Scot Rail trains at Dundee

To start with you need to be aged 55 or over. If you are, then from the 19 May until the 30 June you can make a return trip between any of over 345 stations across Scotland for just £19 return. If you opt to go first class (Scot Rail call it Premier) the price is £35 but do remember that not all routes have a first class service. If you have a Senior or Disabled Railcard you also get an additional £2 off.

There are two big advantages of this offer other than potential fare savings. You don’t need to book in advance except if you want to go Premier in which case you have to book up to 6pm the previous day. You can just turn up on the day, even five minutes before the train leaves and you are set. For those who don’t look over 55 you have better bring some ID with you to prove that you are as old as 55. I have never been asked for proof of age so, obviously, I look much older than my years! The other main advantage is that unlike lots of offers, there is no limit to the number of Club 55 seats available. You will always be guaranteed the fare. And if you want to travel every day the 42 day offer is available, you can do so.

You can start your journey from Carlisle or Berwick-upon-Tweed and your ticket is valid for travel on ScotRail, CrossCountry,TransPennine Express and Virgin trains services. You cannot use it on East Coast services and there are other restrictions as well such as not arriving in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh or Glasgow before 9.30am or leaving during the rush hour. For all the rules, click here

Tenerife. Will this be the favourite 2013 holiday spot?

As the economic malaise continues its seemingly never-ending path into its fifth year, one thing that has characterised it is our total unwillingness to sacrifice holidays. Some years ago it was spotted that we might be cutting back but that is as far as it has gone. We still dodge between small increases in UK holidays over overseas ones depending on the weather near the time we are booking and we have returned to the travel agent despite many saying the high street was dying.

46% of us plan to travel abroad as much as we did – or even more – than we did five years ago which would have been before the economic crisis hit us. That means that over half of us do not travel abroad as often as we used to do. So most of us have managed to maintain the holiday lifestyle we had before 2008 which would seem to confirm how important holidays are to us.

The Tesco research also suggests that as many as 35% of us plan to travel abroad in the next three months. This is slightly more than traditionally has been expected so why might many more of us be considering holidaying overseas? One reason could because we remember last year’s soggy summer when the rains never seemed to end. Another could be the dank and cool weather we seem to have had since Christmas. Yes, we have had some decent weather recently but this research was carried out before then.

Tesco, themselves, don’t suggest any reasons as to why higher numbers might holiday overseas other than the memory of last winter. I wondered whether it was because the average Tesco shopper might be more accustomed to an overseas holiday but the research was not just carried out amongst their customers.

Beach holidays remain the top choice says the research but wasn’t it always so? Ask people on a cold or wet day and guess what answer you’ll get when you ask them what type of holiday they want? Ask them on a sunny, warm day and you might get another.
Again, it’s no great surprise that when asked about where they are going that exchange rates are mentioned. But this year sterling has yo-yoed against the euro and dropped against the US dollar making American holidays pricier than they were and hotel prices there have risen. At present Greece, Tunisia and Egypt are destinations where bargains might be had as we take advantage of troubles those countries have had.

And Tesco says the average spend on holidays this year that we, who took a holiday last year, is over £1,500 per person. You can get plenty of holiday for that!

Slovenian Impressionists

Until June 30: The School of Shanghai (1840-1920)
During the 19th Century, armed conflicts shook the Qing Dynasty so hard that many artists, painters and calligraphers chose to flee to Shanghai where, under the protection of Western armies, they could develop their art. The combination of traditional Chinese visual art with freedom of drawing and the large use of colour borrowed from the West, opened the door to a new, revitalised style which is presented in this remarkable exhibition that includes numerous outstanding loans from the Shangai Museum.
Paris, Musée Cernuschi

http://www.cernuschi.paris.fr/en/home

Until July 2: Signac, the Colours of water
For the 150th anniversary of Paul Signac’s birth, the Museum of Impressionism in Giverny provides an exhibition of about 130 paintings by Signac. All his life, Paul Signac was inspired by water scenes, creating new ‘Impressionist’ techniques including the use of small touches of raw colour. This exhibition is the first of the six main exhibitions of the second Normandy Impressionism Festival.
Giverny, Eure-27, Musée des Impressionismes

