On the road
January 07, 2013 , On the road, Moscow
“Winter in Moscow? Have you gone completely mad?” Tell someone you’re planning a trip to Russia’s icy capital during the cold months and they’ll probably question your sanity. But while Moscow can get very cold, winter can actually be a magical time of year to visit. Pack your thermals and you’ll discover a sparklingly snowy, tourist-free city that knows how to put its best foot forward when the mercury drops below zero
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December 21, 2012 , On the road
I take Budapest by foot. Despite being a large city - or two cities stuck together - there is so much to see it seems a shame not to walk. 'Remember to look up!’ one local tells me, ‘There may be the same shops you recognise at eye-level, but the history is in the skyline.
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November 21, 2012 , On the road, Prague
With every corner pretty as a postcard, it’s easy to understand why Prague’s oldest central neighbourhoods are so popular with visitors. But while their gothic churches, baroque mansions, sweeping views and narrow lanes are all delightful, they’re hardly uncharted territory. As GuidePal's city guide editor Feargus O'Sullivan learned on a recent visit to Prague, there’s plenty more of the city beyond this central bubble.
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November 16, 2012 , On the road
As the new day lumbers slowly over Morocco's snow-covered Atlas Mountains, the local muezzin's amplified Arabic lilt carries across Marrakesh's Medina (old city) like a beautiful, mournful song. Described by Barack Obama as "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth," the Muslim call to fajr (dawn) prayer certainly beats my mobile alarm tone.
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October 29, 2012 , On the road, Reykjavik
On the 40 minute bus ride from Keflavik airport to the Blue Lagoon there was barely a word from anyone on my packed bus. No one was prepared for the otherworldly landscape of crater-filled, grey and black basalt lava flows that shape the rugged landscape and extend into barren mountain ranges
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October 17, 2012 , On the road, Glasgow
Often overlooked as Edinburgh's grubbier little brother, Glasgow doesn't routinely top many European travel itineraries. But we love an underdog. And as the granddaughter of a bonnie Ayrshire lass who left her homeland behind to follow her wartime love to Sydney, GuidePal guide editor Sarah Reid is keen to rediscover her roots - haggis, bagpipes, Nessie and all
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October 15, 2012 , On the road, Buenos Aires
We walked past it everyday. We smelt it before we saw it; tantalising, mouth-watering, lust-inducing. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted something in my mouth so much. It was nothing fancy. Just steak and sausages grilling. But oh, what sweet-smelling meat. The source was a nameless hole-in-the-wall parilla in Buenos Aires’
San Telmo.
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October 08, 2012 , On the road, Dublin
Times may be tough on the Emerald Isle, but that hasn't stopped the party. Tucked in its alleyways and secreted away in the backrooms of its bars, Dublin's dining, arts and entertainment scene is positively booming. GuidePal city guide editor Sarah Reid swung by the capital of the Republic for a long weekend in search of a good craic.
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September 10, 2012 , On the road, Travel pictures
Uruguay is South America’s secret that the world is slowly discovering. Tucked between its bigger siblings Argentina and Brazil, people seem to skip right past it. But this small country shares the best attributes of both its neighbours with the gaucho culture, tango and great steak of Argentina coupled with the sandy white beaches and carnival parties of Brazil
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August 26, 2012 , On the road, Nice
With it's grand, pastel-hued shuttered buildings hugging the ultramarine coastline, they don't call France's most famous seaside city "Nice la Belle" (Nice the Beautiful) for nothing. But with two other countries right on its doorstep, GuidePal city guide editor Sarah Reid couldn't resist hitting the road for a day to explore this idyllic slice of the Mediterranean.
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July 05, 2012 , On the road, London
I’m in a candlelit kitchen sipping gin from a teacup trying to hold a conversation while wearing nothing but a silk night slip and suspenders. This could be one of those dreams in which I’ve suddenly found myself in a room full of people with no clothes on, except this is significantly more glamorous
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June 20, 2012 , On the road, Spotlight on ...
This week the world’s gaze is on Rio de Janeiro as it hosts the UN +20 climate change summit. We all know about the city’s dazzling beaches, hot bodies and designer bars – but, says our local expert Lucy Bryson, for the authentic heart of Rio and its most bewitching nightlife, visitors should look elsewhere
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June 15, 2012 , On the road, Review, London
‘Is my tail wonky?’ I find myself staring at the behind of a man dressed as a tiger wearing the tail of a fox. I consider this for a moment. ‘Wonky? Well, a little.’ I make a slight adjustment and send the tiger fox on his way
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February 29, 2012 , On the road, Havana
I arrive to the soundtrack of Charlie Parker’s jazz whispering out the taxi stereo punctuated by the syncopated shake, rattle and roll of a beat up old Chevrolet hurtling along beside us. It’s an apt beginning to my time in a city that is in many ways a living, breathing, sweating and heaving flashback to the 50s
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