Back in 2010, I took a trip with my good friend Nick, from London to Istanbul by rail, taking an unconventional route through the Balkans, taking in Paris, Nice, Genoa, Florence, Venice, Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Sarajevo, Belgrade, Sofia and Istanbul. It was our original Epic Rail Trip, and it’s just one of the great rail [...]
In January I had the privilege of a short 2 day trip to the island of Jersey to visit a client office. Time wasn’t so short that I couldn’t have a brief tour of the centre of the island’s town, St Helier. It’s a pleasant place with a french – cornish feel to it. Lots of small [...]
One of the feelings I most love is that as a new year passes thinking back over everything achieved in the previous 12 months. I always hope that it can bring a smile to my face – this year it certainly did. 2012 was epic – but I want 2013 to be even more epic. It got [...]
There are few places in the world I would rather call home after a trip than Edinburgh, so much so that I always sit on the left of the plane as it comes in to land so that I can gaze over Arthur’s Seat and the Royal Mile as the wheels come down over Inchkeith [...]
I had a couple of days left in San Francisco to explore more – and it just so happened that I’m in town at the same time as the SF Giant’s World Series winning parade. I decided to go down to Market St to take in the atmosphere, and it was INSANE! Thousands of whooping, Halloween dressed [...]
On Monday Sophie and I took a trip down to Golden Gate Park on the western side of San Francisco. It’s one of the largest urban parks in the world, about 3 miles long and 1 wide, filled with towering trees, rivers and gardens. We caught the scruffy number 5 bus from Union Square and [...]
It’s 22 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. No prizes for guessing that I’m not at home in Edinburgh right now! The warm fall sunshine in San Francisco is a breath of fresh air compared to chilly Scotland. We arrived early evening after a long day of flying and delays. We’re staying at [...]
I seem to be making a habit of trips to San Francisco of late, this will be my third visit in 4 years. It’s easily my favourite large city in America (I say large, as I have a soft spot for Portland, Oregon. San Francisco has a true identity as a city, and the more [...]
Some of you may know that I’ve been wearing hearing aids since I was 9 years old. I have a 50% hearing loss in both ears which made it pretty much mandatory, despite my valiant efforts to not wear them as a teenager. When I turned 18 I got my first pair of in-ear aids, [...]
I’m fortunate enough to be a member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Edinburgh. They have a couple of members only bars in the centre of Edinburgh and in Leith. The society do all of their own bottling of single malts, sourcing select casks from a huge range of distilleries across Scotland. Each bottling comes [...]
Edinburgh isn’t a huge place, with a population of under half a million, so you’d think in the two years that I’ve been here I’d have seen all of it. You’d be wrong. I’m a sucker for staying in my favourite parts of town like Canonmills and Stockbridge. This weekend we took a hike to [...]
Every year in August Edinburgh is turned into one of the top tourist attractions in the world during the Fringe Festival (as if it isn’t a top destination the other 11 months of the year). There are thousands of acts to see, but there are a number of other festivals on each summer that also [...]
There was once a time when it was hard to compare flight prices and you absolutely had to rely on a travel agent. Today there are countless price comparison engines which supposedly find you the cheapest flights, however dig a little deeper and you’ll find there’s often even cheaper ways to get to your destination [...]
I’ve lived in Edinburgh for a couple of years now, and I truly believe it’s one of the best places to live on Earth. Every summer the city turns into a mad house as thousands upon thousands of tourists and performers descend on the city for the Festival. Hotels are full and long lines are [...]