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Sally le Bert-Francis Partner in Edinburgh Holiday Accommodation

Home Swapping with a Social touch

With economies around the world struggling to recover from financial crisis; many consumers are looking at ways to ‘tighten their belt’ particularly when it comes to paying for their annual holiday. A growing trend seems to be ‘home-swapping’ – which offers roomy self-catering accommodation in potentially interesting and exotic locations using your own home as ‘holiday collateral’. There are a number of companies now facilitating the process and offering a growing portfolio of homes for a holiday exchange. A relatively new player in this market is ‘CasaHop’, which is focusing on adding a social aspect to the pairing up of potential ‘home-swappers’ bringing a bit more security and comfort to the process. Inquisitive as I am, I caught up with Florent Peyre from CasaHop to find out more!
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CasaHop Social House Swapping
CasaHop Social House Swapping
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Thomson Cruise Voucher Code

Thomson Dream
Thomson Holidays are offering an extra £100 off Cruises departing between August and December 2012. Just click on the link below and use the voucher code. ...
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Philadelphia Realises Arts and Cultures Vision

Philadelphia Museum Of Art
2012 may signal the end of the Mayan calendar but it is all about the future in the city of brotherly love as Philadelphia unveils a host of exciting attractions and exhibitions including the long-awaited opening of the Barnes Foundation. Philadelphia is fast becoming the art and culture capital of the USA with its Museum of Art and the soon to be re-opened Rodin Museum, which collectively hold the world’s finest collections of art, including the largest collection of Renoirs outside of Paris and more Cézanne’s than all the Parisian museums put together. ...
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Stena Line introduce the 'CarCation'

Stena Britannica
Stena Line believe that their 'CarCation' idea will be the next craze to sweep the nation. Whilst I'm not sure it will have such a startling impact on the UK holiday market, I am a convert to the idea of making a mini-cruise part of the holiday experience when driving to the Continent or across to Ireland. It makes a lot of sense to start the journey with a relaxing overnight ferry especially when the ships offer the many facilities that the Stena Line fleet do!...
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Emotions and Art from Two Continents

Grace Kelly Portrait by Ellen de Fantine
I have learned not to underestimate the power of social media to introduce me to new and exciting developments in the world of travel which is my special area of interest; but my eyes have been opened on a number of occasions to other fields recently, in particular to a wide variety of different art forms. Being a traditionalist I have always leaned towards portrait work and through the vague and often murky world of twitter I recently stumbled on the work of a talented artist who spreads her time between the glamorous worlds of Monaco and Brazil. Keen to explore further I set up a question and answer session via direct messaging on twitter. ...
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Calgary - Seven Tips For A Successful Visit

Calgary Stephen Avenue
Having grown up and resided in Calgary for over 20 years, I have been fortunate enough to be exposed to many things that my hometown has had to offer. When my parents decided to start a walking tour experience company in downtown Calgary last summer, and I willingly tagged along, I began to see things from a completely different perspective. As Calgarians, we are accustomed to driving all over our sprawling city, so getting intimately oriented with the downtown streets and all of the secrets they hold has helped me view the city in a new light. Here is my list of 7 recommendations for visitors to Calgary (and it is certainly a different list than I would have written a year ago). ...
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A Fairytale Cottage in Yorkshire

Dining Room Agra Cottage
Enjoying a long weekend away at this time of year is such a treat. In order to maximise our time away in Nidderdale, we stopped off en route in Ripon; a place we’d not visited before. What an attractive market town it is, with an array of independent shops. While we were there, looking for somewhere for lunch, we happened across W Benson’s hardware shop. Although the ground floor is a hardware shop, deceptively, the first floor boasts one of the best selections of Barbour and Joules coats and jackets – and Hunter wellies – in the North of England. Not only did they have everything on our Christmas lists, they also recommended a great place for us to have lunch: now that’s what I call great customer service....
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50 of the Best Travel Quotes

best travel quotes
I love the power that words have to inspire, motivate and engage the reader, words that are immortalised, words of wit, pain and truth; to the writer, if not always the reader. Many a writer, intellectual, artist or traveller has made comment on the virtue of travel, a subject of which most of our readers are obviously passionate. I have collated below a selection of fifty of my favourite travel quotes, some may strike a chord, but please add your own favourites in the comments box below the article; who can come up with a modern version of a classic quote, or even better their own inspirational original. These quotes are not arranged in a particular order of favouritism:...
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Welcome To Chicago!