http://www.mdig.fr/

Until July 13: Dalou, Sculptor of the Republique
Jules Dalou was a master sculptor of his time as was Rodin, Carpeaux and Rude. Exiled for nnine years for political reasons in London, where he achieved fame, he came back to Paris in 1879 and then became famous for his public monumental sculptures like the ‘Triomphe de la République’ still to be found at the place de la Nation. The exhibition is a large panorama of the creative spirit of Jules Dalou, with about 300 pieces to be viewed.
Paris, Musée du Petit Palais

http://www.petitpalais.paris.fr/en

Until July 13: Slovenian Impressionists in their time, 1890-1920
The Petit Palais Museum presents an overview of Slovenian artists, mainly painters and sculptors, who were also – in their time – the spearhead of the new national feeling of the population of, what was then, part of the Austrian Empire. A peaceful peasantry’s scene, the ‘Sower’ by Ivan Grohar began immediately to symbolise the symbol of this emergent Slovenian spirit.
Paris, Musée du Petit Palais

http://www.petitpalais.paris.fr/en

Until July 14: Beloved Hair. Trophies and Trifles
An exhibition dedicated to all aspects of hair as an instrument of beauty and seduction as well as a symbol of power. Hair is also displayed as an object of remembrance of beloved ones and as a symbol of time passing and death. A large section shows us how, in some non-European societies that practised trophy taking and head hunting, hair was a symbol of energy and power, retaining the aura of his owner.
Paris, Musée du Quai Branly

http://www.quaibranly.fr/en

Until July 14: Napoléon and the Europe
Only in charge for 15 years, Napoleon had a huge impact on the world. His dream was to rule the whole of Europe by invading countries but, in doing so, he created new institutions and reformed the laws. The exhibition chronologically presents the two faces of Napoléon’s impact on Europe, his acts to realise his vision of Europe and the reactions, positive or violent, from peoples and foreign powers. Napoléon’s legacy was important not only to France, but also to Europe.
Paris, Musée de l’Armée (Hôtel National des Invalides)

http://www.musee-armee.fr

Until July 17: Philippines, Archipelago of Exchanges
First European exhibition dedicated to the vast Archipelago of more than 1700 islands. All the items presented belong to the pre-colonial period. Due to the geographical location and the vastness of the Philippines, visitors are invited to compare the artworks of the northern islands’ populations who lived in the hinterland and those produced all along the coasts where the influence of maritime contacts is highly visible.
Paris, Musée du Quai Branly

http://www.quaibranly.fr/en

Until July 21: Dreams of Venice
A contemporary and modern art exhibition hosted by the Institut Magrez in one of its castle, the Château Labottière in Bordeaux. A modern exhibition that gathers and shows the visions of 40 artists dreaming about Venice. The photos, paintings, sculptures, videos and installations displayed try to answer the eternal question: why Venice?
Bordeaux, Gironde – 33, Institut Culturel Bernard Magrez, Châreau Labottière
www.institut-bernard-magrez.com

Until July 21: Chagall, between War and Peace
The life of Chagall was sliced between the Russian revolution, exile, two World Wars and these exhibitions show that interference with his painting. Despite these terrible periods, from which the Chagall’s works are firstly presented, the artist’s happiness shines in the second
section of the exhibition.
Paris, Musée du Luxembourg
www.museeduluxembourg.fr/en/expositions

Until July 22: Eugène Boudin
For the first time in 114 years, Paris showcases the works of Eugène Boudin, the first of the pre- impressionist painters, who was called ‘king of skies’ by Corot himself and who was considered by Monet as his master in art. He travelled all along European seasides searching for the best techniques to magnify the way he saw things so, in his watercolours and pastels, light and it’s relection in the sky and over the sea dominate his interpretation
Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André
www.musee-jacquemart-andre.getaticket.com

Until July 28: ‘Murano-Fragile’, Glass Art-Works from Renaissance to 21st Century
This unique exhibition chronicles over 600 years of the art of glass-making that was born on the small, charming Venetian island of Murano. For centuries the techniques of Murano glassmakers were kept secret on pain of death. About 200 fabulous pieces belonging to the Medici’s time, as well as Art Déco and contemporary periods are displayed offering a large overview of the technical and stylistic evolutions in the glass history of Murano.
Paris, Musée Maillol

http://www.museemaillol.com

Until July 30: Sol Lewitt, Wall Drawings at Centre Pompidou-Metz
The Centre Pompidou-Metz presents a retrospective, unprecedented in Europe, of the American conceptual artist Sol LeWitt. (1928-2007.) 33 black and white wall drawings by LeWitt were recently sited in the Centre Pompidou-Metz by students of art and architecture.
Metz, Moselle-57, Centre Pompidou-Metz.

