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After finishing my A-levels, my best friend Lucy and I booked a girls holiday. No, it wasn't to Magaluf or Ibiza. We wanted somewhere that was both cultural, cheap and a good party. After finding flights for a reasonable price, we settled on Barcelona. For around 300 Euros, we stayed in a great hostel just around the corner from La Ramblas, just next to the Metro and within walking distance from all the best night clubs and a short ride to all of the excellent attractions that Barcelona has to offer. We spent a week in the city, beach and parks, managing to find cheap enough places to eat, drink and party. On a budget, we managed to have the best holiday and it's so easy to adapt a trip to Barcelona to your traveling style. There's plenty for families, older couples, friends, everything. I'm definitely planning on taking my parents there in the near future and my own family when I have one. Art galleries, Gaudi, food, anything you're interested in will be in Barcelona and so long as you know where to look, it can be as affordable as you like.
Mercato centrale, as it's name suggests, is placed bang in the centre of Florence. And it's a food market. It's kinda like Borough Market is to London.
Inside you'll find the odd tourist that's found their way there but you'll mostly see chefs buying wholesale and locals buying their ingredients for that night's dinner.
The smell of truffles as you walk in will wash over you and, if you're anything like me, pull you in like the tractor beam in Star Wars. It's got some amazing wines (nearly all varieties of Super Tuscans), cheeses, olive oils, bread, huge bags of fresh porcini mushrooms (depending on the time of year) but, for me anyway, the main reason to go is for the cafes at the rear of the market. There's always a queue and it's packed with locals. A good sign. It's very cheap (about €3.50 for a main and €2 for a medium caraffe of wine. The porchetta sandwiches at Nerbone at €3.5 are an absolute must. They're incredible.
Piazza del Mercato, Florence, Italy
Google map: bit.ly/12SI4Jr
Demonstrating butter churning with an abundance of fresh, new, springtime cream, is a man in a tricorn hat. Nestled in the shambles at Bewdley Museum, lies 'The Copper Pot', a replica Georgian shop selling seasonal, historically-researched foods for people to buy. The smell of spices and chocolate gets into your nose as soon as you walk in. With tasters on offer, historic games to try and authentic decoration to feast your eyes on, time literally stops still in here.
www.facebook.com/TheCopperPot
www.thecopperpot.co.uk
Bewdley Shambles, Bewdley Museum, Load Street, Bewdley, DY12 2AE
+44(0)7500 170681
Open April-Oct, Thursday-Sunday from 10am-4pm.
Kidderminster is the nearest train station, but the Severn Valley Railway stops in Bewdley.
Google map: bit.ly/16L7GGT
We love visiting Low Sizergh Barn a dairy farm just south of Kendal in the rolling hills of South Lakeland. Time it right and you can watch the cows being milked while you sip leaf tea at your table - there’s a glass panel in the tea shop and it overlooks the milking parlour. The food they serve is straightforward but delicious, with an emphasis on quality – the scones are fresh, the butter is good and there’s no spray cream here! The cakes and scones are made on the premises and you can buy more to take away from the shop downstairs. The ethical ethos permeates the whole visit - there is a social enterprise nearby called Growing Well (www.growingwell.co.uk/), where volunteers grow vegetables and support is offered to help them return to employment. You can buy their veg in the farm shop, which sells a wide range of other yummy local food, including cheese made from the farm’s dairy herd. Foodie heaven. You can also buy crafts and some lovely quirky gifts from the shop. Or there’s a two mile farm trail to work up an appetite and admire the free range hens whose eggs you have just bought. A lovely afternoon, or morning. And for southerners visiting the Lake District, it’s perfectly situated on the A591 between Kendal and the M6 for a stop off to stock up on Cumbrian delicacies for your way home.
