Familiarity breeds contempt — why clichés become clichés!

Certain figures of speech such as the above mentioned 'Familiarity breeds contempt' only become clichés over time because, in essence, what they are saying is true and is being said in a very catchy, easy-to-remember way. Now, lest I get carried away with myself here on the finer points of language and semantics, the reason why I've headlined this particular article with the above cliché/saying/truism/whatever-you-want-to-call-it is because I was struck recently by the tendency we have in

Disneyland —for the eternal youngster in all of us

My first exposure to the Disneyland 'experience' was almost 30 years ago when I visited the original of the species — Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. Having also been born in 1955 — the year that Disneyland first opened to the public — I felt an immediate affinity to the place. Since then, I have been back a couple of times, not only to the Anaheim park but also Florida and Disneyland Paris. In fact

When is the best time to visit Spain or Portugal?

How about now! June is an ideal time of year to visit either country as you get to enjoy the best of all possible worlds. You don't have to endure the high temperatures of July or August; The beaches, bars or restaurants aren't as crowded as school is still not out in a number of countries — most notably our neighbours across the Irish Sea — and perhaps best of all, there are still great bargains to

Malta — proof that the best things sometimes come in small packages!

Reputedly the second-most densely populated area on Earth (after Hong Kong), Malta challenges the first time visitor as to what they think they know about this small 90-square mile rock that lies between Sicily to the north and Libya to the south. Boasting the world's oldest free-standing structures — yes, they're said to be older than Newgrange — Malta is an island of contradictions that will delight the eye, ear and palate of even the

Summer has arrived!

I'm not talking literally of course — just figuratively — and wearing my travel agent hat! Easter has always traditionally represented the start of the summer season as this is when tour operator summer charter programmes begin and winter charter series end. It is also then an appropriate time to remind people of the kinds of things that they need to think of/prepare for, before setting out on their overseas travels. What follows is a

Some Travel Advice

You save long and hard for your holiday — a year (perhaps longer) — and therefore you don't think it unreasonable to expect that everything goes according to plan. Indeed, for the most part, that is precisely what happens day in and day out for countless thousands of satisfied holidaymakers every season. The planes leave more or less on time; the resorts turn out to be exactly as described in the brochures and the accommodation

40 is a nice round number

Everyone has heard of the 80:20 rule but have you heard about the 40:20 one ?  OK, I'm teasing a bit but I just thought that it would be a nice way to introduce a bit of good news for all you 'Mickey Mouse' fans out there! Disneyland Paris is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2012 and as part of those celebrations (which, incidentally, are going to last for about 12 months) they are offering

Move out of your comfort zone

The world is a big place. We know that we're stating the obvious here but it's worth mentioning if only because we find that most people tend to return to the same places year after year. Nothing wrong with that at all, particularly if those places are ticking all the boxes in terms of cost, convenience, friendliness, value for money, accessibility etc. It's a shame though that more people don't push the proverbial boat out

Avoid making the classic mistakes!

Here's a simple rule of thumb that you should always bear in mind when planning your next trip abroad. If you're planning to travel using a scheduled airline (even low cost ones such as Ryanair, Easyjet etc.), always book your flights as far in advance of your date of departure as possible as the prices increases the nearer you get to your travel date. The reverse is true when it comes to charter services. The

Queenstown — Day 2

Oh the joys of not having to pack and unpack again! That’s probably the worst part about any itinerary that has you staying just one night at each location. The guest house that we’re staying at in Queenstown has the most extraordinary views over Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables and the couple who run it are delightful. Indeed, the whole B&B ‘experiment’ has been a resounding success to date as the accommodations chosen have been

Queenstown — Day 1

It’s often difficult when preparing a multi-centre itinerary such as this one to decide on how long to spend in each place. Should it be one night or two? Will there be enough to see and do there to justify the additional night? From the outset, I had decided to overnight in Queenstown for two nights whereas almost every place else on the itinerary was getting just one night. As it turns out, I made

The art of getting a quote that is both competitive in price and relevant to your needs starts with gathering all the right information about what you want to do (or think you want to do!).