http://www.centrepompidou-metz.fr/en

Until August 4: The Autumn of Renaissance, from Archimboldo to Caravage
While the town of Nancy and its surroundings highlight their Renaissance past, the Nancy Fine Arts museum is offering an international retrospective of a short period of the Renaissance from 1570 to 1610. It was in Europe a time of creativity and troubles, and Nancy was at the crossroad of all these changes, being ideally situated halfway between Flanders and Italy.
Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle – 54, Musée des Beaux Arts

http://www.renaissancenancy2013.com

Until August 4: Felix Ziem ‘I dreamed Beauty’, paintings and watercolours
Tireless traveller, Felix Ziem was one of the most famous watercolour painters of the 19th Century. The exhibition calls to mind all his journeys from Venice to the far east of Russia as well as the three places where he liked to stay, Barbizon, the Butte Montmartre and Marseille-Martigues.
Paris, Musée du Petit Palais

http://www.petitpalais.paris.fr/en

Keith Haring

http://www.mam.paris.fr

http://www.104.fr

Until September 16: Red and Gold at the Museum Jean Cocteau in Menton, Alpes Maritimes
Changing annually so that as many of Cocteau’s works as possible can be seen in the museum, the new exhibition theme is ‘Red and Gold’, a timeliness to discover how Cocteau worked in creating a theatre play. See some of his greatest interpreters like actors, Jean Marais, Edith Piaf and Jeanne Moreau.
Menton, Alpes Maritimes-06, Musée Jean Cocteau

http://museecocteaumenton.fr/

Until September 22: Impressions Dior
During this spring and summer 2013, the Christian Dior Museum of Granville presents Impressions Dior, an exhibition which will assert the permanent links that have been weaving the Maison Dior to the impressionism art movement, from Monsieur Dior’s first creations in 1947 to those imagined nowadays by Raf Simons. Thanks to an exceptional array of loans granted among others by the collections of the Orsay and Marmottan Museums in Paris, the Christian Dior Museum establishes a dialogue between more than 70 dresses with a selection of masterpieces from impressionist painters themselves, ranging from Monet to Degas, Renoir to Berthe Morisot.
Granville, Calvados-14, Musée Christian Dior

http://www.musee-dior-granville.com

Until September 29: A Summer at the Water’s Edge, Leisure and Impressionism
Around eighty paintings representing individuals experiencing new recreational activities connected with water through the vision of Impressionist painters are displayed in this exceptional exhibition that included works by Boudin, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Gauguin, Seurat, Maurice Denis and a few more. The nascent of these new activities, bathing, sailing, boating or swimming was a great source of inspiration for impressionists who could introduce human figures into the landscape.
Caen, Cavados-14, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen

http://www.mba.caen.fr/

Until September 29: Pissaro and the Ports – Rouen, Dieppe, Le Havre
Pissaro was the first of the impressionists to produce a series of painting of ports mainly from Normandy including the same scene seen at different times of the day. The rapid development of ports during the nineteenth century fascinated the impressionists of whom many works are presented in parallel with those belonging to Pizzaro. Furthermore the Museum displays a large number of works by Boudin in the permanent collection on the second floor.
Le Havre, Seine-Maritime-76, Musee d’Art Moderne André Malraux (MUMA)

http://muma-lehavre.fr

Until September 30: Dazzling Reflections, 100 Impressionist Masterpieces
More than 100 works from around the world including 16 Sisleys and 40 Monets as well as a special collection of photographs by Le Gray or Marville shows the importance of the theme of reflections on water, in their artistic researches to represent all the ephemeral aspects of a changing nature.
Rouen, Seine Maritime-76, Musée des Beaux Arts de Rouen

http://www.rouen-musees.com/Musee-des-Beaux-Arts

Until October 20: Gardens’ International Festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire
Coming from as far as China, Russia, Japan and Algeria about 20 new gardens were created by artists, designers, landscapers and gardeners for the 22d edition of the Festival. This year’s theme is ‘gardens of sensations’, and the visitors will enter into a fairy tale’s world of colours, smells, sounds and silences, and should not forget to visit the Castle and the Park who are also located inside the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire.
Chaumont-sur-Loire, Loire-41