www. lowsizerghbarn.co.uk
Low Sizergh Farm, Sizergh, Kendal LA8 8AE
+44(0)1539 560426
Google map: bit.ly/XEuh8t
Tower Records in Shibuya gleams like a beacon, calling out to music and book lovers across the city and its inhabitant nationalities. It has recently gone under construction, so that what was once a peaceful book haven on the seventh floor has become a cool, sophisticated book/coffee shop on the 2nd. There are spaces for you to sit and read, with chargers for your laptop or phone, wooden floors, the best foreign book selection I’ve yet to see, and music which makes you stop and say “I LOVE that track!” The coffee shop serves taco rice, cakes, make-your-own hamburger sets and is decked out in a comfy, earthy style.
www.tower.jp
apan, Tokyo, Shibuya, Jinnan, １−２２−１４
+81 3 3496 3661
Google map: bit.ly/11odpBl
* Hollie is our Been there local for Tokyo. You can check out her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/tokyo-local-hollie-mantle.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/HollieMantle
Tower Records in Shibuya gleams like a beacon, calling out to music and book lovers across the city and its inhabitant nationalities. It has recently gone under construction, so that what was once a peaceful book haven on the seventh floor has become a cool, sophisticated book/coffee shop on the 2nd. There are spaces for you to sit and read, with chargers for your laptop or phone, wooden floors, the best foreign book selection I’ve yet to see, and music which makes you stop and say “I LOVE that track!” The coffee shop serves taco rice, cakes, make-your-own hamburger sets and is decked out in a comfy, earthy style.
www.tower.jp
2F, 1-22-14, Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-0041
+81 3-3496-3661
Google map: bit.ly/164yvHC
* Hollie is our Been there local for Tokyo. You can check out her profile here:
www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/tokyo-local-hollie-mantle.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/HollieMantle
Waltons music shop on South Great George's Street features in several key scenes in the film 'Once'. The most important of course is when Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova sit down at one of the pianos and perform 'Falling Slowly' for the first time. Staff at Waltons regularly receive requests to allow fans of the film to recreate the famous scene.
Waltons was founded in the early 1920's and is a music school as well as a musical instrument shop. Although you may not be able to drag a piano all the way home, a tin whistle from Waltons makes for a quirky little musical souvenir.
www.newschool.ie/
69 South Great Georges St, Dublin 2
+353 (0)1 475 0661
Google map: bit.ly/XNX8BL
* Fiona is our Been there local for Dublin. You can follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/FionaHilliard and read her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/trails/been-there-locals.jsp. She also has her own blog: www.traveledits.com
We found the great KifKif little shop thanks to another tourist at our Riad who had mentioned it to me. They sell a good selection of jewellery, handbags, scarves, clothing, babouches.
Prices are fixed and the pendants, ear-rings and other items I bought seem well made and are just that little bit different and quirky. Besides, you are left free to browse without pressure to buy!
www.kifkifbystef.com
Rue el Ksour, Derb el Kadous, 9, Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco
+212 661 082041
Google map: bit.ly/Z1m0KN
There is a small Christmas market held in the beautiful setting of the central square. It is straight out of Ruritanian romance and there's a very good chance that there will be snow to add to the atmosphere. Plenty of cosy cafes around the square and the gluhwein was only 60p. We stayed at Casa Luxembourg which was both comfortable and very reasonable.
Piata Mare, Sibiu
Google map: bit.ly/YAVjOW
I first visited the Krakow Christmas Market when I was sixteen with my aunt. It was a lot bigger than I expected, taking up most of the Rynek. For presents, it's perfect! Everything is so unique and majority is handmade. Being outside in the freezing cold with the smells of delicious warm food, sweets and drinks made my Christmas shopping ten times more fun - and a lot cheaper! All the stress of finding the right things fell away thanks to the beauty of the city and the lack of highstreet shops was a breath of fresh air. It's really cheap to get a flight out at this time of year and there are some excellent hostels just off the square. I loved this trip and I am definitely looking to go back again one Christmas soon. I probably spent less on this holiday and all the gifts than I would buying presents in the UK. I can honestly say that the Krakow Christmas market was definitely the highlight of my winter.
