Quirky Traveller's Tales

It’s always a pleasure to hear from new writers and I’m delighted to feature Jo Evans with her very first blog post.  She explains how the sweet aroma of travel and the powerful memories it can evoke, inspired her to start her very own Aromatherapy business in the Lake District.

The sense of smell is truly an amazing thing. I have a very sensitive sense of smell, indeed I can’t walk through a perfume section of a department store without getting a headache. So what have I ended up training in? Aromatherapy! I find the whole subject fascinating, how essential oils can work with each other to create wonderful healing synergies. Many of us have strong memories related to smells and that made me think about the sweet aroma of travel that evokes such wonderful memories of the people and places I have come across around the world.

The exotic smell of coconut suntan lotion makes me think of our holiday villa on the Greek island of Lefkada.  The pagodas that surrounded the house and the pool were hung with large red and pink blooms which smelt heavenly in the evening. To sit there with a glass of wine relaxing after a hard day soaking up the sun, was absolute bliss.  You really know you are on holiday when you can close your eyes and smell that coconut aroma wafting on the warm breeze …

America is somewhere that springs to mind immediately. When I remember my trips there I can always smell the food. The mouth-watering pancakes and maple syrup; the sticky sweet smell of the theme parks with their abundance of snack stands and restaurants; the fresh fruits on show waiting to be turned into smoothies.

I can clearly remember two very distinctive aromas from a holiday in Cornwall. First, and predominantly, salt. The gorgeous salty air of harbours mixed with the smell of the days’ catch reminds of the wonderful strolls I have had there, as well as people-watching whilst sitting on a harbour wall with a refreshing ice cream. The other aroma, and it is one of my all-time favourites, is warm scones. I can’t resist that smell and my obsession with cream teas is a constant source of amusement to my husband! 

And what about the Lake District? Although I now live, here I wasn’t born and bred here. Before relocating I had been visiting the lakes for about 12 years and every time I made the journey north on the M6 I would look forward to the sight of the fells and, more importantly, the smell of the Lake District. I can only describe it as ‘wholesome’. There is a fresh, clean, natural smell to the Lakes that always makes me feel content, which is probably why I now live here.

I’ve spent a long time experimenting with aromatherapy blends that people can take with them when they’re travelling for an aromatic boost on the go. Headaches, tiredness and stress are often unfortunate side-effects of travelling, so I’ve come up with three blends to help with these issues. Lemongrass and Peppermint for headaches and muzzy heads, Lime and Mandarin for a pick me up and Lavender and Bergamot to help relax and unwind. I’ve put these blends into little Rollerballs to keep in your travel bag and I have to say that I don’t go anywhere now without at least one of them tucked in a pocket somewhere!

For further information on Aromatherapy and any of Jo’s products visit her website BespokeAroma. 

2013 looks set to be one of the best years to gaze up into the skies and be awestruck by nature’s very own fireworks display.  Here are some of the key dates for stargazing in 2013.  Make a note in your diary, clean the lens of your telescope or brush off your binoculars and better still, book a holiday somewhere different for the Greatest Show Above Earth.

Stargazing events 2013 – imgur.com

Apparently many of us in Europe, Africa, Australia and most of Asia will be able to see the partial Eclipse of the Moon in April, but not if you’re in North America. If you want to experience May’s ‘Annular Eclipse of the Sun’ then Papua New Guinea, along with some of the nearby Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean or southern Australia look like your best bet for a memorable holiday. If you’re lucky enough to be in Hawaii you should get a sight of the partial eclipse as well as some excellent surfing.