City of Chicago Skyline
When people think of Chicago, their first thoughts are often Al Capone, gangsters, corruption, big servings of heavy foods like deep dish pizza, Da Bears, etc. But, that's just scratching the surface....
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Thomson Holidays Voucher Code

Not yet booked your early summer break - well now you have the opportunity to save an extra £40 on Thomson Holidays' great prices. Thomson has just released a new voucher code please find the details below....
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Elope to Bordeaux

bordeaux skyline
When you arrive in Bordeaux, it doesn't take long before your senses are saturated with the grape that makes this region of France so special. The local countryside is awash with vineyards anointed by splendid chateaux and easily accessible on an excursion from the city of Bordeaux. It is a tough choice though choosing between the many tours available, but my recommendation would be the Saint Emilion ‘exceptional heritage and wines tour’ which departs Bordeaux on a Saturday; what could beat such divine wine in a setting rich in heritage and culture. The city of Bordeaux - with its World heritage status - has plenty to offer the visitor with its combination of classical and neoclassical architecture, museums, galleries, and of course fine dining; it is a city which is easy to explore and perfect for a short spring break. ...
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Cracking All-Inclusive Packages to the Caribbean

Couple Playing in Pool at Almond Beach Resorts
British Airways offer some fantastic All-Inclusive deals to the Caribbean with savings of up to £80 per person for a week in May or June valid for bookings made by 27th March 2012. Grab them while they're hot - they won't be around for long.............
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Do You Want a Nanny in the Sky?

distressed child
Avoid the tantrums on your next flight? A website has launched a service to pair up nannies with parents on airline flights for a small fee ($10). Parents and prospective nannies register with the site and add details of future flights they are booked on. The site then makes the match and put the two parties together to negotiate a fee for the service provided by the nanny. ...
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A Weekend in My Lisbon

Garcia de Horta Garden Lisbon
Our guest blogger, 'Mrs O.' returns to her beloved home-town for a well earned weekend of rest and relaxation (with shopping and dancing thrown into the mix) and shares some of the places to be seen in modern, vibrant Lisbon. ...
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Football Short Breaks - Theatre of Dreams

Old Trafford Stadium of Manchester United
MANCHESTER UNITED SUPPORTERS’ HOTEL & MATCH TICKET PACKAGE Experience the action as the 2012 season builds up to an exciting and dramatic finale. Join 75,000 fans in the Theatre of Dreams to see Manchester United in action against Premiership or European opposition. Tour operator, Travel Solutions, is offering a football break for only £139.00 (single supplement £35) including ...
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Is this the end for long-haul coach travel?

Tired Coach Driver
With the tragic events of the weekend foremost in our thoughts; an investigation will take some time to reveal what happened to cause the coach accident in Northern France. At times like this the finger immediately points at the driver - but shouldn't we be looking a little closer at the overall safety of long-haul coach travel, particularly in a time when air travel is so affordable?...
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Caribbean

The Grenadines - guarding paradise from demonic intrigue

Grenadines
Catholic priest guarding paradise from dangers of demonic intrigue - Paradise is his beat: Father Mark is a Catholic priest for some of the most picturesque little islands of the Grenadines. His ministry extends to the Tobago Cays, a group of tiny palm-studded islets lapped by turquoise tides. A heavenly spot indeed, if it weren’t for the devilry threatening the idyll.
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South America

Brazil's Holy Meat

Top Sirloin on Grill
I love to make barbecue for my friends and often receive compliments about the flavor of the Brazilian barbecue. Since some of my Americans friends have been asking, I decided to write about the secret of “rodízio” style* barbecue. It’s not hard for me to get excited about this topic – I LOVE meat!
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Italy

A Taste of Florence

Florence Dishes
The kitchen produces one of the four ‘F's’ (food) for which Tuscany is renowned throughout the world, the others being Fiorentina, females and factories (leather). Each city has its own specialties and those of Florence are many in number. This is why knowing how to choose a menu with many dishes, sometimes unknown to even Italians, can be anything but easy.
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Sweden

A Jumbo Experience in Stockholm

Jumbo_hostel
Enjoying a bed on a Boeing 747 would normally involve great expense purchasing a First Class ticket – but not in Stockholm where the unique experience of sleeping on a plane overnight and not moving an inch was enjoyed as preparation for a trip to this beautiful water-filled city.
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Spain

An Active Holiday in the Catalan Pyrenees

Dali Museum Figueres
The Catalan Pyrenees offer some fabulous hiking opportunities, spectacular scenery and are just a short journey away from the delightful resorts of the Costa Brava as well as the cities of Barcelona and Gerona. For tourists looking for something more from a Spanish holiday; what better way to explore and absorb the scenery than to combine some light walking and excursions into a packed 7-day programme organised for groups by Traditional Tour – a Spanish receptive operator.
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Car Hire

Car Hire - Safety Tips for Driving Abroad

Car Break Down
There are fifty two weeks in a year, and most of us will spend fifty of those daydreaming about the glorious two weeks we will spend away from our regular lives, in some remote corner of our own personal paradise. But before you set off to enjoy your well-deserved holidays, there are a few things you should keep in mind to make your journey as safe as possible.
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Flights

The Joys of Delayed and Lost Baggage!

Lost Baggage
You have arrived at your destination in good shape and fought your way to the edge of the baggage carousel where you stand in rabid anticipation, eyes glazed, and hand firmly grasping the handle of the trolley which you managed to wrestle off some old lady. You stand firm, and strong against all interlopers, muttering casual obscenities as your legs are battered and bruised as bags and cases of all sizes are dragged through the tiny gap you have allowed your fellow travellers access through.
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