Head for the heart of the Jewish quarter, Kazimierz. At Plac Nowy you’ll find the original Rotunda market selling local produce but at the weekends the market expands with antiques and junk on Saturdays and second hand clothes on Sundays but you need to get there early – it starts at 5.30am.
Then follow the old city wall encircling the Old Town, now a 4km park segmented with tree lined avenues and Art Nouveau and Romantic architecture. Explore the cobbled streets and relax with the locals on the grass by the river at the base of Wawel Castle.
Look out for the dragon sculpture at the entrance to the cave beside the western slope and wait patiently for a few minutes to witness it breathing fire.
Google map: bit.ly/T8ggyZ
Quite apart from having six floors of books (you can happily spend hours browsing) this store has a handy cafe and bar on the fifth floor which I found nice and relaxing having dodged into the store to get out of the rain!
www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/navigate.do?pPageID=200003
203-206 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LE
+44(0)843 290 8549
Google map: bit.ly/W4Nfj8
Budapest is one of Europe's great cities. However it is actual two for the price of one. Buda & Pest sit opposite one another with the river Danube separating them. The river is at the heart of this old and historic city and many tourist cruises take advantage of this fact. Taking in the views from the river itself is a great way to introduce yourself to the capital of Hungary. With the Parliament building complete with amazing spires on one side, and the Buda Castle sat on the other side with a majestic eagle statue keeping watch, my camera hardly stopped. However even these regal and wonderful landmarks are over-shadowed by the awe inspiring Statue of Freedom which towers over the city from a perch on top of a very large hill situated right on the banks of the Danube. Once you reach the summit you may be out of breath with the climb, but the views WILL take your breath away! On a clear day you can see for many miles in all directions and being able to see almost the full city in one place is a pleasure not to be missed. At night most of the main attractions are lit up which add even more beauty to this dazzling city. A walk over one of the beautiful bridges once darkness sets in is highly recommended.
Budapest, like any capital city, has many wonderful places and lots of wonderful dining, too. Food quality in Hungary is top notch with many mouth watering dishes to tempt the pallet. Catfish from Balaton is a firm favourite of mine followed by a slice of Retes which is a type of fruit pie with sour cherries. Regardless of what you eat or do in Budapest you will leave feeling richer for exploring this unique place. To see a city as vibrant and impressive is a wonder you will want to re-live again and again.
Nice photos on
cheaptravelphotos.blogspot.co.uk
No trip to Melbourne would be complete without a visit to one of the city's great food markets (Queen Victoria market, South Melbourne market & Prahran market are my 3 favourites). And from mid-November to the end of February most of Melbourne's markets are open late one night a week. There's live music, and stalls selling street food from all around the world. Snacks/dishes are usually reasonably priced (under $12) and there's a great atmosphere.
Queen Victoria Suzuki Night Market: www.qvm.com.au/snm/snm_home.aspx
South Melbourne Style After Dark:
www.styleafterdark.com.au/
All over the globe the world is seeing a rise in the ingenious idea of a book and coffee shop fusion. In a land where boundaries are pushed to the limits of imagination this idea goes one step further.
The three two-tiered Tsutaya bookshops in fashionable and serene Daikanyama are designed with a theme of ‘home away from home’ in mind. Read, relax, have a coffee, listen to music; this is a space in which you can be at home without being alone. Choose from “Ajin”; the lounge-bar where you can recline on a leather sofa and place a drinks order via ipad for a taste of life in the future, or Starbucks where you can sit inside at one of the breakfast bars and charge your laptop or phone, or alternatively outside with the patio heaters and cosy Starbucks blankets. If you enjoy a spot of people watching then you’ll enjoy this vantage point as the local well-to-do walk past with their dogs and offspring.
