The Scottish highlands are dead sexy, and at the heart of all this wild and sexy stuff is a 1,500 year old mystery featuring a legendary monster who lurks within the depths of Loch Ness. We were at the end of day one on an awesome Scottish highlands tour, and our group was looking forward to a boat trip on the most famous loch in the world when we were told that our skipper had mysteriously vanished. Had this ever happened before, we asked our guide, and the answer was no. The following words may be of international significance, but the [View Full Entry]

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The occupation of Northern Ireland by British armed forces turned out to be the longest in British military history, and stretched over an unimagined period of thirty five years. What started as a limited intervention to quell unrest in Derry turned into an ongoing nightmare for all involved, whether your sympathies lie with the republican or the unionist cause. Sectarian violence in Belfast exploded in 1969, and made this city world famous for all the wrong reasons. The British completed a withdrawal of their forces in May 2007, and finally locals and travellers alike can pass unimpeded betwe [View Full Entry]

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The Galway races are one of the premier annual events in Ireland, and it's fortunate my visit coincides with the week long festival taking place in this wonderful city, situated on the west coast of Ireland. The fillies are out in force for a canter on the streets, and many are being dutifully escorted by dapper gents. Everyone in town looks a million bucks, er ... except me that is, but nevertheless I'm happy to be joining in the fun. The actual racing is solely comprised of hurdling and Irish stayers are world renowned jumpers. I was fortunate to be in [View Full Entry]

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Belgium has proven to be quite the surprise packet. The country is famed for the quality of the home made chocolates and beers, which guarantees a special place in the hearts of male and female travellers. The most impressive feature for us, however, is the beauty and elegance of the architecture as we strolled around the cities. It all adds up to a superb travel package, and Brussels is also the home of the European Union parliament ensuring the country is at the heart of what is happening within the EU. Belgium is a somewhat surprising detour, when the plan for [View Full Entry]

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The Millennium stadium in Cardiff towers over the centre of the city, and would have to be the most incredibly placed major stadium in the world. When the train pulls into Cardiff central you are right in the heart of the Welsh capital, and all a traveller needs to do is walk out of the station exit and there she is! This monster of a stadium seats 72,500 people and was the home of the FA cup final while the long delayed building process for Wembley stadium was being finalised. The magnificent stadium was built for the 1999 rugby world cup [View Full Entry]

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Flying into Heathrow airport early on a sunday morning is the catalyst for more travel adventures in this wonderful part of the world. London is a buzzing metropolis ... a money making machine, a giant in fact that can swallow up another Aussie backpacker without even a second thought. This is where it's at baby, here in the heart and soul of Europe. London is a financial juggernaut, although currently suffering a rather serious bout of indigestion along with the rest of the world as the credit crunch continues to bite. But enough of global financial concerns for the moment, let's [View Full Entry]

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An erotic male fantasy could well involve romantic Paris, and having a passionate affair of the heart with a Frenchwoman. Well, it certainly isn't my fantasy ... anymore! The city of romance has cast a magical spell over my lover and I as this latest European travel adventure rapidly draws to a close here in France. Paris is a beautiful city particularly when lit up spectacularly after dark, and the romantic strolls taken with my kind and gracious host have served to deepen my admiration for this wonderful city and her charming inhabitants. The French seem to possess an effortless charisma, [View Full Entry]

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I barely managed to extricate myself from a serious clinch with a travel friend in time to catch the overnight bus from Seville to Lisbon, and send a cyber kiss to you cherie *mwah - mwah*. Eurolines decided, in their infinite wisdom, to schedule a traveller friendly departure time of midnight for the bus from southern Spain to the Portugese capital, and to top it off the bus was scheduled to arrive in Lisbon at 5:30am Portugal time. I´d like to meet the genius who thought up that timetable ... Not! Anyways, it´s all good and I was surprised to see [View Full Entry]

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Southern Spain is a magical part of the world, but just happens to be situated precariously close to North Africa. Historically this has proven to be a big problem for the Spanish as Muslims conquered almost the entire Spanish peninsula by the year 714, and continued to rule Andalucia for the next 800 years. The enduring Muslim legacy of the Moors lives on in the architecture and culture throughout the major cities of southern Spain, which have gone on in recent times to become major tourist attractions for Muslims and Christians alike. I left Madrid as the great European adventure rolls [View Full Entry]

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Spain is a country that is famous throughout the world, whose language and culture have branched out to dominate Latin America. But that does not lessen the excitement of visiting the country for the first time. Barcelona and Madrid are the two most famous cities in Spain, and the focus of my first week travelling in this wonderful country. The train journey to get from southern France into Spain hugged the mediterranean coast, and was an interesting experience. Right on the border we entered a long tunnel, and magically re-entered the light to be in a Spanish speaking country. Voila, that [View Full Entry]

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