapy to my addiction.

There’s something in my brain that simply cannot transpose lovely things from their native location to the bookcase in my living room. If there was, I’d realise that the pastel, rainbow-coloured pottery of Zakynthos, the carved Buddhas of Thailand and the ebony Ganesha from Sri Lanka might just look out of place in a Victorian cottage in Stockport.
You also have to feel sorry for my friends and relations who, whenever my travels fall anywhere near Christmas, end up with batiks, painted teapots and shadow puppets in their Christmas stockings.

And it’s not just ornaments that find their way into my hand luggage or fill the suitcase to ‘HEAVY’ labelled capacity. For years I bought hooch from all over the world that was so quaffable when drunk in exotic locations under hot skies and nothing less than disgusting when re-located to the cold, hard reality of Britain. Bottles of raki from Greece (which incidentally is disgusting even when you’re in Greece), fenni from India and toddy from Sri Lanka slowly fermented to something very scary in the cupboard beneath the kitchen sink until I was packing to move to Tenerife and they had to finally be disposed of. I still remember the hangover I got off the fumes just from pouring them down the sink.

But I’m certain I’m not alone in that particular addiction. Come on, admit it…how many of you have bottles of Tenerife’s honey or banana rum gathering dust in the drinks cabinet right now?

My addiction reached its peak when I spent some time in Jamaica. I don’t know if it was the warm sunshine, the cool Reggae, the Red Stripe or just the whole ‘wafted here from Paradise’ feel but I wanted to take Jamaica home with me and ended up with masses of wood carvings. Amongst them was a Rastafarian head whose dreads doubled as an ash tray, an owl with four faces (I remember being particularly impressed with that at the time) and a mask the size of a small surf board which I spent 40 minutes trying to wedge into the bottom of my suitcase.

Years of taking hours to dust the shelves, combined with Draconian luggage restrictions has finally cured me of my addiction and I even managed to resist the prospect of some rock-bottom-priced Communist art from China not long ago.
A few months after I got back I read an article which said that those pictures are now very sought after and extremely valuable…d’oh!
Jamaican mask anyone? Make a great Christmas present…going cheap.

There’s something about a beautiful sunset that seems to touch the soul.

Whether it’s the drama of crimson on a canvas that normally fills our vision with tones of blue and grey; or the realisation of how spectacularly beautiful the universe really is, I have never met anyone who isn’t at least a teeny bit emotionally stirred by a stunning sunset.

Photographing and filming the sun going down has long been a feature of our travels and we inevitably return home armed to the teeth with endless footage that would have even Dan Corbett snoring.

Negril in Jamaica is famous for its sunsets and everyone goes to a place called Rick’s Cafe to watch them. We spent a couple of hours up there one evening videoing a sky that became more beautiful with every can of Red Stripe and the passive fumes of Jamaica’s trademark plant being smoked all around us.
When we got home we found we’d inadvertently filmed over Jack’s paragliding trip earlier in the day which had ended with him hitting the floating landing stage at some speed, bouncing back up into his chute and wrapping himself up like a giant silk worm as he rolled headlong towards the sea. Some of the funniest footage we’d ever captured in fact; £200 from ‘You’ve Been Framed’ and a classic comedy moment lost forever to a forty minute shot of the sky – damn that Tree of Moses.

When I think of some of the prettiest sunsets I’ve ever seen, my mind automatically turns to Sri Lanka where palm trees are silhouetted in black against burnished orange and the surface of the Indian Ocean reflects the colour until it looks like the whole globe is on fire.
But if I was to choose the place where I had seen the best sunset ever, it would be Oban.

We were touring the west coast of Scotland and had booked into a bed and breakfast on Oban promenade. It was July and the weather was warm and sunny so, dressed in just T shirts and shorts we climbed aboard a boat trip to Mull to visit Torosay Castle and its Italian gardens.
On the return sail to Oban the season changed and a storm raged. All around us the German, Scandinavian and Dutch tourists pulled sweaters, rain-macs and sou’westers from their bags and proceeded to layer themselves against the elements. Jack and I huddled together on a bench, lashed by freezing waves, losing the feeling in our feet and hands and wondering where in the small print everyone else had read that we’d leave in summer and return in winter.

That night the sky became a kaleidoscope of purple, pink, orange and crimson intensifying to shades that I never knew were possible. Whether it was down to the storm or just a common or garden sunset in Oban, I don’t know but it remains the most beautiful I have ever seen…so far.

Above the Clouds

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