We have very fond memories of Velvet, on Canal Street, in Manchester, way back in the '90s. Along with bars such as Manto and Metz, these places just seemed to ooze glamour and decadence and opened up a whole new world - definitely a far cry from some of the student...
This winter definitely hasn't felt as long as previous ones we've spent in Istria. When summer ended and family went home after four long, fabulous weeks, we had two autumn visits from friends, when we experienced a really warm October, feeling that summer was still...
Saturday evenings often remind me of Azzurro Restaurant in West Didsbury, just around the corner from where we used to live. It was a real "local" restaurant for us - owned and staffed by people we knew and really liked, and often full of people who were either...
I have never been much of a baker, but I do love the idea of baking. Unfortunately, I'm very impatient and I like quick and easy - preferably immediate - results, so the thought of standing in the kitchen, baking up a complicated recipe doesn't really do it for me. I...
Copenhagen, for us, is just about the perfect city. As much as we love Italy beyond reason, the cool Danish capital, is the perfect place for a short break. It's a city that can be easily broken down into areas, so makes exploring it really easy. On our last trip, we...
The opening of a new bar is something quite exciting here, in northern Istria. Although we have lots of choice when it comes to excellent restaurants, cool bars seem to be more of a thing on the coast. In fact, bar culture doesn't really seem to have taken hold here,...
It's not a secret that we're selling our renovated stone house in northern Istria. We are now ready for our next big adventure. We feel that Istria is very much home at the moment, and we haven't regretted doing what we did when we put our West Didsbury house up for...
A couple of years ago, in the depths of winter, we were staying in an apartment in a hotel on the edges of Zagreb. It was cold and dark and just a bit too far to walk into the centre of the city for a meal. So, with cooking facilities in the apartment, we decided to...
I love a good rummage around an antiques market. I dream of living in a village with a brocante. But I'm just not very good at bartering and securing a bargain. The last time we were in Ljubljana, the Sunday Market was on, along the river. I think this was my most...
Bergamo is a fabulous city in Lombardy, northern Italy, not too far from Milan. It's often overlooked for Milan, but don't make that mistake - you'll only regret it. With a medieval walled upper town, a cosmopolitan lower town and views across to the (often snowy...