I found two return tickets to Bordeaux with Ryanair for £40 and that was that. On a Wednesday, after a 1 hour 40 minute flight, I'd landed in the French capital of wine. My travel buddy had found a beautiful Airbnb in the heart of the city. So after taking a fairly swift and cheap bus ride into the centre from the airport, we went to check into our homestay. A friendly local lady met us and showed us around the apartment, which oozed of old-school opulence with high ceilings, polished wooden floors and elegant fittings. With not much time to spare, we had a quick freshen up and bounced ou...
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I felt pretty rock 'n roll carrying Cava up to my room at the Sir Adam hotel in Amsterdam. It had just hit midday, I'd checked in and found a bottle of bubbly at reception, so I poured myself a glass of vino and headed off to explore. My headed started to spin a little as I got in the lift to my room on the 4th floor. There was a giant disco ball and the floor was flashing in different colours. Some funky music was playing too. The doors opened and it was very dark. I felt like I'd entered a secret bunker as I tried to crack the code for the key card-activated door with my Cava wobbling aw...
Read more →If you're a fan of gin then Gintonica in Notting Hill is a MUST. The restaurant is part of a unique distillery-hotel complex, which is brimming with character and west London low-key flair. Expect a chilled atmosphere, tasty tapas and top notch drinks. We hit the upstairs eatery on a Sunday evening. The sun was streaming into the double height ceilinged room and we took a table next to one of the windows overlooking the quaint bricks of Portobello market below. The music was good, there was a nice buzz and the open-air kitchen was a visual delight, as was the corner bar with libations con...
Read more →With new festivals cropping up left, right and centre, it's often tricky to know which one to go for. We are always interested in hearing about the newest festivals on the block, and our ears pricked up when we heard about Farr Festival, an electronic music festival located in the Hertfordshire countryside, hidden deep in uninhabited woodland. Whilst it still may not be completely *brand* new, since it first started as a gathering in 2009, Farr has since drawn larger crowds of like-minded music lovers, as well as some of the most interesting talent in the electronic music world. Previo...
Read more →I first experienced Camp Wildfire last year. It rained non-stop, I was covered in mud, but it didn't deter me from returning for more. This underground festival, which mixes outdoor adventuring with musical revelry, is pretty unique. On this year's menu, there was a whole host of activities to tantalise campers, from beekeeping classes to tie dye workshops. New offerings included zorbing, ice cream-making and natural headdress building. Thanks to an online scheduling system, this year was much more organised. Before I landed in the Kent countryside - just a 30 minute ride from London Victo...
Read more →To keep active without the hassle of going to the gym, The Color Run UK has curated six simple lunch time runs that can be done with colleagues and friends in order to escape work and get your endorphins flowing. Each route will vary in gradient and depending on fitness level, can be made as hard or easy as you wish. Running during your lunch is not only a great way to improve fitness levels, but also provides a good excuse to escape the office for some fresh air. Exercising at lunch can have many positive benefits such as boosting mood levels and improving your chances of having a productive ...
Read more →I was rubbing mud all over my body when it suddenly dawned on me how relaxed I felt. The smell of sweet spices scented the air, some funky music wafted over the airwaves and soft lighting lulled over my skin. I’d only been at Archerfield House in Scotland just over 24 hours but this secret retreat is a place where you immediately lose all connection with bustling city life. It's charm attracts people from all over the world and Ronan Keating also chose it as his wedding venue. A one hour flight to Edinburgh, a 30 minute drive with the resort’s lovely driver Gordon and I had arrived at...
Read more →Tucked away in the heart of Hackney on the corner of a street, through an unsuspecting door and down an unsuspecting staircase, is a cracker of a cocktail bar that promises to make you warm and fuzzy inside. Behind This Wall inhabits the basement of 411 Mare Street - a skip and a hop from Hackney Central Overground. Complete with a DJ deck, candles and fresh flowers brightening up the bar, there's an air of cool sophistication without trying too hard. One thing they do care about is good drinks. After ordering the £9 Vieux Over Manhattan, I watched mesmerised as the bartender gradu...
Read more →Fed up with paying a packet for yoga classes in the city? Well, now there’s a new initiative hitting London designed to make bending and stretching accessible to everyone. Yoga5, launching June 11, only charges £5 for group classes at changing locations every Saturday. The first wave of classes will take place at the London Rehearsal Space on Chiswell St nestled within walking distance of Barbican, Moorgate and Old Street tube stations. Classes will be running from 8am to 6.30pm, so people can make a quick pit stop in-between hopping from breakfast to brunch to dinner. For the firs...
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