Friday 29th December

My first - and only - expense of the day is actually from last night, when I bought an Anthony Horowitz novel, The Word Is Murder, which I have devoured while snuggled in bed with my unicorn snuggie, earl grey tea and chocolate truffles. Perfect for a freezing afternoon. Would thoroughly recommend for anyone who enjoys …

Protected: Thursday 28th January

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Protected: Wednesday 27th December 2017

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Money Diaries – Welcome!

So for the next month or so, inspired by the folks over at Refinery29 and some conversations with my colleagues, I'm going to be writing some money diaries about what I'm spending! These will be password protected, at least at first, so let me know if you want the password.

My Travel Menu

So this month's challenge from the Travel Linkup is pretty fun: write about your ideal travel menu destination, with a short-haul starter, a long-haul main and a lasting impression for dessert. The only trouble I have here is sorting out, from the tangled mess of food and travel laced memories and plans, which ones to …

Travel Outtakes: Sicily Edition

Travel outtakes....where do I even start? I was going to start with the standard missteps, like accidentally booking an Airbnb in Palermo that didn't look like it had been cleaned this decade and when the "wardrobe" promised in the room description turned out be a length of chain suspended on the wall with some plastic …

Discovering Baltimore’s Inner Harbour

The Stars and Stripes flying on the top of Federal Hill  The first time I was sent to Baltimore , not going to lie, the only thing I thought of was scenes from The Wire. (Which for anyone hasn't watched it, is a brilliant drama about the drug trade, an angle which, as you might …

Lunch at the Lion & Lobster, Brighton

A crisp and sunny midday walk along Hove Beach inevitably led to the question "I'm feeling a bit peckish, do you fancy a bite to eat?" To which the answer was obviously a yes, and we headed to one of my favourite Brighton pubs, The Lion and Lobster. The pub is a bit like Aladdin's …

Winter Minestrone Soup

A few years ago I visited Florence in early December, and on a cold and rainy evening I was wandering around the city centre looking for somewhere to eat. I found a little trattoria by Santa Croce that was particularly welcoming against the winter gloom with a menu which wasn't overly touristic. I knew I'd …

My 2017 Travel Plans

I'm the kind of person who keeps a to-do (to-go?) list of places - and in 2016 I ticked off two biggies, NYC and Venice, which have been on there pretty much since I was old enough to start writing lists of daydream places. So for 2017 it's time to start ticking off a few …