Where the experts holiday: Patricia Schultz, author of 1,000 Places to see before you die

Patricia Schultz, author of the newly revised #1 New York Times bestseller 1000 Places to See Before You Die, talks travel

Spotlight on San Francisco

Ahead of the Golden Gate Bridge’s 75th birthday on May 27, San Francisco has never looked more golden writes Kaye Holland. Read her guide to the city with its head in the clouds, here

Defra Pet Travel Scheme

From the website:

“This site explains what you have to do to bring your pet dog, cat or ferret into (or back into) the UK through the Pet Travel Scheme (or PETS for short) without putting it into quarantine. It also explains the requirements for bringing many other types of pet animals into the UK. This site also tells you about quarantine in the UK for animals that don’t qualify for PETS. Printable factsheets are available for both vets and the public.”

Why we love London Town

It’s less than one year until the 2012 Olympic/Paralympic Games. And it’s set to be an event to remember – not least for the people behind the scenes: Londoners. In the first of a regular series, Londoners reveal what they love about the capital

Cruise Ship or Village?

There was a lot of publicity last week about the largest cruise ship in the world, Oasis of the Seas, which begins its first cruise on Saturday. We thought that since there was so much publicity you wouldn’t want more from us but no, we were taken to task by some readers for not mentioning it.

The publicity by the media has concentrated on its huge size (225,282 tons, 16 passenger decks) and that it can carry up to 6,200 passengers plus 2,000 crew. By any standards this is big. I’ve lived in smaller villages. The response by writers has been to ask whether it is too big.

Signs of the times

For some time the DailyTelegraph has been publishing the wonderful, strange signs that people see when the travel. In a similar vein, I have two signs which caught my eye on my recent trip to Richmond, Virginia in the US.

Beijing commuters’ hell is nothing compared to that of Londoners

When I left Beijing to return to the Motherland last month, there were many things I expected to miss about China’s dynamic (and in my mind, most dazzling) city – shopping and the sensational street food, being just two examples. But I never thought I’d find myself not only missing, but positively pining for Beijing’s subway system.