Top Must-See Australian Sights for 2013

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Ella Mason

Australia is a land of marvels; from the wonderfully diverse wildlife to its rich and culturally significant heritage – there is something for everyone on this land down under. Picking out just five must-see sights is a difficult task but here you will find the best places to visit this year in Australia.

Kangaroo Island

Who doesn’t love a kangaroo? They are one of the most iconic animals of Australia and most well-loved creatures and they even have their own island! Throughout the year, visitors can make their way to this stunning island and see some beautiful creatures in their natural habitats. Stay in the top class hotels and sample gourmet food before heading out and seeing what incredible sights you can see. And it’s not just kangaroos that you can spot here – it is also home to koalas, sea-lions and pelicans.

Sydney Opera House

A lot of people have taken a picture of ths incredible building when visiting Sydney, but how many of them have actually been inside for a performance? The Sydney Opera House is not just an amazing feat of architecture but one of the most famous concert halls in the world. If you have the time, make your trip unforgettable by taking in one of the fantastic shows held at this venue all year round.

Great Ocean Road

See some of the most amazing sights that Australia has to offer by travelling along the Great Ocean Road. A road trip along this iconic route is a great way to see the stunning scenery that this country has to offer and it allows you the freedom of stopping wherever you please. Just remember to make sure your car and its contents are fully covered before you set off. Get your vehicle serviced before your trip and make sure you’ve sorted out budget car insurance in order to make sure your road trip runs as smoothly as possible.

Wallaman Falls

Australia has a number of beautiful waterfalls across the country and one of the most spectacular is Wallaman Falls in Girringun National Park, Queensland. The waterfall is formed by a tributary of the Herbert River, Stony Creek and is notable for its single-drop of 268 metres, which makes it Australia’s highest permanent waterfall.

The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is world famous as the largest coral reef system on Earth, comprised of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands. Due to its warm, clear waters and abundant marine life, the Reef is very popular with tourists wishing to dive beneath the waves and explore this amazing underwater world.

Toulouse in Instagram Pictures Part 3: Food | Travel.

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Catherine Balavage

Following on from Part 1 and Part 2 here is the part people have really been asking for: food! French food really is amazing and I had some amazing meals. As you can see from the pictures. Our Toulouse Travel Guide is here.

Breakfast at the Citiz Hotel. They had a great buffet spread.

Dinner at J’GO Toulouse. The best pork and chips I have ever had in my life. While we were having dinner a brass band started up outside and played ‘Funky Town’ and other classic songs.

Pate, bread and salad.

Pork and chips. This was the best pork and chips I have ever had in my life.

Chocolate fondant.

We had an amazing Lunch at La Chai Saint-Sauveur. Their veal was superb, followed by strawberry pie and a cute strawberry macaroon. The second picture is Esme’s vegetarian meal.

Salmon with pate and beetroot sauce. The salmon was marinated and divine. Esme’s vegetarian dish. Asparagus and onion on pastry. Veal and Asparagus with onion and pastry. Strawberry Pie with a cute strawberry macaroon.

Py-R Restaurant, Toulouse. The food was absolutely divine.

Bread and bread stick. I love the dish.

The starters. Yummy.

Poached egg, pork knuckle baked broth, cantal paste, peas just creamed, vegetable tray: red shell onions, sprouts, broken hazelnut shortbread.

Peas just creamed.

Hake, Avocado guacamole, celery paste cooked in a sugar, fennel, cherries, Pedro Ximenez, Jerez Almonds, leeks vinaigrette, beans, chorizo bellota, crunchy noughat nuts.

Chouchou, red fruits, Vanilla cream, Air Pepper.

All of the restaurants were amazing. The food was out of this world. I highly recommend a visit to all if possible, at least one if not.

Have you ever been to Toulouse? Make recommendations below.

BMI regional operates over 450 flights a week throughout the UK and Europe with one way prices starting from £59. bmi regional flies from Aberdeen, Antwerp, Bristol, Bremen, Billund, Birmingham, Bristol, Brussels, Copenhagen, Glasgow, Gothenburg, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Esbjerg, Frankfurt, Hannover, Hamburg, Lyon, Milan, Munich, Norwich, Manchester, Toulouse and Zurich. All flights include complimentary food & drink on-board, free 20kg hold baggage allowance and 30 minute check-in. bmi regional is the world’s most punctual airline having recently been crowned the title for the 8^th consecutive year. For more information, visit www.bmiregional.com.

Toulouse In Instagram Pictures Part 2 | Travel.

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Catherine Balavage

Following on from Part 1, here is Part 2 of Toulouse in Instagram pictures. Part 3 is here with lots of pictures of food. Here is our in-depth Toulouse Travel Guide. Hope you enjoy.

