Mini Travel Guides

This edition of the Travel in Europe Podcast asks if the customer service from travel companies could be improved based on two recent incidents.

• Dodgy Email Claiming to be from Booking.com – this malicious email has been doing the rounds for a couple of months, should Booking.com be alerting people?
• Lost Train Tickets on East Coast – after witnessing a passenger with a lost ticket being given the option of either leaving the train at the next station or paying £152 for the Edinburgh to London journey, I reckoned that East Coast should be able to trace lost tickets.

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Your Recent Experiences of Customer Service from Travel Companies

If you’ve recently experienced any good or bad customer service from travel companies, please tell us about it in the comments.

Customer Service from UK Travel Companies

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Tags: Consumer issues, uk

Ever consider spending a morning at Stonehenge and following it up with an afternoon at the spa? How about traveling to South West England and staying at a destination spa in the middle of a national park? With verdant fields, miles of tranquil coastline, and refreshing winds straight from the sea, the United Kingdom has inspired many healthcare specialists to open destination spas and hotel spas. The United Kingdom offers a wealth of spa options, and, thanks to a handful of online resources offering spa comparisons and last minute deals, booking a ‘spa-cation’ has never been easier.

Spas can be found all over the United Kingdom, from England and Wales to Scotland and Northern Ireland, and three types of spas are common: destination spas, hotels with spas, and day spas. Destination spas are ideal for travelers who want to be completely submerged in the spa experience twenty-four-seven. Some destination spas focus on relaxation, while others are more specific, such as detox spas and weight-loss spas. Hotel spas are for travelers who want to spend the day seeing the sights then, with sore feet, return to a restorative sauna or warm stone massage in their hotel. Day spas are for travelers who want to visit a spa for a few hours rather than book an accommodation with a spa. Many hotel spas are open to non-hotel guests.

Spas aren’t just for relaxing. They can help you get to know your body or allow you to spend time with someone you love. Most spas have health professionals on hand to share insights into healthy living. These professionals are up on the most recent diets and health foods. Some spas are designed to decrease pain through massage, mud therapy, and guided exercise, such as yoga or qigong.

For some relaxing spa days in Scotland, there are numerous choices from Edinburgh to Glasgow and throughout the countryside. To combine a little golf with a lot of pampering, consider the Gleneagles Hotel and Spa.

One standout spa in England is the Farmhouse Spa, which is located in an old farmhouse in the middle of Exmoor National Park. An adult-only spa with cottages on a five-acre, private meadowland, this spa gives travelers the chance to immerse themselves in England’s countryside. Onsite barns have been converted into spa facilities, and massages are given by starlight beneath a massive skylight.

If you want to combine a trip to Stonehenge, consider staying at The Halcyon Spa at Bishopstrow House Hotel, which is located just 25-minutes away from the famous prehistoric monument. This hotel and spa features a Rasul mud therapy room and a unique back cleansing treatment with seaweed partials and peppermint oil.

From luxurious 5-star detox retreats to hotel spas offering acupuncture, halotherapy, colonic hydrotherapy, and personal trainers, the spas in the UK are numerous and varied. Fortunately, it’s never been easier to design an itinerary based on your personal preferences. The first thing to do is to decided what type of experience you’d like to have and in which areas you want to experience your UK Spa Breaks. To help you decide, consider using a website designed to help you plan your trip. You can search for spas by treatment, location, and price. Further, two-for-one deals, last minute booking deals, and spa specials are frequently featured online, and these deals generate high-value vacations.

This is a Sponsored Post, written by Mattie Bamman for EuropeUpClose.com

Tags: England, Scotland

Our budget break in Scotland from 5 -  10 May 2012 was based on cheap rooms bought in the Travelodge UK December 2011 sale.  I paid £59 for 5 nights accommodation, one night in Dufermline, two in both Inverness & Perth.  You can save on travel if you snap up hotel deals whenever you spot them. While Travelodge is unlikely to offer a memorable experience, you get a comfortable place to sleep with your own bathroom. I managed to get a decent mobile broadband signal with my T Mobile USB modem during our trip. Although Travelodge offer free WiFi in their Bar Cafes, none of the Travelodges at which we stayed had Bar Cafes.