Here’s a simple explanation of Solar Eclipses – even I could vaguely understand it

Solar Eclipses Observer’s Guide – space.com

If you missed the total eclipse then there’s a ‘Hybrid Eclipse’ (see infogram) which you might glimpse from the balcony of your all-inclusive villa on Bermuda.  Apparently viewers on North American Atlantic coast will not be very impressed but holiday-makers (and locals of course) on Cape Verde Islands should get a great view from their hotel.  Liberia is the place to be for longest ‘totality’ but may not be top of everyone’s vacation list … You’ll may be better off booking a nice little hotel in Gabon, Congo, Uganda or Kenya – or preparing for sunset at the Ethiopia-Somalia border – or maybe not …

If dancing’s your thing then it looks like Mars, Venus and Jupiter will be tripping the light fantastic for a week later in May and in the year’s biggest Full Moon in June should make you swoon, wherever you are …  The Moon’s ‘Penumbral’ eclipse (whatever that means!) will apparently be seen in most parts of Asia, Europe and Africa with central and eastern area of North America getting a darkened Hunters’ Moon early evening.  Werewolves and vampires take note …

Comets and meteor showers showcase their astronomical charms beauty throughout the year but the biggest STAR (sorry) is the rather unromantically named Comet ISON, apparently called after International Scientific Optical Network telescope that found it in 2012.  It will be passing within a gnat’s whisker of the earth (40 million miles) and you should be able to see it from your very own backyard, wherever that is on this glorious planet …

The reason I wrote this article is because a friend sent me a copy of the dates and asked me to share it. Hope you enjoy it Sandie! I did a bit of research and found Mother Nature Network from where I got all this fascinating info – minus the holiday tips … Apologies to any serious astronomers and Prof Brian Cox You can find out about BBC2 Stargazing Live Events around the UK here

The Twizy is quite simply fantastic fun on four wheels. It’s a tiny electric car that thinks it’s a Ferrari. And when you drive one you’ll get as much attention, if not more, as if you were driving one of the most iconic cars in the world.  For the sixth of the ‘Challenge Zoë’ adventures for the Kendal Courier I whizzed off round the little lanes of the southern Lake District to test it out.  Here’s the article that appeared in the December edition of the magazine. 

 “Oh, it’s adorable … What is it?”  The American woman’s response was typical. Everywhere I went in the Twizy, people smiled, took photos, and wanted to have a go.  I explained that it was an electric car and yes, of course she and her friends could all take photos.  Then I was off again on my silent way through the lovely lanes of the Lake District.

An hour or so earlier I had left the Langdale Hotel, where I was staying, having been given a quick briefing on how to drive the Twizy.  “It’s very easy. All you do is turn on the engine, put it into Drive and off you go.  It’ll do at least 40 miles before it needs charging and here’s a map showing routes and free Charge points.  You could head over to the L’al Ratty via the best drive in the Lake District or go over Kirkstone Pass to the Ullswater Steamer. Or just have a wander about the villages and country roads.”

Guests at the hotel can hire a Twizy for £10 per hour.  They are part of Cumbria tourism’s Go Lakes ‘Drive Less, See More’ transport initiative which includes lots of interesting ideas about how to travel around the Lake District.  The Langdale Estate leases the vehicles from Co-Wheels Car Club which provide an eco-friendly alternative to private car use.

 When I parked near the ferry at Ambleside, people gathered round, asking questions and taking photos.  As I pushed up the gull-wing door to get out, there was a little “aaah” from the audience.  A group of Air Cadets insisted on having their picture taken with me holding a mascot and they had lots of questions.

Yes, you can charge it from an ordinary plug, top speed’s about 50 miles per hour and yes, it is a bit chilly with no windows so wrap up warm.   And there are a number of places in the Lakes where you can hire them.  But be warned  – you won’t go unnoticed. This tiny vehicle really has got the X-Factor … and it is so much fun to drive!

You can read more about my stay at the luxurious Langdale Hotel here and experience of Go Lakes ‘Drive Less, See More’ sustainable travel initiative here.

In the sixth of our series of interviews with holiday homeowners from around the world, Jeff and Tish talk about how they bought a ruin in a spectacular setting in Andalucia and turned it into a stunning Moorish-style boutique villa.

 Originally from London, Jeff and Tish bought a ruin in the heart of Andalucia countryside 7 years ago. Their aim was to develop a rental property which offered all the services and facilities of a five star hotel yet had all the privacy of a home from home villa that catered for children and adults alike.  Lovingly restored in Moorish-style and beautifully furnished, Cortijo Bujio opened its doors to the public two and half years ago and since has been enjoying excellent occupancy rates.