http://www.domaine-chaumont.fr/

Until November 10: Roulez Carosses!
A loan from the Palace of Versailles, to the museum of St Vaast Abbey in Arras, shows for the first time the best pieces of French royal and imperial horse-drawn carriages along with numerous artefacts belonging to their use. There are also a few paintings of important events during which these vehicles were used.
Arras, Pas-de-Calais – 59, Musée-Abbaye St Vaast

http://www.versaillesarras.com

Until December 31: Marseille-Provence, 2013 European Cultural Capital
As European Cultural Capital, Marseille presents the first artistic events of a long series hosted not only by Marseille but also by Aix-en-Provence – the old city well known for its beautiful buildings and for the sweetness of its art-de-vivre. Hundreds of cultural and artistic events, theatre, street arts, music, exhibitions, are scheduled all along the year, including the exceptional creation of a new French national museum, the MUCEM, of which the opening date is June 7.
Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône-13
www.mp2013.fr

NEW AND PERMANENT

Museum Louvre-Lens, the new extension of the Louvre Museum in Lens
Opened in December 2012, the Louvre-Lens Museum in the city of Lens in the North of France presents in its spectacular glass building a regular turnover of masterpieces in a non-traditional way, mixing artworks from different departments of the Parisian Louvre Museum. The ‘Galerie du Temps’ with its 3,000 square metres showcases more than 200 masterpieces from antiquity to the ‘Temps Modernes’ in a panoramic and chronological vision of art through ages. Even the underground storerooms and preservation studios will be open to visitors. Nestled in 50 acres of green park and closed to the railway station where TGV easily links Lens to Belgium, Germany and UK.
Lens, Pas de Calais-62

http://www.louvrelens.fr

Museum Jean Cocteau-Collection Severin Wunderman, in Menton, Alpes Maritimes
The largest in the world and a must-see collection of the works of Jean Cocteau. The pieces of work were given to the town of Menton by a private collector, Severin Wunderman. Every year the third of the works displayed goes back to the store-rooms, and new ones are presented to public.
Menton, Alpes Maritimes-06, Musée Jean Cocteau

http://museecocteaumenton.fr/

Louvre Museum, New Islamic Arts Department
Last September, the Louvre Museum opened its new area dedicated to art in Islam. The former Visconti courtyard is now covered by a huge sail shaped glass roof allowing the museum to present, in one place, 3,000 major Islam art works. This permanent space includes the discovery of an important number of Islamic pieces of art coming from the collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.
Paris, Musée du Louvre, Département des Art de l’Islam.

http://www.louvre.fr

Alésia MuseoParc, Alise-Sainte-Reine, Côte d’Or
Right in the centre of the battlefield of Alesia that saw the final battle of the Gallic Wars with Julius Caesar’s victory against Vercingetorix, stands the new circular building of the Alesia MuseoParc. Inside, you’ll find lots of interactive explanations, a realistic and astonishing movie of the battle on a seven metre screen, and outside, an amazing life-size reconstruction of the Caesar double fortifications to help visitors to understand one of the biggest battles of Roman times.
Alise-Sainte-Reine, Côte-d’Or-21, MuséoParc d’Alésia

http://www.alesia.com/english

Museum d’Ennery, Paris
Mrs Clemence d’Ennery donated to France in 1894 her fabulous collection of more than 7,000 Chinese and Japanese artworks under strict conditions, one of which was that all of the collection should be exhibited inside her own house which she had designed as a personal orientalist museum. Closed for years for security reasons, the museum recently reopened and provides a look back into a time when the eruption of Far East Asian Art influenced European collectors and artists. (Note: booking in advance is mandatory)
Paris, Musée d’Ennery

http://www.guimet.fr/fr/musee-dennery/informations-pratiques

Lalique

http://www.musee-lalique.com/en

Museum Toulouse-Lautrec, Albi, Tarn
Inside the fabulous Palais de la Berbie, the former palace of Bishops of Albi, a UNESCO World Heritage site is the largest collection of pieces of art by Toulouse-Lautrec. It is now being displayed in a new scenography offering a new reading of each facet of the artist’s work, including his works as a youth as well as portraits of Montmartre people and scenes from the world of brothel.
Albi, Tarn-81, Musée Toulouse-Lautrec

http://www.museetoulouselautrec.net/home-en.html

Images © Frederic de Poligny,

and who uses old fashioned screens any more?