Caledonian Canal Locks at Fort Augustus in the Scottish Highlands

We decided to come home a day early, on Thursday 9 May, as heavy rain was forecast for the following day. We’d been very fortunate as the weather was much drier and brighter than forecast and we didn’t want to end the trip on a soggy note. It turned out to be a wise decision, as it rained non-stop all day on the 10 May.

Cost of Budget Break in Scotland

Accommodation - £59 It was £19 for the first night in Travelodge Dunfermline, Travelodge Inverness cost £10 a night for two nights and Travelodge Perth Broxden Junction was £10 a night for 2 nights, so a grand total of £59 for 5 night accommodation (room only) for two people.

Transport – Fuel £60 We travelled in our Skoda Fabia diesel supermini which returns 67 average miles per gallon. We covered just under 650 miles, so that cost £60 for fuel.

Food – Meals  £74 -  We took quite a bit of food with us; things like longlife milk, cereal, sandwiches, tinned tuna, cheese scones and fruit for breakfasts in our room and picnics. As we’d be spending money on food at home anyway, I haven’t included this in the cost. Having a flask saves a lot on drinks and means you can pick the most scenic spots for a tea or coffee. We had lunch in Edinburgh on the first day at £24, a dinner in Inverness costing £21 and afternoon tea in Perth which cost £9 with Groupon voucher. If we’d stayed for the last night,  I reckon we’d have spent another £20 on a meal and some food shopping.

Total Spend – £193

Day One – Dunfermline

We arrived in Dufermline in the late afternoon of Saturday 5 May and had a walk around Pittencrieff Park and the Abbey & Palace.

Dunfermline Abbey & Palace

Photos from the Budget Break in Scotland

Click here to see all the photos on Flickr.

Budget Scotland Mini Tour on Twitter

Budget Break in Scotland

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Tags: Accommodation, Save on Travel, Scotland, uk

Most people I’ve met through my Spanish language school AMAUTA are travellers. They come to Buenos Aires, mostly at the start of their journey, to learn or improve their Spanish and after a few weeks they move on to explore other parts of Argentina and some even the rest of Latin America. I am more [...]

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The top sights in Berlin range from world-class museums to WWII memorials. The Nazi regime brought the city to its knees, and several sights tell of the atrocities and crimes committed by the Nazis. Visiting these sights can be both painful and educational. Other top sights focus on world history and art. Berlin, for example, has amassed one of the best collections of ancient Greek and Egyptian artifacts on earth. Here’s our list of the top sights in Berlin, which includes a handful of free museums and free memorials.

Kaiser Wilhehm Memorial Church
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (known as Gedächtniskirche) is located  in the centre of the Breitscheidplatz. The original church was built in the 1890s. It was badly damaged in a bombing raid in 1943. The present building, which consists of a church with an attached foyer and a separate building with an attached chapel, was built between 1959 and 1963. The damaged spire of the old church has been retained and its ground floor has been made into a memorial hall with heartbreaking images and artifacts.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (The Holocaust Memorial)
Comprised of over 2,700 concrete blocks arranged in ascending and descending waves with walkways in between, this massive memorial invites visitors to stroll in one side and out the other. As you stroll, the blocks either grow or diminish in size, creating an atmosphere that is both daunting and relieving. An information center below the sculpture shares letters and other materials, telling the story of the horrific Jewish persecution that took place during WWII. The memorial is free to visit and located one block south of Brandenburg Gate.

Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) This massive, decorative gate was built by the Prussians in the 18^th century. Today the gate is the icon of Berlin, and it features massive pillars and a sculpture of a chariot drawn by four horses. The gate faces the bustling Pariser Platz square, which is comprised of buildings that have been beautifully restored, and which is great for strolling.

Pergamonmuseum (Pergamon Museum)
This museum is part of Museumsinsel (Museum Island), which is a collection of  world-class museums. The Pergamonmuseum is an archeological museum with one of the most important collections of ancient Greek and Egyptian architecture in the world. For example, the museum houses the Pergamon Alter, which is a full-sized temple that you can walk inside. Other highlights include the Ishtar Gate and Market Gate of Miletus. Truly displaying only the best of the best, this museum doesn’t go overboard, and you can get in and out in around two hours.

