Travel
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A week in New York City – Day 1
As my birthday falls during the Christmas holiday period it’s usual for me to receive Christmas / Birthday gifts rolled into one. This can work well, especially when I opened a parcel to find an Expedia booking reference tucked into the bow of a box of chocolates! How wonderful, a week’s holiday in New…
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Grand Central Station, New York City
Feeling a little jet lagged we were up at 6.00 am so we helped ourselves to complimentary cappuccinos in the hotel’s Club Lounge. Sipping our drinks, we chatted with some flight crews staying in the hotel, from both American Airlines and Jet Blue. It was interesting to hear how they spent their free time between…
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Visiting Liberty and Ellis Islands, New York City
Following breakfast in Champs Gourmet Deli on Broad Street we headed towards Battery Park and onto the Ellis Island boat terminal. Tickets cost $18 each from the kiosk at Castle Clinton and include a stop at Liberty Island on the way out. There was only a short wait until the airline type security commenced at 9.00 am and…
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Exploring Brooklyn, Little Italy and Chinatown, New York
After coffee and fresh fruit in the hotel we headed to the nearby Champs Deli and enjoyed a ‘two egg sandwich sunny side up’. This is essentially two fried eggs in a freshly baked sesame topped roll, it tastes delicious but is incredibly messy to eat with egg yolk oozing out constantly, lots of serviettes needed.…
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Guide to Riding the Roosevelt Tramway and walking the High Line, New York City
Following breakfast in Champs Deli we took the subway to the Upper East Side to ride the aerial tramway across the East River to Roosevelt Island. The tramway is actually a cable car carrying up to 110 passengers every 15 minutes and the journey is included in the Metro pass. The tramway reaches a height of…
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Guide to Exploring Harlem and Queens, New York City
Our guidebook indicated that a visit to Harlem’s 135th Street to view the historic houses on Shrivers Row was worth seeing. The houses were indeed attractive, but to be honest there wasn’t very much else to see apart from the Apollo Theatre and the Cathedral of St John the Divine, so we continued walking until…
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Guide to visiting the MET, New York
First on our list this morning was a subway ride to the Williamsburg district of Brooklyn, a hipster district centred on Bedford Avenue, and home to artists and students. There’s none of the glitz of Manhattan here, instead low rise apartments and small, suburban shops along tree lined avenues. There wasn’t too much for us…
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Why you should visit the New York Transit Museum
It was time to pack our belongings after breakfast and after leaving them at the Club Quarters hotel to collect later, it was off for our final day of sightseeing. We started off by walking along the waterfront in Battery Park for one last time then at 10.00 am as the Museum of American Indians opened…
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A winter break in Budapest
A four day city break between Christmas and the New Year to Budapest was our plan. It started well, driving to Manchester and checking in for our Air France flight to Budapest via Paris Charles De Gaulle airport. Our flight to Paris was delayed which resulted in a tight connection at Charles de Gaulle. Thankfully,…
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Exploring Castle Hill, Budapest
After enjoying breakfast in the light and airy Buda Castle hotel’s restaurant, it was time to explore. Wrapping up well to protect us from the icy cold, we began exploring the cobblestone streets with their 18th century Baroque buildings in this world heritage part of the city. Our first stop was at Fisherman’s Bastion, named…
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The Szechenyi Thermal Baths, Budapest
Our luggage had arrived overnight, better late than never! After breakfast we rode the Buda Castle Funicular down the hill to the Chain Bridge then took a ride on Europe’s first ever Metro system, Line One. The original 19th century route still operates today using 40 year old trains with polished wooden seats and wood…
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Riding the Budapest Cog Railway
A final day in Budapest and it was a bright, sunny yet icily cold morning. We made our way to Maszkva Ter to board the world’s third hill railway, a bright, red train used by both locals and as a tourist attraction to take us up to the Buda hills. As the little train wends…
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Christmas Manchester Style
I may be a little biased having been brought up in the north west of England but there is no better way to get into the festive spirit than to visit Manchester during the Christmas season. Throughout December many of the city’s streets and squares are bustling with festive activity. Attractive Christmas market stalls adorned…
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Kraków at Christmas
A few weeks ago we noticed some cheap flights advertised to the beautiful city of Kraków from an easily accessible airport so without hesitation we snapped them up for a pre Christmas weekend away. The flight with Ryanair left on time and two and a quarter hours later we were touching down in Kraków, the…
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Exploring Kraków
We started the day with breakfast in the hotel, a good selection of hot and cold dishes were on offer in the pleasant restaurant. Setting out, it was a cold, sunny morning and our first stop was to the top of Wawel Hill to visit Wawel Castle built between the 13th and 14th centuries. …
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A winter weekend in Edinburgh
It’s not long since I returned from Madeira, my short working week over, I was off on my travels again. Late on a Thursday afternoon I was on my way to Scotland’s capital city, travelling by train on a Cross Country service. I had reserved a window seat and although it was already dark, its…
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Exploring the The Royal Mile, Edinburgh
It was 8.00 am when we roused from our slumbers and on opening the curtains we noticed it was raining so our first stop was to Wetherspoon’s on George Street for their traditional Scottish breakfast. Next, we wandered up to St. Andrew’s Square and spent a leisurely hour in the Virgin Lounge sipping cappuccinos and…
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Edinburgh travel guide: Cramond Island
We woke to a bitterly cold morning with clear skies and Edinburgh was bathed in sunshine as we strolled onto George Street for our breakfast at the Standing Order pub. We then bought a one day Lothian Buses pass for £4 each and took a bus to the coastal village of Cramond four miles to the…
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Exploring Edinburgh’s New Town
Another bright sunny morning, we checked out of our hotel and enjoyed a full Scottish breakfast in The Standing Order pub once again. We then strolled down the steep hills to Edinburgh’s new town. We passed along Dundas Street, Moray Place and India Street on our way to Edinburgh’s delightful district of Stockbridge made famous…
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Exploring Funchal, Madeira
What a difference a day makes! Less than 24 hours ago we were in cold, wet Manchester and this morning we woke to warm sunshine enabling us to enjoy a sumptuous breakfast out on the hotel terrace overlooking the ocean. We then set off for a stroll into the centre of Funchal along the typical…
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Funchal’s market hall and a coastal walk
A visit to Funchal’s Market Hall and a stroll along the cliff tops
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