My visit to Amsterdam was a very brief one, on route to Helsinki (Finland). I spent two nights at the Dikker & Thijs Fenice hotel on Prinsengracht Canal, at the corner of Leidsestraat. This was a very nice hotel in a good location with friendly staff. The hotel was within walking distance of the main shopping street and some nice restaurants and cafes in the nearby square. Read more
It’s hard to think of Reykjavik as a city given its small size and the odd collection of small building. As a city it lacks much of the visible history that you would typically associate with most European cities. However what makes Reykjavik special and sets it apart from other capital cities is its wonderful location. Iceland is beyond a doubt one of the most beautiful and breathtaking countries I’ve ever visited. Read more
I’ve been very lucky in that my job has enabled me to visit Austin on many occasions since June 2001. This includes a couple of two month stays in 2002 and 2003 and a vacation. Austin is a great town, surrounded by some wonderful countryside, the people are great and there’s lots of live music every night of the week. Oh, and I can’t forget the barbecue at the County Line, Rudy’s & the Salt Lick. Read more
This was my second trip to New York City, the first being in December 1999 during a business trip to Connecticut – when I took the train into New York for the weekend. This time I was travelling with my parents and my sister and we stayed in a hotel in NY. Read more
I’ve visited my employer’s offices in Naperville, just outside Chicago many times over the years however I’ve never been able to get much free time to visit Chicago itself (besides a quick visit to the Sears tower in February 2000 and seeing the Cubs play at Wrigley Field in 2001). This time I had a whole weekend in Chicago! Read more
My trip to Tennessee was primarily to see the CMA Music Festival in Nashville for the 3rd year in a row. However as was my 4th visit to Nashville I’d seen all of the Tourist attractions that the city and surrounding area had to offer, so went further a field before driving up to Nashville for the festival. Pigeon Forge is located at the edge of the Smoky Mountains but is more famous for being home to Dolly Parton’s theme park, Dollywood, and outlet shopping malls. Read more
I was fortunate enough to visit LA (followed by Chicago) on business in November 2005. “Fortunate” because I was able to fly from the UK on Saturday giving me the whole of Sunday free for sightseeing. My hotel was located in Pasadena which is a reasonable drive from LAX and most of the things in LA that I wanted to see, but close to the office! Read more
The bargain BMI-Baby flight from Birmingham to Edinburgh, at just over £29 return, departed just about 20 minutes late. Thanks to favorable winds the flight was only 10 minutes late arriving in Edinburgh. So at 8:10am I got off the plane walked out of the airport and purchased a £5 ticket on the AirLink bus. Bus left a couple of minutes after I boarded and so I was on my way without any major delays. Read more
Having started to learn to ride horses in the spring of 2003 whilst on a two month business trip to Austin, Texas I decided that I would go to Texas in the spring of 2004 to spend a week?s vacation being a cowboy at the Lazy F Ranch in Smiley, Texas… Read more