Mariana Strijp writes: Going back to Budapest after nearly 8 years for me is the equivalant to me of my mum telling you that your high school boyfriend is in town – your heart is filled with a mixture of sweet and bitter memory, along with the  possible display of new charm and realisation that your life has moved on from the moment of high school musical glory.

Pretty much similar to the history of Hungary – one of the oldest Kingdoms on the continent and the Kingdom which first in the world in 1849 constituted minorities’ rights and yet the only one that lost 71% of its territory and 60% of its population to the neighbouring Romania, Serbia and Croatia. Read more

Melissa Davis gives her advice on London

1. Get a map

In order to have fun, one of the first things you’ll have to do is learn about London is how to get around. Buy one of those pocket-sized London A-Z maps. The MINI size is best. It covers all the roads in London out seven miles in every direction from City Centre. There’s also a index to the name of every street in London and a map to the many routes of the London Underground or the Tube. 
PS – getting there – Flight Centre  has Cheap Flights to London

2. Riding the Tube

Understand how to use the Tube and you’ll be able to go anywhere in London. Buy the Oyster Card at any station and you’ll be set for the whole week. It’s good for unlimited travel in Zones 1 and 2 on all buses and on the Tube.

3. Where to go…

Now that you’ve learned how to travel, it’s time to learn where. London has dozens of neighborhoods, each with its own character.

• The West End, the South Bank and Covent Garden are the places to go for theaters and performances, along with a vast array of restaurants and bars for early evening night-life.
• For the type of night-life that continues on into the early morning and that sometimes doesn’t even start until then, you should visit the Camden, Clerkenwell, Soho and Shoreditch boroughs.
• If you’re into rock and pop bands that are about to become famous, then go to the East End or Camden
• Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Kensington are the places to go during the day for shopping at designer shops and boutiques and for taking breaks at cafes, pubs and wine bars.
• For those of you who are flying in on those first-class London flights for high-end fashion, go to Regent’s Street, Bond Street and the Dover Street Market in Mayfair.
• London is an ancient city and you can have fun finding and exploring the historical sites: Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben or the Victoria and Albert Museum in Knightsbridge.
• Or you could spend your whole vacation in the Theatre District of London seeing a different show twice a day and still not cover all the productions being offered. You can’t miss by going to a show at the Old Vic. Check out the TKTS booth to get theatre tickets cheap; there are several all over London, but the most convenient is the one near Leicester Square.

Eat your way around London

Meals are another way to have fun. You’ll never run out of choices in London. If you’re short of cash, go for brunch rather than dinner. Ethnic restaurants are one of the remnants of the British Empire. You’ll find cuisines from just about every country in the world in the restaurants of London. You’ll find that even traditional English fare such as lamb and rabbit has made a comeback. But you can also find Chinese food in Soho, Afghan and Moroccan food in Queensway, Middle-Eastern food on Edgware Road and kebab from the street corner vendor. Indian restaurants abound.

ENJOY!

Ceridwyn Parr reviews: 100 places in Italy Every Woman Should Go, by Susan van Allen

Susan van Allen fell in love with Italy at a dining table in New Jersey, an Italy of gorgeous food, sumptuous art and bel canto , an Italy which she got to know through her Italian family.

She has been fortunate enough to make countless returntrips : her roccoco passion for Italy is evident in every word. Her delightful book is one to take to bed very night for a month before you leave, with a map alongside, to mark all the places she describes which you simply cannot miss. Read more

Ceridwyn Parr meets SoulSisters:

For me SoulSisters implied there is always a possibility that someone you travel with becomes a very good friend , or soulmate. Nothing like travelling together to test a relationship. My second thought was to do with soul and spirit – that was closer to the mark. Soulsisters is about soul, and women travelling together to places with spiritual significance. A great idea. Read more

Nan Gibbons writes:  My first observation upon arriving at the Cairo airport, after a grueling overnight journey, thousands of miles of travel and enduring the in-flight movie, “Mama Mia,” was, “These curbs look weird.”

Yeah — curbs.

But, I pulled myself together on the shuttle and managed to wrangle up better thoughts. Thoughts like the sky looks dusty, doesn’t anybody heed rules of the road? and Egyptian guys are cute. Read more

What a splendid holiday! I could talk about the food, or the landscape, the culture, the history or the converted mill we stayed in – but in the end, it comes down to you two: your expertise in cooking, devising great itineraries, history…..; your flexibility and good humour. Thank you both so much. Lois Cox

Doesn’t that sound like a great recommendation!  I want to join one of these tours – Lyn and Chris are two New Zealand women who are passionate about Italy, and are also great chefs.  They are based near Akaroa, New Zealand but spend several months a year guiding trips in Italy. You can enjoy a luxurious stay in their historic house on the Banks Peninsula in the South Island of New Zealand -  The Gables Country House, but its these Italy trips which grab me.

In 2012 they are spending three weeks in Tuscany, three in Puglia and three in Piedmont, and they invite up to 6 people each week to join them.  See their latest list of tours are on the Women Travel the World Tour Calendar
What bliss -  if you are in any doubt, read the comments below. Read more

Guest blog by Lorraine Boissoneault, Go Girl Magazine

Traveling around the world inevitably means coming down with some form of illness or another. Whether it’s a simple cold picked up from fellow fliers, or the more uncomfortable experience of the local variation of Montezuma’s curse, having a well-supplied med kit is a must for all foreign adventurers.

My own experiences getting sick in distant lands somehow end up being more dramatic than most people’s, with the result that almost everyone I know thinks I am a walking cesspool. I swear I don’t actually get sick that often! Not with the common cold, anyway. When I get sick, I get sick in style, and require more medical attention than just a visit to the closest pharmacy. I could lament my bad luck, but instead, I try to look at the sicknesses as a chance to assess the health care system in each of the countries. As of now, my list consists of three countries: France, Morocco, and China. Travelers heading to these locales – read on and educate yourself. You never know when you might come down with a bad case of dengue fever (no, I have not had dengue fever – yet). Read more

I love the internet – you meet the most interesting people.  I have just connected with Isabel the owner of Lesbianas Viajeras, (Lesbian Travelers) . She is a young lesbian enterpreneur who has lived for years in different cities such as Paris, Madrid and New York. In her personal experiences around the world, she has realized of the desire of gay women to join and share travelling and friendship, group activities, etc Read more

Our Venus Adventures guide Jennie warns us about the traffic in Saigon – we thought Hanoi was challenging.  Wow!  Motorbikes everywhere all times of the day and night. We are staying at The Spring Hotel, which is close to the historic opera house, Post Office and lots of up market shopping as well as the big Ben Thanh market one of the landmarks in Saigon.  We are here for three nights, to do some sightseeing, some shopping and figure out how to fit everything in our bags to take home. Read more

Only mad dogs and English Women go out in the noon day sun!

It is 1pm on a hot and sticky afternoon by the time  we are ready to ride near Ben Tre. VERY HOT AND STICKY!

We are covered in sunscreen and insect repellent, have the lightest possible clothes on that cover us, a bottle of water and we are ready to go.  Our guide decides to go the scenic route to avoid the sun, but it turns out to be longer.  We cycle mostly on narrow tracks that you could not find without a guide (its worth getting a local guide!), past houses with people calling out friendly hellos, and not much traffic apart from us.  Bananas and coconut trees overhand the track and provide some shade. This land is bountiful, a veritable food bowl – mango trees,  jackfruit the size of a chubby family cat,  rice fields yielding their 3rd harvest of the year.  But it is HOT – 30 degrees and humid. Read more