 1.   What first made you fall in love with this area and why should people come here?  

Tish, a former teacher and myself, a property developer decided to buy Cortijo Bujio because of its close proximity to Granada airport which had just started flights from London. Set in a gorgeous valley near to Sierra Parapanda, the Cortijo offers unspoilt vistas of the neighbouring olive groves and oak forests, the panoramic expanse of the plains to the west of Granada and the snow-capped slopes of the Sierra Nevada beyond. It is ideal for those who are looking for a holiday where they can relax and enjoy peace and quiet and maybe even a bit of pampering.

2.   What’s the ‘best kept secret’ you would tell any visitors not to miss?

Our best kept secret has to be Rio Frio, a natural trout river and farm which runs through a village about 20km from the Cortijo. Here you can dine on freshly caught trout, traverse the meandering river or explore the countryside. Rio Frio is thought to be the first organic certified sturgeon farm in the world. It is also the only fish farm known to have rare species of trout indigenous to Andalusia but is thought to be extinct in the wild.

 3.   Where’s the place to go to just hang out, people watch and generally soak up the atmosphere?

8km from the Cortijo is the picturesque village of Montefrio where we live; Montefrio is exquisite. An agrarian village with plenty of modern trappings, however, it still manages to cling on to the past and is truly the real Spain, the only language spoken here is Spanish! The people are warm and welcoming and go about their business seemingly without a care in the world. We love it!

Montefrio is definitely the place to go and hang out, people watch and soak up the atmosphere; you can sit outside many of the bars and restaurants drinking good beer, wine or coffee and enjoying the great local cuisine. There are many fiestas which can also be enjoyed throughout the year. This friendly village enjoys one of the region’s most striking settings, with one of its churches perched on top of a bare, rocky pinnacle, overlooking the town and its surrounding hillsides clothed in olive groves and fields of cereal crops. It nestles between two memorable hilltop churches; you can’t miss either of them since they dominate the skyline.

4.       What would you recommend visitors either treat themselves to or take home as a souvenir?

Our most popular event and a must for all of our guests is the Flamenco evening, where local Flamenco players get together in our open courtyard overlooking the Sierra Nevada, and entertain with live music and dance, accompanied by Paella cooked al-fresco by our lovely cook Reme (who also makes divine Sangria!).

5.       Finally, what are the most ‘quirky’ things to do, see, eat, visit or experience in this place?

Quirky has to be a visit to Restaurante Piolas in the middle of nowhere, lost in the olive belt of inland Andalusia, and about 45 minutes’ drive from Cortijo Bujio. The restaurant offers a 15-course Spanish taster menu in a similar style to Heston Blumenthal but distinctly Spanish.

Leave yourself a couple of hours and sit back and enjoy. Changing by the month, the fifteen or so plates are so varied and unique. Arriving to strains of salsa and flamenco, the courses have included a strawberry salad with sardines, the most incredible ‘towers of cheese’ – looking like toadstools and made out of cheddar, Roquefort, parmesan and goats cheese – and a camembert and apple pie, with a vinaigrette of Mallorcan sausage.

Holiday Homeowner Q&A is brought to you by HomeAway.co.uk, the UK’s leading holiday rentals website with over 320,000 properties worldwide. From cute studios and city apartments to rural cottages and country homes, large luxury villas, quirky conversions and more, there are thousands of unique places to enjoy a more authentic and unusual holiday.

“Ah, you’ve got Room 105.  Very special.  You’re going to love it.”  When the charming guy carrying your bag tells you that, after you’ve checked in to a hotel, you could be forgiven for a slight air of scepticism.  After all, he’s not likely to say, “Oh Room 105 – poor you.”  However, when he opened the door I saw exactly what he meant.  In front of me were TWO seductively curvaceous baths facing out towards a huge bed, a spacious seating area, large bowl of fresh fruit, bedroom slippers, fluffy bathrobe, quality toiletries, huge flat screen TV and iPod deck.  It’s not often I’m really impressed by a hotel bedroom but this time – oh yes.

