I like my boyfriend. Really, I do. The fact that he has a cottage in one of the prettiest parts of the Cotswolds, only a seven minute drive from the glorious Daylesford Hay Barn Spa, and another three minutes from the divine Wild Rabbit, is just a happy coincidence. To my credit, when we first started […]

Fun fact of the day: did you know that if it weren’t for Iceland’s strict importation law on horses, The Lord of the Rings would have been filmed there instead of in New Zealand? In fact, Iceland and its many varied landscapes were actually the inspiration for many of J.R.R. Tolkien’s locations of Middle Earth. […]

Digging up fresh Trufflepig dirt often takes me from my Tuscan mountaintop to Rome, down the coastal Aurelia road (whose condition has not improved much since it was built by the Roman censor Aurelius Cotta in the third century BC). Whenever possible, I make a small detour to the Tarot Garden, the astonishing sculpture park […]

I like to eat. Nothing is too weird, too sickening, or too belly busting for me. I’ve eaten a sheep’s face in Africa, bugs in Thailand, and brain in Toronto. I’ve even had whiskey with a dead cobra in it. When I travel, my favorite thing to do is try all the local food. Even […]

No matter how many tourists you have to plow through, or how many times you’ve already been to pay homage, the Pantheon sits in the top tier of Rome’s startlingly beautiful, historically rich, architecturally astonishing must-see attractions. Built almost 2000 years ago, the Pantheon was originally commissioned by Marcus Agrippa in the reign of Augustus […]

Despite being popular with surfers and backpackers, and offering direct flights daily from Mexico City, the beach town of Puerto Escondido (which literally means “Hidden Port”) still feels like one of Mexico’s beautifully kept secrets. Unless you happen to arrive during Christmas or Easter, you will be amazed at the quiet, relaxed vibe that this […]

Edinburgh is arguably one of the most beautiful cities in the UK. The Scottish capital is a wonderfully evocative metropolis, the old town and new town are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the city has much in store for the intrepid visitor. As you wander along Princes Street, Edinburgh Castle towers over the city grandly, […]

Sometimes when I’m feeling stressed out, or it snows in the middle of April (ahem, mother nature), I think about Estancia La Margarita. There are few places in the world where I’ve felt as relaxed as I did at this Argentinian haven. La Margarita’s sprawling property is set far enough away from the city to […]

The Galata Tower is situated in an area of Istanbul worth meandering on foot. Once you get out of the city’s exasperatingly crazy traffic and perambulate, it is a flaneur’s delight. This beautiful tower sits on the Golden Horn of Istanbul, across the Galata Bridge from the old town of Sultanahmet, in the area of […]

I adore the cultural aspects of India; it is the ultimate culture shock trip, and a sometimes overwhelming and intense experience. However, it is possible to suffer from temple fatigue, or sightseeing ennui. There are so many amazing things to see that sometimes you need to mix it up with something different, to keep you […]

The world underwater can be an eerily beautiful, serene place. Some of my best memories from far flung destinations are of being under the deep blue; swimming among sea lions in the Galapagos, or floating through the clear glacier waters of the Silfra fissure in Iceland, where all you can hear is the sound of […]

When trying to describe what Tikal is like, it is always easiest to mention that it’s the area where the Ewoks live in “Return of the Jedi”.  This ancient place in the deepest jungles of northern Guatemala is also a UNESCO World Heritage site, but this seems less illustrious than its setting in the Star Wars films. […]

I love fire. I love to watch things burn, especially large, highly flammable things. Effigy is one of my all-time favourite English words, and the burning of effigies is one of my favourite pastimes. And I love processions. So after dinner last night, I drove down the hill to the town of Pitigliano, in the […]

The Winter Olympics are over. What’s the next international competition that the world is willing to wake up to watch at all hours of the night? The FIFA World Cup, of course. Rio’s final samba school has finished the Carnival parade route, and now just 83 days remain (fifa.com has a countdown, naturally) until nationalistic […]

Shoreditch used to be an area best avoided; indeed, the ‘ditch’ in question was probably a boggy suburb of London’s City back in Saxon times, known as ‘Sewer-ditch’. Gentrification and its proximity to the financial City of London changed this area into a hub of artistic creativity and art in the 90s, and this former […]

My travel bucket list is so extensive that I don’t think I’ll be able to complete it in my own lifetime. That’s what happens when you work in travel. Going back to a place I have already been, then, triggers an upset little voice in my head. “But… we could be seeing one of the […]