Go back before it started and we replied to small ads in the newspapers when we wanted to book a hotel, a guest house or a B&B. As soon as Boxing Day came, people trooped into travel agents to arm themselves with bulky travel brochures. I remember visiting a family and there would be a pile of brochures a foot high next to an armchair. Their evenings would be spent leafing through them to decide where to go. Once a short list was compiled a bookshop was visited to get the guidebooks. Back to the travel agency with a final decision as soon as possible and to make sure we could get the place we wanted before others did. The biggest concern was whether the pictures in the brochure matched what the place was really like.

Fast forward to today and we don’t flood the travel agents. We can see what they offer by just finding their website. We can get into the tourist destination websites and see videos of where we plan to go. Hotel sites show us room images, how far we are from locations and provide interactive maps so that we can see where we will be. And we can book online if we want picking flights that suit us rather than accepting what we are told. Don’t want to go from Saturday till Saturday? It’s less of an issue than it once was.

There are no piles of brochures around anymore but for some reason, guide books still are popular despite the fact they are out-of-date almost as soon as they appear. We can book hire-cars, excursions and restaurants before we go. And check in advance what others might think of them but that’s a different story. The only thing that hasn’t changed has been the problems getting there. Planes and airports are still the same necessary evils in going on holiday.

CD-Traveller would have been printed and available from WH Smith at a price. Today it is online and free. Our deadline for publication is about a second before we go live instead of a month ahead of a print date.

The travel industry grabbed the possibilities offered by the web with both hands and so did visitors. In a film called Perfect Strangers made in 1945 the mousy wife played by Deborah Kerr used to dream of far-away places beyond the garden wall and where they might go on holiday if life ever made it possible instead of a week in some genteel seaside resort. She collected brochures from Thomas Cook (was there another travel agent in those days?) so not much changed in nearly fifty years.

But in the last twenty, the world has become closer. We can see before we travel using real-time cams. What will the next twenty years bring?

To some Barcelona speaks of associations with Columbus, Picasso, and Gaudi, to others it is the Nou Camp Stadium and FC Barcelona, one of the giants of European football.

For someone like myself whose interests on school reports were listed as “poetry and football” my visit to Barcelona had to combine all these elements. I was accompanied by my son George – appropriately both a History student and an Arsenal fan.

Roof top swimming pool at the stunning Hotel Catedral

Staying at the modern but beautifully refined and designed Hotel Catedral – we were conveniently situated in the heart of the City in the Barri Gotic or Gothic Quarter – a marvellous warren of mediaeval alleyways with, at it’s core, Barcelona’s magnificent 14^th century cathedral.

The heart of Barcelona: the Barri Gotic

Barcelona has been for centuries one of the Mediterranean’s most important ports: it was from here in 1492 that Christopher Columbus left the newly unified Spain on that most famous of sea voyages to discover the New World.

Five hundred years on and Barcelona was once more at the centre of world events when the Olympics were staged here, by which time the city had become an important cultural, commercial, and sporting centre – rivalling, and in the view of most Catalonians – surpassing the Spanish capital – Madrid.

What is more Barcelona’s splendidly diverse architecture, rich artistic heritage – both Picasso and Salvador Dali thrived here, together with it’s attractive location – between high forested hills and the blue Mediterranean Sea, has led to the Catalonian capital becoming Spain’s most visited city. Once there the transport system is simple and easy to use, however many of the city’s main attraction are within walking distance.

Perhaps the best place to start a Barcelona tour is at the Placa de Catalunya, from here a long broad avenue – the famous La Rambla – runs for a mile down to the harbour.

Colourful and lively both by night and day, this is Barcelona’s favourite meeting place where, under the shade of the plane trees – clowns, fortune tellers, musicians, tango dancers, and others entertain those sitting at tables sipping a cold el vino or la cerveza.

Street entertainer at the famous La Rambla

At La Rambla’s end the statue of Christopher Columbus crowns a 60 metre high column where visitors can climb stairs to gain a splendid view of the historic Old Port and new promenades.