With the winter chill setting in and the outdoors becoming more and more a mission impossible, this is a place you can keep warm and toasty whilst relaxing in the cool breeze and early setting sun.
store.tsutaya.co.jp
+81 03 6738 3838
Google map: bit.ly/TUfgKi
* Hollie is our Been there local for Tokyo. You can check out her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/tokyo-local-hollie-mantle.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/HollieMantle
Bisbee is a little town in southern Arizona, close to the border with Mexico and quite unlike most of small town America with its Victorian and European style houses clinging to the hillsides. We stayed in a vintage trailer at The Shady Dell trailer park, which has a selection of vintage trailers from the 1940s and 50s. As well as Airstreams there are more unusual and rarer models, including the 1947 Airporter which has been transformed into a 'Polynesian Palace'. The Shady Dell also hosts the tiny 1950s Dot's Diner, which was transported here from Los Angeles in 1996. We loved the Bisbee Breakfast Club, a short walk from the trailer park. The BBC was set up in 2005 and caters mainly for the very welcoming locals who are loyal not just to the venue but to specific dishes. Try the wally cakes - free form pancakes with walnuts. On weekends only they serve gooey, sticky buns. Take time to browse the quirky shops and galleries, including the Bisbee Bicycle Brothel with its huge collection of new and vintage bikes and ephemera.
www.discoverbisbee.com/
The Shady Dell:
www.theshadydell.com/
Bisbee Breakfast Club: bisbeebreakfastclub.com/bbc-bisbee-home.aspx
Dot's Diner: www.theshadydell.com/Dots_Diner.html
Bisbee Bicycle Brothel:
www.bisbeebicyclebrothel.com/
Google map: bit.ly/SPyIJE
A charming Texas Hill Country town that embraces its strong German heritage by celebrating Oktoberfest and hosting a Christmas market, Fredericksburg is known for its many antique shops. With mild temperatures in the autumn and winter, hiking and picnicking can also be enjoyed year round at Enchanted Rock State Park just 18 miles outside of town. Spend the day visiting nearby vineyards, or if you’re short on time, sample some of the local wines with an elegant yet hearty meal at the Cotton Gin (cottonginlodging.com).
www.visitfredericksburgtx.com
Google map: bit.ly/Tufzyp
The Burrell, Kelvingrove, Mackintosh, lots more free galleries/museums, amazing architecture, sensational shopping, vibrant culture and cafes and a suburban transport network that takes you to the shores of Loch Lomond and the slopes of the Arrochar Alps - where else but Glasgow?
www.seeglasgow.com/
Google map: bit.ly/SXDwbQ
Glenuig is a little village on the Moidart peninsula in beautiful Lochaber. The main attractions? The stunning views out to Rhum, Eigg and Skye; the products at Macdonalds Smokehouse; the events at Glenuig Hall; and a lovely inn that is leading the way going green. Then of course there is walking in the hills; sailing or canoeing along the coast. Highlight for me though was the display by the local history group in the grounds of the Glenuig Hall.
There are lots of ways to enjoy this beautiful part of the west coast of Scotland, whatever the weather.
Moidart History Group: www.moidart.org.uk/
Glenuig Inn: www.glenuig.com
Glenuig, Inverness-shire, PH38 4NG
+44(0)1687 470 219
Macdonalds Smokehouse: www.smokedproduce.co.uk
The Smokehouse
Glenuig, Lochailort, Inverness-shire, Scotland, UK, PH38 4NG
+44(0)1687 470266
Google map: bit.ly/R6jahx
We were in Tel Aviv for six days and came back to this area a number of nights. The old port area has been renovated and was full of shops and restaurants on the water front. Some good bars and restaurants here especially our favourite, Cafe Nimrod.
Would definitely recommend a visit here in the evening. Great buzz about the place especially on the weekend.
Tel Aviv Old Port area (Namal)
North end of Dizengoff Street
Google map: bit.ly/StOTft
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