holiday

Living ‘la dolce vita’ in Pesaro Italy . . . without breaking the bank

This Summer I spent ten days on the Adriatic coast of Italy in Pesaro in the region of Marche near Urbino. I flew to Bologna from Heathrow on British Airways and then took a train (about two hours) to Pesaro. The town is sandwiched between the hills of the Northern Appenines and the Adriatic sea and although small, is very quaint with lots to do from exploring the old town, eating at the most fantastic restaurants, visiting beautiful historic Urbino with its tightly packed apartments and pitched cobblestone streets, or cycling along the Pesaro waterfront to some of the quieter beaches either end of the town. Pesaro can be[…]

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Weeping over Oysters in Whitstable

Growing up in New Zealand, my British grandparents would regale me with stories about the quirky traditions and village pastimes of English people, including how they’d roll cheese downhill in the Cotswold, pay homage to chalk men with enormous appendages in Dorset, and bless oysters with holy water in Kent. Of course I would giggle at their stories, never sure whether they were telling the truth – I mean why would anyone chase cheese?!  – but I always secretly harboured a desire to find out for myself; to visit the UK and see whether there really were naked chalk giants in the hills and priests in white robes uttering[…]

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