The Museu Picasso is a just few minutes walk from the Cathedral in the Barri Gotic, where the creative genius of this famous Spanish artist is celebrated in an incredible collection of 3,000 works of art – mainly from his early life.

Mention Barcelona to any architect and the words Art Nouveau and  Antoni Gaudi will come to his or her lips, and it is perhaps Gaudi’s legacy in the weird and wonderful shape of  La Sagrada Familia which is the image that today most symbolises the city.

This unfinished masterpiece of poly-chrome mosaics and sculptured forms dating from 1882, towers over the streets of the Eixample (Extension) area of the city, and nearby another Gaudi classic is to be found – the Casa Mila, probably his most avant-garde creation.

Spectacular views of Barcelona

On a hill in south central Barcelona lies the Montjuic – an area of parkland offering both leisure activities and culture. The 1992 Olympics were centred here, and there are a number of interesting attractions including the Fundacio Joan Miro – an exceptional exhibition space.

This is a monument to the artist Miro and his friend, the architect Joseph Lluis Sert, both from Barcelona, but who lived much of their lives in exile during the period the fascist dictator Franco ruled Spain. One of the highlights here are the bright Miro sculptures on the roof space.

Spectacular views of Barcelona

Nearby a cable car carries people high across the harbour with spectacular views of Barcelona to where docks give way to beaches and the blue Mediterranean.

Football at the Nou Camp
With match tickets easily booked online before we left the UK and delivered to our hotel (all at a reasonable price compared to England’s Premier League), my son George and I headed to the nearest Metro joining the huge crowds heading for Barcelona’s majestic Nou Camp.

Robin and son, George, at The Nou Camp - the home of FC Barcelona

Soon we were wondering at the massive scale of the famous stadium – holding 95,000 football fans, and then at some of the world’s most famous footballers as they displayed their dazzling skills on the brightly lit green pitch. FC Barcelona usually play on Sunday nights at the Nou Camp.

Eating out
When eating out it is best to stick to set menus offered by many restaurants, as they are often half the price of going a la carte.

Love at first bite in Barcelona

While in Barcelona, try Catalonian specialities such as Arros Negre – black rice with squid in it’s ink, or Croquetes Cassolanes – home made croquettes containing salted cod, ham, or chicken.

George enjoys Catalan cuisine

Head for Tasca ‘El Troupezon’ to experience an old, atmospheric, and busy bar offering such fare in the Barrie Gothic. A number of popular restaurants are to be found around the port area, many with pleasant quayside settings. However for better value and good home cooking, ask directions for the nearby back street Terra Nosa in Almirante Churruca 4. But, in the end, Barcelona is a feast for all the senses!

We all want to know how to cook it!

What started off as a one- off foodie festival has expanded to eight different locations and 600,000 of us have visited them.

Take the largest which will be held this weekend in Knutsford, Cheshire at Tatton Park. An array of culinary activities has been organised.
Top chefs, including David Mooney of the New Moon Pub Company, star of the BBC’s Great British Menu Mary-Ellen McTague of Aumbry, Thai restaurant Chaophraya’s executive chef Kim Kaewkraikhot, celebrity chef Rachel Green, Brent Hulena from Hipping Hall, Malaysian chef Norman Musa of Ning, and brownie queen Justine Forrest will cook their signature dishes live in the Chefs’ Theatre and explain how amateur cooks can prepare the same dishes at home. This year’s festival will be bigger than ever with a ‘bake-along’ audience participation sessions with Electrolux, cake demonstrations by Ruth Clemens and Emilly Ladybird, who will be creating a “gin and tonic cake”.

Other things happening during the festival include;
• Chocolate Theatre to showcase the world of chocolate and confectionary with daily demonstartions
• BBQ classes and competitions
• Wine Village, bringing together producers and wine regions from across the world.
• Dining and VIP area serving signature dishes from top local restaurants
• Drinks Theatre: be amongst first people in the UK to sample hundreds of products as well as brush up on their knowledge at the daily wine, ales and spirits masterclasses .
• Producers’ Market sells a vast array of artisan produce from the local area and incorporates the Guild of Fine Food award-winning British produce.
• Street Food Avenue: enjoy the huge selection of ready-to-eat hot and cold food from around the world including hog roasts, exotic meats, tapas, churros, burritos, Moroccan tagines, South American prime beef, sausages, pizza, Jamaican and Thai street food.
• Children’s Cookery Theatre: Kiddy Cook director Nikki Geddes said: “We’ll get the children making carbon dioxide rockets and bread bubble bombs to show them the chemical reaction that makes bread rise. They’ll learn the difference between taste and flavour and think about the effect sound has on their ability to eat.”
• A City Beach has been built where families can chill out on deckchairs with an artisan ice-cream or an afternoon tea whilst children build sandcastles.
• Live music acts performing every day.