Moon Rock at the Cite de L’Espace. Rented from NASA.

Breakfast at the Citiz Hotel, a great four star hotel in a convenient, central area. I love hotel dressing gowns.

We had an amazing Lunch at La Chai Saint-Sauveur. Their veal was superb, followed by strawberry pie. pictures will be in the food special.

Next we went to the Terre de Pastel Museum & Spa. This is newly opened in Labege.

Sandrine Banessy, the owner of Terre Pastel shows us how the woad plant dyes things blue.

I then walked around the city with Esme.

Dinner at Le Py-R. With fellow travel writers. The food was superb.

Victor Hugo Marketplace.

More Marketplaces. There was a great variety of stuff.

Have you ever been to Toulouse? Do you think you will visit?

Toulouse in Instagram Pictures Part 1 | Travel

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Catherine Balavage

I am fresh from a trip to Toulouse, I explored the wonderful city in the South of France, visiting hotels, restaurants, markets and tourist spots. All for my wonderful readers, It was hard, but someone had to do it. We are going to be doing a series of travel guides on the area but here is the first of Toulouse in Instagram Pictures. Our Toulouse Travel Guide is here.

Train to Birmingham Airport. Here is the shuttle to the airport.

No 1 Traveller Lounge at Birmingham Airport. A truly VIP experience.

BMI Regional plane to Toulouse Blagnac Airport. We flew business class and were looked after by the amazing Michael Love.

G & T time. When in the sky….

We stayed at the Citiz Hotel. A very stylish four star hotel. I loved my room.

Dinner at J’GO Toulouse. The best pork and chips I have ever had in my life.

While we were having dinner a brass band started up outside and played ‘Funky Town’.

It was Special National Music Day. The day that all of France get together and party. It was a lot of fun.

My hotel room is top left. Needless to say there was no point in getting an early night. So we partied.

The next day we went to the Cite de l’espace. An amazing space museum and theme park. I saw rock from mars and the moon, saw astronauts suits. I also experienced walking on the moon thanks to the Moon Runner. I also spent some time in a Space Capsule and saw a great temporary Mars exhibition, With David Leach-Davies of 69 Magazine.

Part 2 is here.

Part 3 is here.

Have you ever been to Toulouse? Make recommendations below.

About No.1 Traveller – fast facts

· No.1 Traveller specialises in premium hospitality and provides a complete ‘driveway to runway’ service – smart Chauffeur-driven airport transfers, express train tickets, airport parking, airport meet-and-greet and airport lounges (No.1 Traveller’s own collection, plus associate lounges abroad)

· It works with airlines, businesses and individuals to offer a convenient and comfortable service to take the stress out of going to and through airports – the smart traveller’s choice

· No.1 Traveller can be booked by anyone at www.No1Traveller.com or passengers can make their way to the reception of the airport lounge on the day

Airport lounge: Birmingham

· Opened October 2012; the first of No.1 Traveller’s lounges outside London

· Accessible to all passengers travelling through the airport

· Open daily from 0430hrs – 2030hrs; facilities include a range of seating areas across two levels, fully-tended bar, bistro area serving complimentary hot and cold dishes, complimentary newspapers, magazines and internet access

· Entry £27.50 per adult at reception, for up to three hours access (children £17.50 each), £22.50 if booked in advance (children £15)

Festival Survival Pack

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Frostie

Waking up in a tent with a hangover means a dry mouth and bad breath. Forgotten your toothbrush? Then Oraldiet is the perfect solution to keep you minty fresh all day. It’s an innovative lozenge that contains the probiotic lactobacillus reuteri, which balances out the bad bacteria in the mouth – the main cause of bad breath. It also contains aloe vera gel, which helps to keep your mouth bacteria balanced and keep you bad breath free.

I reviewed Oraldiet to see if it works. I took one everyday after brushing my teeth and it made a difference. It tastes like a strong mint. My mouth was fresher all day and I also noticed an improvement in my overall dental health. Better gums, whiter teeth and my tongue looked healthier too. Pretty cool.

Being on your feet all day at a festival can leave you feeling a little sore in the sole, but now you can add an extra weapon to your armoury against foot care woes with Carnation Footcare’s Anti Blister Stick. Long lasting, invisible and non-greasy, the innovative Anti- Blister Stick can be applied directly to the areas of your feet where shoes pinch and rub, providing instant relief, while also being easy to pop into your bag and carry around – perfect for when you are stuck in a field in the middle of nowhere. I use this almost everyday. I even took it on a recent trip to Toulouse and it helped with the hours of fun sight-seeing, which are always hard on poor feet.