The room exuded warm, seductive charm – the only drawback was that I didn’t have a warm, seductive guy to share the romantic atmosphere with.  The Langdale Hotel describes it as “Luxurious, Cool, Romantic, Unusual, Stunning, Contemporary, Surprising, Fun, Naughty, Cheeky, Relaxing, Exciting, Different.” Yep, I’d agree with that – and add ‘Quality Quirky’ to the list!

I’d been invited to see for myself what the Langdale offers their hotel or timeshare property guests and also to test drive the Twizy, a tiny electric car that is causing more of a stir on the roads and lanes of the Lake District than any Ferrari or Porsche would.  A quick wander round the hotel was enough to see that there’s every facility you could wish for on a luxury holiday, whether for a family, on a romantic break, business trip or solo traveller like me.  Here are a just three of my favourite things:

• The Langdale Spa – having a facial or massage is always a real treat. When you can combine both in one blissfully relaxing session then tis heaven indeed.  Spoilt for choice with an extensive menu of treatments, beautician Louise suggested I opt for the Elemis Face & Body Sensations which promised a “thermal-soothing massage followed by an anti-ageing facial designed to restore youthful radiance.”  What she actually gave me was an hour or so of sheer relaxation and  indulgence and I certainly FELT rejuvenated, whatever the age I looked …

• The Swimming Pool – with 20 metres to paddle up and down in I could happily avoid the half-term kiddies splashing around and then take a few minutes time-out in the ‘Sanarium’, a Scandinavian-type wooden cabin combining the heat of the sauna with the less dry atmosphere of a steam room. And no, I was not tempted to try the chilly ‘deluge shower’.

• Purdey’s Restaurant – now this is where the Langdale exceeded my expectations by a country mile.  I’d been told the food was very good, but then you’d expect that in a luxury hotel of this calibre.  What I was not prepared for was dishes that would merit a Michelin Star and provide a superb sensory sensation.  Having opted for the Tasting Menu, which at £49.50 is excellent value, I was presented with plate after scrumptious plate of divine taste bombs.  Outstanding was the combination of roast artichokes, Scottish girolles & crunchy samphire. But the craziest dish, which surprisingly worked really well. was the lemon meringue cheesecake & raspberries with a heady basil sorbet.  Masterly, Chef …

After a great night’s sleep wallowing in king-size splendour, I was back in Purdey’s for breakfast.  The restaurant was buzzing as people fueled up for a day out in the autumnal Lakeland sunshine.   Now it was time for my Quirky Travel adventure in the Twizy.  The cute little electric car was fully charged and it’s really easy to drive.  Switch engine on, foot down and off you go.  It charges from an ordinary plug socket and there are power points around the south Lake District.  And what an eye-catching little wowzer it is!

I drove out along the Langdale Valley, through Ambleside and up to Grasmere, relishing the autumnal colours whilst wishing I had brought some gloves, as the car doesn’t have windows.  It has a neat turn of speed and is easy to manoeuvre.  As you probably know, electric cars are virtually silent from the outside (though not from the inside!) so I had to be careful not give the Lake District walkers a heart attack as I crept up behind them on the narrow country lanes.  Everywhere I went people smiled, children laughed and it was more photographed than James Bond’s Aston Martin … With a battery distance of 40+ miles I didn’t need to recharge and was really sad to have to hand back the keys a couple of hours later.  (More details of my trip in The Kendal Courier magazine and to be posted on the blog shortly.)

The Langdale Hotel leases the Twizys from the Co-Wheels Car Club so their hotel and timeshare guests can hire one from just £10 an hour.  Great value for one of the most fun ways to get around the Lake District.

Many thanks to the staff at the lovely Langdale Hotel for making my stay so enjoyable and for that gorgeous bedroom.  Find them on Face Book here. You can discover other interesting ways to get around the south Lake District, including ferries and electric bikes, with Go Lakes ‘Drive Less, See More’ campaign.