Memorial of the Berlin Wall
Here’s your chance to see the Berlin Wall! Located near Checkpoint Charlie, this memorial commemorates the tragic history of a divided city; and portions of the wall are covered with photographs. This Berlin top sight is free to visit.

DDR Museum
This museum is really unique: It demonstrates what life was like beneath the Iron Curtain. Entire communist-era living rooms have been recreated so that you can sit down on the sofa and watch the same TV shows that East Berliners watched. You can also sit inside classic cars, play with communist-era toys, listen to period radio broadcasts, and even smell traditional foods cooking! The absurdity of the time period is highlighted, and the museum shares many interesting tidbits, such as the fact that untrained janitors earned the same salary as trained doctors. Whether traveling alone or with kids, this museum is worth a visit.

Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historical Museum)
This museum covers the entire history of Germany, while thoroughly focusing on the atrocities of WWII as well as life under communism. Absolutely huge, this museum displays toys, documents, military paraphernalia, propaganda posters, artworks, and films. Exhibits are arranged chronologically, so you can easily plan which eras to visit in advance. Don’t even think of seeing everything in one day. An English-language audio guide is recommended.

Topography of Terror
If you want to learn about Berlin and WWII without paying a cent, this is your museum. Located where the Nazi Secret Service and the Gestapo’s headquarters once stood, this museum has two sections, one indoor and one outdoors. The outdoor portion tells the story of the rise and fall of the Nazi regime through photographs and placards. The photos and stories give real insight into the horrors the Secret Service and the Gestapo, and they are particularly easy to follow and read. The indoor museum shows visitors the steps taken by the Secret Service and Gestapo to control Berlin. It features films, photographs, audio clips, and S.S. documents.

Zoologischer Garten (Berlin Zoo)
With one of the largest collections of animals in Europe, the Berlin Zoo is an animal lover’s paradise. There are rhinos, hippos, a panda, and more. Bring water and sun block during hot weather, as the zoo is quite large and primarily outdoors. The zoo is centrally located and easy to reach by public transportation. Combination tickets are sold in conjunction with the nearby Berlin Aquarium, which has brilliantly colored jellyfish, a sand tiger shark, crocodiles, and more. Pack snacks because the onsite restaurant is not very good. Note that the zoo’s information placards are only written in German.

Checkpoint Charlie
Sadly, this sight can be very touristy and unrewarding. It is included in this list of Top Sights in Berlin simply to let the visitor know what they may be getting into. The one-time border control point between East and West Berlin, Checkpoint Charlie features a passport control booth where visitors can get their passport stamped. A few signs also describe the history of the checkpoint. This sight commemorates an important time in Berlin’s history, but some visitors may find the mock-up reminiscent of Disneyland.

Written by Mattie Bamman for EuropeUpClose.com

Tags: Sights and Landmarks

We had a late lunch at the Oblo Bar & Bistro in Eyemouth in mid April 2012. Our decision to eat at Oblo was based on the fact that they have an all day Bar Menu, which allowed us to have a leisurely walk along the Coastal Path without having to rush back to make lunch serving hours.

It was a bit cold to sit out in the patio or the balconcy, so we opted for the first floor conservatory where it was light but we had some protection from the wind. We did get a whiff of cigarette smoke from the one smoker out on the balcony and wished that smoking was prohibited in all areas.

We ordered a Seafood Platter (for sharing), consisting of haddock goujons, mussels, salmon fishcakes & calamari with dressed salad, tartare sauce & ciabatta bread, plus one side order of hand cut chips. This came to just under £20. The member of staff who took our order and brought the food to our table was a very pleasant young guy.

Seafood Platter at Oblo Eyemouth

The food was very good. The salmon fishcakes looked homemade and had fair sized pieces of fish. The batter on the haddock was thin and crispy. I’m not a great fan of mussels but they were served in a very tasty creamy sauce and I ate four or five of them. I enjoyed the thick chips.