Planning on dancing the night away? Look no further than the 9bar range for all of your energy needs. Available in nine tasty varieties – Original, Nutty, Pumpkin, Flax, Organic, Peanut, Anglesey Sea Salt, Cracked Black Pepper and Sweet Chilli – there’s a flavour to suit every taste bud. Packed with nutritious seeds that give a slow release of energy, 9bars keep you feeling fuller for longer, allowing you to concentrate on more important things – like which stage to attend. I have tried them and they are delicious.

Don’t let hangovers get in the way of your festival fun. Start your day with a Nature’s Plus Red Lightning powder sachet and feel electric. Each sachet is packed with over thirty whole food extracts including cranberry and pomegranate, giving it an antioxidant punch, perfect for curing those sore alcohol induced heads. It’s the perfect way to start your festival day!

The lights have gone off, the field is silent and you feel the need to sleep for days. It’s safe to say that the festival is over. Make sure that you are ready to get back to the daily routine with Detox Patch-It. This simple plaster-style detox system uses reflexology to support the body’s natural detoxification process. Just apply the Detox Patch-it to the bottom of your feet and let it do all of the work. Using double distilled mandarin wood vinegar and green tea the patches deliver FAR-infrared energy to stimulate key reflexology points on the feet so you awake feeling revived and ready for your next festival!

The 9bar range is available from Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Holland & Barrett and independent health food stores nationwide. Original, Nutty, Pumpkin, Flax, Organic and Peanut are available in 4 x 40g multi packs, RRP £1.89, and in 50g singles, RRP 70p. Anglesey Sea Salt, Cracked Black Pepper and Sweet Chilli are available in Waitrose stores nationwide. All varieties are available as 30g singles, RRP 65p.

Oraldiet is available from www.revital.co.uk. £6.35 for 30 lozenges.

Carnation Footcare’s Anti Blister Stick is available from £4.05.

Detox Patch-It is available from Holland & Barrett stores nationwide. £3.99 for 2 patches or £29.99 for 20 patches.

Nature’s Plus Source of Life Red Lightning powder sachets are available from www.nutricentre.com. £1.38 for 6g sachet.

HotelTonight, the app for last-minute hotel stays, launches new destinations

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Frostie

HotelTonight, the app for last-minute or spontaneous hotel stays,

launches new destinations in France, Italy, Spain and Mexico

HotelTonight, the first ever last-minute hotel booking app, has recently added more than fifteen new destinations to its roster of vibrant cities worldwide. This brings the total reach of the app to 12 countries and 100 destinations worldwide.

To tie in with the peak travel season in Europe, HotelTonight is adding popular European destinations, including Lille, Lyon, and Marseille in France; Barcelona, Madrid, and Malaga/Costa del Sol in Spain and Florence, Rome and Milan in Italy. The last minute hotel booking app is also offering its over five million global users new destinations in Ireland, Mexico and for those who prefer holidaying closer to home, HotelTonight has added Brighton to its list of best UK hotel deals.

This recent international expansion is part of its pledge to be ubiquitous and accessible to all last minute travellers and follows last week’s global announcement of new features including “Snap Your Stay” which allows customers to photograph and share images of their hotel with friends and other HotelTonight users, and the “HT Price Guarantee,” which guarantees its rates against competitors’ offerings.

HotelTonight is now partnering with almost 2500 hotels across the globe in the ‘hip’, ‘luxe’, ‘charming’ and ‘solid’ categories. Hotels include the stunning 5 Star The First Luxury Hotel in Rome, and the charming Palazzo Vecchietti in Florence, the Kempinski Hotel Bahia Estepona on the Costa del Sol and the hip Music Hotel in Marseille. These hotels and others across Europe are perfect for an impromptu weekend break. There are also many more hotels more on the mid to basic level which are perfectly suited to business travellers’ needs.

At the same time as adding these new destinations, the company has also expanded its European operations, relocating to a new, larger office in London’s Covent Garden and building out the team with new Country Managers for Italy and Spain.

The Hotel Tonight app offers unbeatable deals on hand-picked hotels, with bookings opening at midday and closing at 2AM. Last minute travellers can book a hotel in less than ten seconds with three taps and a swipe, starting that day for one night or more.

Visit www.hoteltonight.com for more information and to download the free app.

For staycations, in the UK, cities include Birmingham, Brighton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Manchester.

Kiss FM DJ Justin Wilkes reveals his Little Black Book of Ibiza

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Frostie

Justin’s top 5 Ibiza “Must Do’s”

1. Catch rays at Benirras Beach

My favourite beach on Ibiza, and probably the most bohemian on the island. Benirras is a gorgeous sheltered sandy cove on the North West coast not far from San Miguel. Loungers are still less than 10 Euros for the day, and if you stop by for sunset on a Thursday you’ll be serenaded by bongo playing locals.

