The day after my hike up Diamond Head I decided to visit Pearl Harbor Hawaii. History was never my favourite subject at school. As one dull teacher after another tried to download an encyclopaedic dossier of British history into my brain, I’d long tuned out before we even got to the matter of World history, … Read more
I don’t know what was more painful – the shot in the ass or the $500 bill. Either way is was not my anticipated introduction to Hawaii. As I mentioned in my overview of Hawaii, I spent three months exploring the main four islands: Oahu, Big Island, Kauai and Maui, and what will follow is … Read more
Venice is sinking, there is little doubt about it. Which is why it was higher up my travel list than the likes of Naples or Florence when I visited Italy. But even without the clock potentially ticking on the future of the city, Venice has long been one of the country’s top tourist attractions. Appropriately named the … Read more
I vividly remember sitting in the empty shell of my house after the removal men had taken away all but my last possessions. The only items that remained were my bed, which would be collected the next day, and a spare-room full of stuff I’d explicitly told the men not to touch on … Read more
My trip to Florence was fundamentally flawed. It was July and on a whim I’d decided to re-route my ticket from Asia to spend a month in Italy. And, as habit would have it, I didn’t have a single plan to my name. For a style of travel that is theoretically carefree, it can come … Read more
“How do you get to Urbino?” It was a good question that came from a good friend when I declared I was off to explore a new part of Italy (new to me, I’m pretty sure Urbino has been on the Italian map for quite some time). I can plan a trip to Rome with my … Read more
I love eating. On a good day, I can manage six meals – and I’m not talking about six small meals, either. In fact, if I could drop everything and eat professionally, I happily would…I’d perhaps need to work on my cutlery ability because, despite more than 30 years of practice with knives, forks and … Read more
Looking for one of the best secret places in Italy? Meet Urbino… Italy is one of those countries that keeps pulling me back. So much so that I’m starting to lose track of the number of times I’ve visited. My love affair with this elongated part of Europe started over a decade ago with a … Read more
If you’re not sure which Hawaiian Island to visit, I’m here to help you decide. Having spent three months flitting between the islands, I crammed in as many sights and activities as I could and although I have my personal favourite (more on that below), each island offers different experiences depending on the kind of … Read more
I knew within seconds of arriving at the airport that I’d missed my flight, which was funny because I turned up two hours before I was due to fly. Nevertheless, as I searched the departure-board looking for my flight from Milan to Manchester it rapidly dawned on me – I may have been ahead of … Read more