Selection from Seafood Platter at Oblo Eyemouth

There was free WiFi which needed an access code, but I couldn’t pick up the signal out in the balcony. There’s a very relaxed atmosphere at the Oblo; there was a good mix of patrons: couples, families and groups of friends. If you’re in Eyemouth I recommend that you go to Oblo for good food and ambience.  Their cakes look pretty tempting, so maybe I’ll try one next time I’m there.

Keep It Real Travel Reviews

You can see all my Oblo Eyemouth photos on Flickr.

 

Review of Oblo Bar & Bistro, Eyemouth, Scottish Borders

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Tags: Restaurant Reviews, Scotland, uk

I want to keep it real on Europe a la Carte. Many hotel and restaurant reviews seem to be a mixture of pure fluff,  implausible if the reviewer hasn’t actually stayed or eaten there, based on unrealistic expectations, or used as an excuse for a negative rant. Although I often stay in hotels and eat at restaurants on a complimentary basis in exchange for a review, I do try to be objective. Anything else if pretty useless to readers.

I’d write the same travel reviews whether I stayed/ate free or paid for it myself. I let you know in the first paragraph of my reviews if I stayed or ate at the establishment free of charge, so that you can factor that into your assessment of my review.

My reviews predominately feature my own photos, rather than taking the glossy, professional photos from the hotel or restaurant’s own site. I also put my video of the room into my recent hotel reviews, to give you a better feel for the place than just from photos. Now, my own photos aren’t always great – I find taking decent photos of food in restaurants in the evening pretty hard – but at least they show that I’ve been at the hotel or restaurant.

If I’m critical of something, I try to be constructive and realistic. After I criticised the lack of real fruit juice and fresh fruit on the breakfast buffet at one hotel, the manager emailed me to say they were going to change these items. If there’s poor WiFi in a hotel it’ll drive me mad, but this may not be something that will influence your decision if you don’t plan to be online during your stay.

At the end of the day, it’s only my opinion, but I hope it’s one on which you can rely.

Podcast on Keep It Real Travel Reviews

 

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Keep It Real Travel Reviews

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Tags: hotel reviews, Restaurant Reviews

The Duddo Stone Circle, also known as the Duddo Five Stones in Northumberland, lies just off the B6354 signposted from the A1 for Etal, just south of Berwick upon Tweed. We’d seen the small brown “stone circle” sign on the bend in the road in Duddo many times when driving past on the way to one of our favourite walks along the River Till in Etal. This morning we finally decided to go and see the stone circle for ourselves.

Duddo Stone Circle (using Flickr’s Aviary editor’s Venture photo effects)

We picked one of the best times of year to visit, as all the surrounding fields were a riot of yellow rapeseed flowers.

Walking next to the rapeseed field on the way to the Duddo Stone Circle

The path is mainly along grass but there are a few muddy patches, so wellies or walking boots are recommended. It takes 20-30 minutes to walk to the Stone Circle from the road.

The Duddo Stone Circles information sign

The Stone Circle dates from 2000BC and is thought to have had a cremation pit in the middle. There were originally seven stones but only five remain.

As the Stones were constructed of sandstone, they display quite a bit of wear and tear. The deep vertical groves down some of the stones look like they’ve been made by the claws of some enormous beast; but nothing so dramatic, it’s erosion caused by water run-off.

Three of the stones in the Circle

Me by one of the stones in the Duddo Stone Circle

Click here to see all my Duddo Stone Circle photos on Flickr

If you’re enjoy visiting stone circles, I recommend Callanish on the Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides, Scotland.

Duddo Stone Circle, Northumberland, England

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Tags: England, uk

Though wandering around the streets of Madrid is a great way to see the city, be sure to take advantage of the fantastic public transportation system in the capital.

Getting to Madrid From the Airport 

Madrid Barajas International Airport connects to the city by Metro line 8 and by Cercanias commuter train line C-1. The fastest, and least expensive way, to access the city center from the airport’s Terminal 4 is to take C-1 train to Nuevos Ministerios then transfer to either the C-3 or C-4 train; Sol will be the first stop and takes one to Puerta del Sol, the city’s main square.