Confused train travellers at Leeds?

If I buy a ticket from Carmarthen to Leeds, for example, two weeks before I want to travel and on the 10.04 out one day and come back on the 15.25 two days later the cost is £118.80. But if I buy two separate tickets for exactly the same trains: one on Arriva Trains Wales to cover the Carmarthen-Manchester part and another on First Trans Pennine for the Manchester-Leeds route it costs me £82, a saving of £36.80 or 30%.

Go via London and it will cost more we are told. Avoid London and evade the rush. But is there such a rush in the middle of the day when commuters are at work? A fare from Exeter to Durham arriving in London for the change from Paddington to Kings Cross will cost £16.50 more than if London is avoided. But that isn’t always the case.

Go from Ipswich to Liverpool and the fare could be £79. But travel on exactly the same train to Liverpool Street in London and the ticket £76.70. There is no way a Virgin Trains ticket and the London Underground fare for the other part of the journey would be £2.30. An underground oyster card fare would be £2.10 alone.

We are close to the holiday season where holidaymakers will use trains for days out, weekends away and their holidays. They will rely on train company websites and human ticket-sellers to give them the best fares.We are used to being told to book ahead to get the best fares and that at peak times such as Christmas and Friday afternoons, prices will be higher. We are told we have a joined-up train system. We have joined-up fares too but fares that can be way more than we should pay. We are not told that a prospective traveller should spend an hour or so trying all sorts of permutations to get the best fare because even station staff don’t know what cheapest fare is! They are as confused as the rest of us.

Just how much money have train companies earnt over the years because we weren’t given the cheapest ticket when we asked?

Continued from 11 April

And so, in the summer of 2010, I found myself Beijing bound. Why? Perhaps it was because I’d found myself back in Blighty – but not by choice – when my career in Cayman, was terminated. Partly it was because after the initial honeymoon period, London – where I had lived for most of my life – felt monotonous compared to the new adventures that Asia was offering. And definitely it was due to the fact that, back in 2010, few cities exuded such a tangible sense of up to the minute cachet and cool as Beijing and my motto has always been: “It’s better to see a place once, than talk about it a hundred times.” Or as the travel writer, Freya Stark, once said: “In spite of all the hardships, discomforts and sickness, the lure of exploration still continues to be one of the strongest lodestars of the human spirit and will be so, while there is the rim of an unknown horizon in this world or the next.”

As I prepared to bid goodbye to Britain once more and board the BA plane for Beijing, family and friends revealed that they would rather I had been sent to Shanghai. In some respects, I can understand this sentiment: Shanghai is, after all, the more foreign friendly Chinese city. However if – like me -  you want to see the real deal China, Beijing is where it’s at – being significantly richer in local colour than its southern sibling. The Imperial City’s bustling streets are alive with rickety tuk tuks and vibrant smells of food stalls, and English is most definitely a foreign language – I found myself using gestures and smiles to interact with people.

Challenging? Yes, but for me, Beijing embodied everything I loved about living and working in another country: namely new experiences and the task of trying to comprehend them.

Through Internations – a  wonderful website for expatriates – I met like minded people, many of whom have become firm friends for life. Together we spent our weekends marvelling at the thousands of years of history at our feet: from the magnificent Forbidden City, which took 15 years to build, to Tiananmen Square (the largest public square in the world), the Temple of Heaven (a place of worship for emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties) and of course the Great Wall. Only a few places on earth are more mesmerisng in the flesh than on the postcard, and the Great Wall – the symbol of China – is one of them.

Yet while it’s steeped in history, Beijing is striving forward and cutting edge architecture abounds signalling Beijing’s intent to become a world city. Check out the CCTV building and the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium (proof if any is needed, that Beijing has arrived on the world stage), for starters.

