Spring in Kyoto

For centuries cherry blossom time has been celebrated in Japan, so it was with excitement that I found myself bound for Kyoto, cultural centre of Japan. It is great gardens for which Kyoto is famous and the first anyone wants to see the Zen dry garden Ryoan-ji.

In the footsteps of Jean Cocteau

One of the appeals of Menton on the French Riviera is the largest museum dedicated to the works of Jean Cocteau (1889-1963), a famous French artist who died fifty years ago. Frederic exolores the museum and the three towns forever linked with his work.

ABTA

From the website:

“Formed in 1950 by 22 leading travel companies, ABTA – The Travel Association – now represents over 5,000 travel agencies and more than 900 tour operations, throughout the British Isles. Our Members range from small, specialist tour operators and independent travel agencies through to publicly-listed companies and household names; from call centres to internet booking services to high street shops. All of them carry the ABTA logo, which means choice, value, and high levels of service. ”

How to have fun in the London sun

Summer was – for the third year running – something of wash out. On the plus side, the Met office are predicting that the rain will not only stay away throughout September, but that the monsoon like weather will give way to a dry and – dare we say it – hot spell. CD Traveller tells you how to keep your cool in the capital

Viva la vie: France tops the property hot spot ladder

France tops the property hot spot ladder, even as Eurozone troubles take their toll

Are Our Beaches Safe?

Last night the BBC’s Panorama programme looked at the quality of our water at beaches. At the beginning of the programme in tabloid scarey style it pointed out that 43% of beaches provided a chance of us catching gastro-enteritis.

New Year, new you

Bonfire Night has been and gone and Christmas and the New Year are just around the corner. Fed up of making annual pledges to eliminate bad habits only to return to your old ways six weeks later?