“My house in Budapest My, my hidden treasure chest”. Many of us are familiar with the opening lyrics of the George Ezra song “Budapest”. Ironically he had not been to Budapest when he wrote the song, he got drunk and missed his train. However once you start to travel, you should not miss out on …
Author Archives: M&M
Guantanamera
Guantanamera is probably the most iconic Cuban song. Based on a poem written by the Cuban poet José Martí the title literally means “a woman from the Guantánamo area”. It was made famous outside Cuba in 1963 by The Sandpipers. If you watched the video above that should be enough to get you on the …
On a Little Street in Singapore
Written 100 years ago, many of us will know this song from Glenn Miller, Bob Dylan or Manhattan Transfer. Today, it’s the attraction of those “Little Streets” that draw us to this Island State. Those “Little Streets” are the result of Singapore’s multi-cultural, colonial and wartime past and make it a destination in its own …
Leaving on a Jet Plane.
Looking up to the sky earlier this morning and seeing the white vapour trails brought home the fact that whilst we are in lockdown, we are not experiencing the excitement of the journey. For many of us, a key part of our enjoyment of the holiday is the getting there. The eager anticipation of the …
Turning Japanese
Top of the list of places to visit after travel restrictions are lifted has to be Japan. For most of us visting Japan will take us as far out of our comfort zone as we can go in a society and culture that on the face of it looks very much like our own. “Turning …
Nowhere to run to, baby, nowhere to hide
Things have changed so much in the past week. Last week we were looking at places you could still escape to for a break. Now there is Nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide as beautifully sung by Martha and the Vandellas. At some point, this period of self-isolating and social distancing will end …
Should I Stay or Should I Go
So sang the Clash. That is the big question at the moment. Should I go on holiday or should I stay at home? If I go, where should I go? Well here is a list of all those countries that have imposed a ban of some kind on UK citizens so you can cross those …
So sick and tired of the pouring rain I took a train to Morocco just to kill the pain
Sang the American band Moon Taxi in their song entitled Morocco. Maybe they were catching the Marrakech Express 45 years after Crosby, Stills and Nash did the same. Despite the time lag between the two songs, Morocco is still a draw for tourists today. If you fancy getting away from the wet weather of the …
These boots are made for walking.
So sang Nancy Sinatra. I imagine that one of the last places that she thought of walking all over was New Zealand. There are 10 so called Great Walks of New Zealand developed and maintained by the New Zealand Department of Conversation. The newest and 10th Great Walk, called the Paparoa Track was officially opened …
Walk like an Egyptian.
With summer temperatures well up into the high 30s / low 40s you might not want to do much walking in Egypt, however you will want to dive in the Red Sea. With flights now resumed to Sharm El-Sheikh, all of the Red Sea resorts including Hurghada, Marsa Alam, El Gouna and Taba are bookable …