Café on the Left Bank: choosing between 2 Paris icons

Just a block apart on Boulevard Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the City of Light, a pair of iconic and rival cafés, Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots, have been iconic fixtures of the Latin Quarter since the late 19th century. But is there any real reason

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In Crete, a festival in honor of firewater tsikoudia

Starting the first week of November, tsikoudia, a local spirit also known as raki, is the subject of yet another great Cretan festival in Voukolies, west Crete.

Tsikoudia or raki is a local Cretan strong distilled spirit with approximately 37% alcoh

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See Spain? Yes, But Don't Forget the Other Senses!

We invite your to read this evocative post on our new travel blog Love2Fly!

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Fattoria Moncucchetto, the Urban Winery of Lugano, Switzerland

Walking upward on steep cobbled lanes through the village of Lugano Switzerland still enshrouded by morning mists rising from Lago di Lugano is certainly one of life's finer ways to get a workout. If you're up for even more climbing (or a short cab

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The Risorgimento Resort in Lecce, Italy

Historic Lecce, Puglia's principal city, is a superb home base for immersing yourself in the Salento way of life. Lodging choices ranging from villas to farmhouse stays abound but for a classic in-town hotel, treat yourself to a stay at the sumptuou

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Fall is fab for cultural/nightlife scene in Madrid

Summer holidays may be a receding memory, but in Spain–and nowhere more than Iberia Airlines’ hometown Madrid–being back in the “real world” of work and bills to pay is still plenty sweet. It’s the season when local cultural events and the late-night

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Hiking Samaria Gorge on the Greek island of Crete

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Copenhagen adventure: kayaking to its secret underwater statues

On our recent trip to Denmark, we spent a few days in Copenhagen.  We did a kayak tour of the canals where we discovered that the Little Mermaid statue has a boyfriend...

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Creating your own impressions of Vienna

If you visit Vienna for the first time and are keen to get under its skin you face a challenge: a mountain of 'must-sees' that over the centuries have cemented the rock solid stereotype of the enchanting city of music, cakes and emperors. Should you

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Gorgeous Cadouin monastery in France's Dordogne

Founded in 1115 and situated in a narrow valley in the south of the Dordogne, the Abbey de Cadouin is classified as a 'monument historique'. For 800 years this Cistercian abbey drew in pilgrims making the journey to view a sacred piece of cloth belie

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Discovering Ithaca, Greece, and Reinventing Family Holidays

Spring 1990 brought us to the small island of Ithaca, Greece, in recent times known for little but its sheer beauty, but in literature famed for its king and hero Odysseus who, Homer tells us, was the brains behind the winning wooden-horse idea that

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Paris ethnic restaurants - exotic treats for palate/wallet

The many immigrants who’ve made Paris home over the years have left an exotic mark tasty enough to justify a visit by itself — especially if you’re curious about unusual cuisines that may be hard to find even in, say, New York, London, or Los Angeles

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Sunny Beach, Bulgaria's premier Black Sea resorts

This city of Thracian origin, situated in the heart of Sunny Beach on the shores of the Black Sea, boasts no fewer than 41 churches huddled within its old quarter, including a basilica and the Bishop’s residence. This picturesque town is also renown

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Kitesurfing in Tarifa, Spain

The small fishing town of Tarifa in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia has about 17,000 inhabitants, is located in the farthest southern corner of Europe and acts a as a balcony overlooking Africa, situated only 14 kilometers away. Tarifawelcomes abou

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Off the beaten path in Cyprus: Avgas Gorge

Avgas Gorge, on the western coast of Cyprus, is a magnificent fissure in the limestone cliffs. It lies in an unfrequented part of the island where tourists rarely went.

At the time of my first visit, I lived in Yorkshire. So, my first sight invited c

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The bucolic pleasures of Switzerland's Appenzell

It is a massive understatement to say that the Appenzell region of Switzerland has character. Appenzell is exactly how you hope the German part of Switzerland will be. Well-known among the Swiss as the most traditional area in the country, its inhabi

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Off the beaten 'chemin' in Paris: Bastille area/Marché Aligre

Paris is famously full of world-famous sites we all know and love. But please also try to squeeze in at least a couple of great, very local experiences, as well, such as 11th/12th-arrondissement neighborhood surrounding the Place de la Bastille. Onc

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Sitges, Spain a gay classic for summertime play

Summer is here, and that means Sitges is in full swing for the season. Of the myriad little fishing-villages-turned-beach-resorts along Spain's Mediterranean coast, this is the one nearest and dearest to the heart of gay men and women across Europe a

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Hungary's pungent pride and joy: paprika!

I've been experimenting more than usual with spices recently, and so pungent Hungarian paprika has been very much on my radar, bringing back memories of a three-week stint in Hungary several years ago. This spice is used in cookery throughout much of

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Greek Island-Hopping

There are at least 2,000 islands in Greece, only a few more than 200 of which are inhabited. And especially from May through October, lots of travelers love to hop from one to the other, with the help of ferry services that connect most, from the lar

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