Heat enveloped us, forcing its way through our lightweight clothing, beating down onto a wide variety of headgear as the sun seared its way across the sky, shimmering through the bush on its daily journey across the Australian desert.  Brittle twigs snapped and distant scuttlings broke the hot silence as we followed in a straggly line behind Arty, our Aboriginal guide. He richoted knowledgeably around this, to me, totally alien landscape, with the familiarity garnered from years of experience searching out bush food.

Suddenly Arty stopped and knelt down in the dusty red earth.  Using a smoothly curved  piece of wood (a Coolamon) he pointed out an irregular bowl shape beneath a straggly tree. “Honey ant nest.  The women from the local Anangu tribe have been here digging them out.  The ants harvest honey dew produced by aphids which suck sap from the trees.  The ants use their antenna to stimulate the aphids to release the sweet liquid. To eat one, pick it up by its head, pop the abdomen in your mouth and bite it.  It’s a real delicacy for our people.”  Fortunately for those of us who are a tad squeamish about eating live insects, we were not going to try one today.

In the past Aboriginal women were the main food gatherers searching for seeds, vegetables, fruit and witchetty grubs. They used digging sticks and carried the food in Coolamons. Men hunted kangaroo, lizards, snakes, goanna and small birds with boomerangs, throwing sticks and spears.  Arty demonstrated how they made the spears using different types of hard and soft wood and an adhesive made from tree sap.  We had to avoid the tough, tussocky spinifex grass which is as sharp and jaggy as it sounds.

Further on Arty found tiny seeds which could be hammered into coarse flour to make ‘bush bread’ or damper, now becoming quite fashionable, dipped with different oils and herbs, rather as the Italians use foccaccio or ciabatta and olive oil.

Wandering through this sparse, sun-bleached land, not far from awe-inspiring Uluru, where nature seems to wage a perpetual battle for sparse natural resources,  it brought into sharp focus just After an hour of walk about we were starting to wilt so we were  led back to a canopy-shaded area where we flopped down out of the sun and drank eagerly from chilled bottles of water.  Laid out in front of use were more coolamons filled with a wide variety of seeds, berries, flowers and nuts.  Arty explained how each one could be used and then we could taste some of them.  That was a real culinary adventure in itself, as the majority of flavours were totally new and very different.

I must admit I was worried in case he presented us with a plate of big, fat, white witchety grubs but fortunately they weren’t on the menu that day.  My favourite was the bright red quandong (or desert peach), used in a variety of dishes to add sweetness and the kernel of the fruit has high levels of Vitamin C.  The reason I liked it is that it tasted great – some of the others were quite bitter or sour and would take some getting used to by a westernised palate.   We tried tiny bush tomatoes, wattle seeds and lemon myrtle, which has to be most ubiquitous of all seasonings, appearing in many modern bush food dishes today.  Prettiest food award must go to the Grevillea ‘Honey Gem’ a vivid green and yellow frondy plant that produces a sweet nectar – perhaps nature’s partner to the honey ant …

By the end of this fascinating two hour SEIT Bush Tucker adventure in the Uluru area of the New Territories, I felt privileged to have been a given a brief glimpse of just how tough and skilled the Aboriginal peoples were to have survived totally unaided in this fierce desert area for thousands of years.  Plus an insight into how foods that have been foraged for over the centuries are now being used in a wide variety of imaginative ways.    And thankfully, not a witchety grub in sight …

I was on an Aborigine Bush Food & Culture tour organised by Tourism Northern Territory.  It was my first time in Australia and I fell in love with this captivating region.  My stay included time in tropical Darwin, visiting the awe-inspiring area of Uluru and Kata Tjuta and exploring in and around Alice Springs.  During my time in Yulara I stayed at the 5 star Sails in the Desert Hotel run by Ayers Rock Resort.  If you haven’t already been to this part of the world, then do put it on your list of places to see – it is a truly unique and hypnotisingly wonderful place to visit.