Train tickets cost €2.15. Alternatively, one can take the Metro from any of the airport’s terminals to the city center. Take line 8 to Nuevos Ministerios, the end of the line. One can stay in the Metro system and take two additional lines to Sol or take commuter trains C-3 or C-4 for an additional fee. Metro tickets from the airport cost €2.50, as riders to and from the airport must pay an additional €1 supplement. Train and metro tickets can be purchased from machines in any station. The machines accept cash, credit cards, and debit cards. Remember to hold onto your tickets, especially those purchased for the trains, as you may need to re-scan them through machines to exit the station.

Getting to Madrid From the Train Station

Madrid has two train stations: Atocha and Chamartín. Renfe operates train service to and from Madrid. Chamartín serves trains from international destinations like Lisbon, Paris, and Milan and northern Spain, while trains from Barcelona, Valencia and southern Spain arrive and depart from Atocha. Both stations connect to the Metro and Cercanias commuter trains.

Madrid’s Metro System

Madrid has one of the best public transportation systems in the world and the second largest network in Europe, behind only London. Single tickets cost €1.50 per trip, with an infinite number of transfers while in the Metro zone. If you take the Metro to or from the airport, you must pay an additional €1. Unlimited travel passes can be purchased as well: one day (€6), 2 days (€10), 3 days (€13), 5 days (€19), or 7 days (€25). If you purchase an unlimited travel pass, you do not have to pay the airport supplement.

Maps of the Metro can be acquired at Information stands in most stations. Announcements of stops on the Metro are made in Spanish, but signs throughout the stations are in Spanish and English. Metro trains often feature maps of several lines, not just the line you may be traveling. Be aware of what line you are on and which stop you are trying to reach.

The Metro officially opens at 6:00 AM and closes at 1:30 AM, though some lines may run until 2:00 AM.

The city also has an extensive bus system, which reaches parts of Madrid that the Metro does not. Metro and bus lines use the same tickets. Night buses provide transportation between 1:00 AM and 5:30 AM.

Commuter Trains in Madrid

Cercanias commuter trains (C-lines) connect the city center to the suburbs. These trains are useful for connecting to different parts of the city while avoiding multiple Metro line transfers. For instance, from the Sol stop in the city center, one can access the airport by transferring from Metro line 1 to line 10 to line 8 or one could take C-3 to C-1. Both terminate at Terminal 4 of the airport.

Written by Morgen Young for EuropeUpClose.com

Tags: Madrid

The Panorama Restaurant at the Lisbon Sheraton Hotel, hosted Mary Goudie of Your Lisbon Guide and me for dinner in late March 2012.  The restaurant is located on the top floor, so has great views over Lisbon. However, I think the views would be better in daylight, due to all the light pollution after dark.

Me posing with a glass of Mum at the Panorama Restaurant Lisbon

There’s a very relaxed atmosphere, the tables are well spaced out and the chairs are comfy. We had the Tasting Menu, which costs 75 Euro excluding drinks, with a couple of additions.

The chef Lionel is charming, he’s originally from Faro in the Algarve and is passionate about using fresh, local produce.  The waiting staff dismissed any stereotypes about Lionel being a dictator in the kitchen and he certainly came across as very level headed.

Me with chef Lionel Pereira at the Panorama Restaurant Lisbon

I have to say that the Tasting Menu was somewhat wasted on me, as I’m no foodie, so don’t fully appreciate the gastromonic journey of the palate. I prefer to have one or two larger courses than a multitude of small tasters. I also think that there can sometimes be too many different flavours in one dish in gourmet dining e.g. the Red Algarve Prawn (pictured below) was so tasty, it didn’t need all these other fishy/seafood things on it.  Here are some highlights of our meal.

Tuna Tarantella – a tuna & clam mousse with onion compote

Red Algarve Prawn – with seaweed, toiko roes, sea urchin, tube barnacles & prawn sauce served with white corn

Veal Tenderloin – with wild mushrooms, chestnuts & pumpkin

Hot Chocolate Soup – with hazelnuts, pecan & pistachios

If you’re looking for an upscale gourmet experience in a relaxed atmosphere with excellent service, then the Panorama Restaurant Lisbon is a good choice.

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Review of Panorama Restaurant Lisbon

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Tags: lisbon, Portugal, Restaurant Reviews