Colorado is the eighth-largest US state by area and the subject of the John Denver song, Rocky Mountain High. The lyrics of the song are comforting. So is Colorado, with warm people, inviting towns, and cities to visit, complemented by stunning natural scenery. After a terrific ten days in Denver we went on a ten-day … More 10 DAYS // Driving to and from Denver
We visited the Mile High City in early July. Denver boasts nearly 300 days of sunshine and we experienced temperatures of 30 + Celsius with gloriously blue skies. Having read in the press about the unwelcoming nature of US border control, the reality was the opposite. Everyone we met at the airport could not have … More 10 DAYS IN // Denver, Colorado
Western Australia is the largest of the six Australian states, covering around a third of Australia’s total land area. To give it some perspective, Australia is around 32 times the size of the UK. Western Australia is about 10 times larger than the UK in area. We spent ten days driving from Perth to Albany … More 10 DAYS // Driving from Perth to Albany
Perth is the capital of Australia’s most western state. It is a long way from almost anywhere else. Despite the distance, it is worth the effort to get there. We spent three days in the city, then took a road trip to Albany. After that, we spent four more days in Perth before flying to … More 7 DAYS IN // Perth, Australia
For the first time ever, we had an early family Christmas. We spent Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve away. We chose Mauritius, a jewel of an island southeast of Madagascar. One of our boys who honeymooned there recommended it to us. The weather was sublime, around 29 degrees Celsius. The skies are sea were … More 9 DAYS IN // Mauritius
Évora is the capital of Portugal’s Alentejo region, about halfway to the Spanish border from Lisbon (around 130km). Évora has an impressive historic walled city centre and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Évora has beautiful buildings, remains from Roman occupation and many museums and churches. The walled centre is eminently walkable, although as is … More 3 DAYS IN // Évora, Portugal
Krakow is a Central European gem of around one million people. Krakow is picturesque with some magnificent buildings and a central square with similarities to Prague and Vienna. We found Krakow easy to navigate; it has fabulous transport links, with plenty of trams and trains. We had good weather which highlighted Krakow’s colourful and vibrant side. … More 5 DAYS IN // Krakow, Poland
To escape the greyness of February in the UK, this year we chose to visit Vietnam. We planned our 25-day trip ourselves, rather than be seduced by the lure of an escorted all-Vietnam tour. Our reference sources were old-fashioned print (take a bow DK), internet searches and recommendations from our girls who had spent time … More 25 DAYS IN // Vietnam
Hanoi is in the north of Vietnam. It is the country’s capital and second largest city with a population of around 5.5 million people. Hanoi was full of life, noise and colour and its Old Quarter seemed chaotic with narrow streets criss-crossing each other. In the past most streets in the Old Quarter were arranged … More 4 DAYS IN // Hanoi, Vietnam
Global Gary 