2. Drink at KM5

Moroccan themed outdoor bar and restaurant situated 5km out of Ibiza Town on the San Jose road. This is where you’ll find the islands top dj’s hanging out before their sets. Great music, great cocktails and a seriously stylish crowd.

3. Eat at Sands Playa D’en Bossa

A fantastic place to pitch yourself in you’re staying on Playa D’en Bossa. If you’re lucky you might even catch Carl Cox making an impromptu appearance on the decks, and the food is a fusion of Ibizan and Japanese. As well as guest dj’s, they even have famous guest chefs making an appearance throughout the summer.

4. Visit Santa Gertrudis

This isn’t a normal stop on the tourist trail but it’s a gorgeous little town that if I lived on Ibiza would be my location of choice. There’s a vibrant square, some cool boutiques, a great tapas bar and new little restaurants opening every year.

Party all night at Eden

Eden is my summer residency and the only old school night on the island. Come to Kisstory on a Friday night at Eden San Antonio and you’ll be guaranteed more hands in the air moments than anywhere else on the island. I’ll be joined by DJ EZ, Rui Di Silva, Wideboys, Ratpack and more.

Justinwilkes.com / @justinwilkes

The Top 5 City Breaks

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Fiona Hill

If you’re bored of the usual beach holidays and crave a little more culture on your well-earned break then try a city break. Perfect for shorter holidays city breaks are a great way to get away from your everyday life and truly indulge. In most cases you’re only a short flight away from a memorable and meaningful break. So, what are you waiting for? All you need to do now is choose your destination and took make life a little easier we’ve listed our top 5 favourites.

New York

A firm favourite, especially around Christmas, New York is the ideal break for the super consumer. Shopping until you drop is easy in this bustling city but make sure you leave time for sightseeing and delving into the Big Apple’s dazzling nightlife. All of the major attractions will be calling your name the moment your feet land on New York concrete from Time Square and The Statue of Liberty to Central Park and the Empire State Building. Film buffs should head to the famous Film Forum and there’s plenty more culture to pack into your trip in the form of theatre trips and museum visits. All this activity should make you pretty hungry but there’s no chance of starving in this city, indulge in your own version of Man versus Food and scoff as much fine cuisine and famous fast food as you can.

By the time you leave, we guarantee you’ll be singing this city’s praises, just like Frank Sinatra.

Dubai

For the ultimate VIP city break that combines beaches with culture, all tied together in a concrete jungle, Dubai is the perfect choice. Dubai’s skyline is ever changing and whilst you’re there you should drink in as much of its development as possible and one infamous part of that skyline is the Burj Al Arab. Check this world famous hotel out for yourself to see if it really does deserve its 7 star rating. By day you can sip refreshing drinks by the pool or sink your toes into warm sands and when night falls you can eat at world-class restaurants and dance until dawn at one of the city’s famous clubs. If you feel like you need a break from the glitz and glamour rent a car and hit the road to Abu Dhabi, Dubai’s calmer relative.

Once a humble fishing village Dubai is now a must-see metropolitan city, with great beaches thrown in for free.

Dublin

Fancy a tipple? Then head to Dubai! The famous home of Guinness is a hive of activity and a firm favourite for large groups. The social scene begins right from the moment you wake up with trips to The Guinness Brewery that include a full tour and a glass of the famous black stuff. Dublin’s attractions are all easily accessible on foot and a stroll through Temple Bar is punctuated with bars and souvenir shops but if you want to do something a little different, head to Dublin’s Leprechaun Museum.

Amsterdam

Well know for both its beauty and its risqué darker side, Amsterdam will definitely leave you open-mouthed. Do as the Dutch do and hire a bike to cycle along this city’s winding canals and onto it’s cultural hot spots including the Van Gogh Museum and the Albert Cuyup outdoor market or to one of the many cafés.

Hop onto a canal boat to see the city from the water and delve into a slice of history by visiting the house of Anne Frank. If you’re feeling a little racy, head to the famous Red Light District to take a sneak peek at another world, but keep your wits about you!

Rome

The Eternal City is another firm favourite among tourists, especially couples. Rome is dripping with history and culture with plenty to tick off on your ‘must-see’ list. Make like Russell Crowe’s character from Gladiator and visit the well-known landmark, the Colosseum where you can learn about the city’s battles.

For a bit of popular culture, head to the Vatican to see if you can catch a glimpse of the newest Pope and the staring up at the celiling of the Sistine Chapel is well worth a sore neck!

When you have had your fill of history, fill your belly at one of the city’s many piazzas, squares brimming with shops and authentic dishes to try.

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