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A complete guide to visiting Buffalo, New York

A complete guide to visiting Buffalo, New York
When you tell someone you’re visiting the USA for the first time they invariably get a little bit excited. When you follow that up with the fact that you are visiting Buffalo in New York state, they generally just look a little bit confused. From colleagues at work to the passport officer at the US border, everyone wanted to know why we had chosen Buffalo to spend a full week of our fortnight trip. Contrary to what people thought, we hadn’t got it confused with somewhere else and we weren’t deliberately heading off the beaten track. Buffalo is simply the home of my best friend, and seeing Sophie was the entire purpose of our trip to the USA. View Post

First Timer’s Guide to New York City

First Timer’s Guide to New York City
New York is one of those places that pretty much everyone I’ve met wants to visit at some point. It’s a place that seems reserved for special birthdays, honeymoons, proposals and other significant milestones. I’ll be honest, I’d never actually been that bothered about going. It’s just a city, and I much prefer the countryside to cities. However, that was until we were going somewhere within touching distance and suddenly it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss. All too soon I was getting very excited about heading to New York for the first time, and when I was there it didn’t disappoint. It can be difficult to know what to expect or where to begin with planning, so here are my tips to any other first-timer’s out there. View Post

A short break in Kraków

A short break in Kraków
Kraków isn’t somewhere I’d always dreamed of going to, and it hadn’t been one of my first considerations when I started to think about a Christmas market city break in December. However I noticed a few places were offering deals to go there. Curiosity piqued, I soon realised I could get there myself much cheaper (always look around!), there were direct flights from Bristol, and it came recommended by various friends. Suddenly I had a plan! Recently returned, I feel like I’m recommending the city to everyone I see. It was a great place for a short break, and I’d happily go back (although maybe when the weather’s a bit warmer…). Here’s my guide to a short city break in Kraków. View Post

Christmas Markets: How to plan the perfect winter break

Christmas Markets: How to plan the perfect winter break
Christmas markets have fast become my favourite way to prepare for Christmas. The food, the stalls, the decorations, the gifts… there’s nothing quite like a Christmas market to put me in the mood for 25 December. For the past few years I have tried my hardest to go to one (last year I even went to one in Brisbane!) as I know it helps break up that long slog between the summer and a break at Christmas. A Christmas market can be a really good excuse to explore somewhere new and it’s also a really good way to get unique gifts for your family and friends. View Post

A Complete Itinerary for a Week in North Wales

A Complete Itinerary for a Week in North Wales
Whilst we were in New Zealand, James and I were doing a lot of walking and we decided that this was something that we wanted to continue whilst back in the UK. Top of our list was tackling Snowdon, something that I had never done and that James had when he was a lot younger. Combined with a desire to see more of the UK, it wasn’t long until a plan to go on holiday to North Wales was formulating, and that’s where we headed last month. Armed with our trusty AA walks book (which I can definitely recommend!) and some waterproofs, we didn’t have a clear idea of what we would be doing before we arrived and as such our itinerary was a little sporadic and involved a lot more driving than needed. I’ve refined it a little to share it with you here, but we did do everything… View Post