But while Beijing’s blockbuster sights – both old and new – are instantly familiar, iconic landmarks guaranteed to inspire even the most jaded of travellers, they’re not the whole picture. Not by far. Some of the city’s finest sights, I found by accident: simply by losing myself in the labyrinth like hutongs (alleyways) that are arguably the heart and soul of China’s capital.

Strolling around the hutongs in areas like Chongwen, Xicheng and Xuanwu (if not Nanluogu Xiang, which has been developed for tourists), afforded an intimate glimpse into the lives of locals. I’d see old men and women sitting on the floor playing mah jong, while grandmothers gossiped and chewed the fat over endless cups of tea as they have done for centuries. But to really tune into the Beijing vibe, I’d start my day by practicing Thai Chi in Ritan Park. Beijing is punctuated by parks which, for most Beijingers, are akin to a second home – a place to socialise, relax and stay fit – but Ritan Park is one of the prettiest. Plus it was only a stone’s throw away, from my rented one bedroom flat.

And the icing on the cake? Beijing was, when I was there, blissfully affordable: I ate (chi fan -  meaning ‘lets eat’ – is arguably Beijing’s favourite phrase) for peanut prices. Best Beijing bite? Every Beijinger has their own highlight but my mealtimes invariably revolved around the egg based jiangbing - a sweet, salty and crunchy ‘Chinese crepe,’ sold on almost any street corner for 5RMB (50p) – that had me practically keeling over in bliss.

Evenings, meanwhile, were spent in Sanlitun and Houhai -  home to the greatest concentration of  clubs and cafes – or else partying like a local and not a laowai (foreigner) at a KTV bar.  Sure karaoke sounds like an odd way to relax and unwind but, as I discovered upon picking up the mic and playing air guitar for the first time, it’s actually a heap of fun!

TCM is having a moment

I also discovered the benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which, in my mind, is one of China’s biggest gifts to the world -  right up there with the noodle. Throughout my twenties, I struggled with severe IBS and ‘coped’ by popping painkillers to alleviate my symptoms. But on arrival in Beijing, I found western hospitals were charging crazy prices for medication. Subsequently when my Mandarin teacher suggested I see a TCM doctor, I decided – given my physical discomfort -  to “give it a go”. I  had my tongue and pulse points checked and was advised to avoid over processed western food, and follow an oriental diet. For while Chinese food has a bad reputation in the UK, conjuring up images of deep fried, fatty dishes such as sweet and sour pork and prawn crackers, real Chinese cuisine is super healthy: the majority of the meal is made up of stir fried vegetables and washed down with green tea. Don’t believe me? If you get the chance to go to Beijing, take a look at the evidence all around you: the elderly Chinese are, without fail,  extremely slim. It’s only the younger generation – who have been educated overseas at British and American universities, and fed a diet of fast food – who are on the obese side.

One week after my first TCM session, my swelling had subsided and happily I haven’t had any stomach problems since. All of which has helped me realise that the most effective cure for complaints isn’t always to be found on the shelves of the pharmacy, but within ourselves. I now actively seek out TCM, as opposed to pumping myself full of pricey pills and chemicals. Case in point? If I come down with a cold, I’ll sign up for scraping (also referred to as gua sha) – which involves stroking a ceramic instrument across the body to cure coughs and expel viruses. Pain free or pleasant, it isn’t. It is, however, productive and I promise you this: afterwards you’ll feel fabulous.

My wardrobe was also looking fabulous, thanks to weekly shopping sprees at the Silk Market. Here, after haggling hard, I picked up endless pairs of shoes, tops and trousers that could have come straight from the set of guilty pleasure, Gossip Girl (industrious Beijing bootleggers will sell you the boxset, for the price of a pizza).

Of course China’s capital has its problems: corruption and pollution – thanks to the 1,000 new cars that take to the roads on a daily basis – prevail, while historic hutongs are being destroyed, forcing families out of homes they have lived in for generations. Nonetheless I felt, during those first few months in Beijing, that there was real reason for optimism and learned that life outside of London is just as valid, as life in London. Or as JR Tolkien termed it: “Not everyone who wanders is lost.”

To read part six of Kaye’s expat tales, don’t forget to visit CD-Traveller next month

Click here to read part one, two, three and four