Europe a la Carte Travel Blog

Review of Travelodge Inverness

karen@europealacarte.co.uk — Tue, 22 May 2012 07:06:05 +0000

We stayed for 2 nights at the Travelodge Inverness during our budget break in Scotland in early May 2012. The room cost £10 a night booked in the Travelodge December 2011 Sale. The hotel is located just east of the A9 off the Nairn road. If you’re coming off the A9, you need to drive right around the first roundabout (you’ll see a large Tesco supermarket) and then take the first left signposted for the Holiday Inn Express. The Travelodge is on your right. There’s a bar/restaurant just across the access road from the hotel.

Travelodge Inverness

We were allocated a room on the ground floor overlooking the car park. We didn’t get disturbed by any traffic noise once the window was shut. Our family room seemed a little bigger than normal. The room was clean but the bed was a bit too soft. The bathroom door knob was loose and we didn’t have a remote control for the TV.

Strangely I was wasn’t able to pick up Vodafone mobile broadband signal on my mobile phone in the room or the car park, although the signal was fine in some very remote areas. Thankfully the T mobile broadband USB modem worked very well in my netbook. This Travelodge doesn’t have a Bar Cafe, so there’s no free WiFi available.

Our room at Travelodge Inverness

Travelodge Inverness is a good base for a budget break in the Highlands. It only takes a couple of minutes to drive to and from the A9 and ten minutes to drive to the city centre in the evening. However the hotel could do with a bit more maintainence of rooms.

Keep It Real Travel Reviews

Review of Travelodge Inverness

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Be My Guest for a Pub Meal at Glasgow Mansion House

karen@europealacarte.co.uk — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:09:55 +0000

If you’d like to be my guest for an early evening pub meal at Glasgow Mansion House (for a main course and a soft drink) on Monday 11 June 2012 at 6pm, all you need to do to enter the prize draw is to leave a comment on this post and/or tweet with the hashtag #eatinglasgow.

Already joining me at Glasgow Mansion House is Cecile of The Wee Frenchy in Glasgow.

Groupon have asked me to roadtest their offers, so I wanted to share some the treats on offer with Europe a la Carte readers. Earlier on Monday 11 June, I’ll be having Afternoon Tea at the Glasgow Thistle with Dougie Baird of Baird’s Travel, courtesy of another Groupon voucher.

You can enter the Eat in Glasgow draw twice, once by leaving a blog comment and once by tweeting with the hashtag #eatinglasgow. The last date for entries is Monday 4 June 2012. The winner will be contacted by email or Twitter. The Editor’s decision is final. There’s no monetary alternative.

Be My Guest for a Pub Meal at Glasgow Mansion House

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon

karen@europealacarte.co.uk — Mon, 21 May 2012 07:08:46 +0000

I visited the Museu Nacional de Art Antiga (National Museum of Ancient Art) when I was in Lisbon in March 2012. One of the perks of being a guest at the nearby Janelas Verdes hotel was free entry to the Museum and as it was pretty hot (28 degrees celsius), I was looking for somewhere out of the heat.

Exterior of the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

Interior of Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

Spanish Prato Dish at Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

Chandelier in Patino Room at Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

Illustration on box lid at Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

Bejewelled Templar crosses (reminded me of my visit to Tomar)

Jewellery display at Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

Oriental screen painting at Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

I really enjoyed my visit to the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga. You can get into the Museum free of charge until noon on Sundays.

Tips for What to Do in Lisbon

We’ve plenty of tips for things to do in Lisbon.

Click here for the lowest prices on Lisbon hotels

Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

10 Lovely European Gardens

karen@europealacarte.co.uk — Fri, 18 May 2012 07:08:16 +0000

Europe’s climate makes it the perfect place for beautiful gardens and they can become quite a tourist attraction. Here are our travel tips for ten lovely gardens in Europe.

Keukenhof Gardens, Netherlands

My all-time favourite gardens in the world are at Keukenhof in the Netherlands. As you might expect, they are famous for their wide variety of tulips and receive a huge number of visitors during their short season (approximately March to May each year).

Keukenhof Gardens by Amanda Kendle

Cragside House, England

The Cragside House Gardens near Rothbury in Northumberland are a National Trust estate and have a gorgeous display at any time of year. There is a Formal Garden and changing displays, and I rather like these fish sculptures in the ponds.

Fish sculptures at Cragside House Gardens

Rose Garden, Rome, Italy

The Rose Garden in Rome (or Roseto Comunale di Roma to the locals) can be found on the Aventine Hill with great views over Rome. It’s a relaxing place and even includes roses that apparently were known back in ancient Roman times.

Rose Garden in Rome by Kimberly Sullivan

More Rome Tips

We’ve lots more tips on what to do in Rome on Europe a la Carte.

Click here for the lowest prices on Rome hotels

Biblical Gardens, Elgin, Scotland

The Biblical Garden in Elgin, Scotland is quite special as it includes all 110 of the plants mentioned in the Bible. It also contains sculpture illustrating various stories from the Bible.

Biblical Gardens in Elgin

Schoenbrunn Palace Gardens, Vienna, Austria

One of the most popular tourist destinations in Vienna is the Schoenbrunn Palace, and not just for the palace – the gardens are exceptional. The gardens have various sections reflecting the influence of different Habsburg family members over the centuries.

Schoenbrunn Gardens by MarcelGermain

Best of Vienna Tips

Our Best of Vienna Travel Tips collation will give you plenty of ideas for you trip to Vienna. Find out about more fascinating Vienna museums. We’ve also researched some of the best places to stay in Vienna for all budgets.

Click here for the lowest prices on Vienna hotels

Chelsea Physic Garden, London, England

Karen had a very interesting visit to the Chelsea Physic Garden in London which included all kinds of interesting plants in the pharmaceutical section – ready to heal all kinds of ailments.

Chelsea Physic Garden

Tips for What to Do in London

We’ve lots of travel tips on what to do in London.

Click here for the lowest prices on London hotels

Summer Garden, St Petersburg, Russia

In beautiful St Petersburg, the Summer Garden surrounds the Summer Palace, a previous residence of Peter the Great. It includes some great sculptures and statues.

Summer Garden by Amanda Kendle

Click here for low prices on St Petersburg hotels

Monet’s Garden, Giverny, France

Not only can you find Monet’s house in the village of Giverny, west of Paris, but you can also visit his inspiring gardens, and see some of the famous spots that ended up in his paintings.

Monet’s Garden by Hil

Botanic Garden, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

The Botanic Garden in Copenhagen has one of the biggest collections of plants in Europe – and has one of the largest fungi collections in the world, too.

Copenhagen Botanic Garden

Click here for the lowest prices on Copenhagen hotels

Iris Garden, Florence, Italy

Florence in Italy is a city already full of beautiful surprises but here’s another one – the Iris Garden tucked down a pathway leading off the Piazzale Michelangelo. It’s a garden with thousands of irises plus views over Florence.

Iris Garden by Britt-Arnhild

Click here for the lowest prices on Florence hotels

Bluhendes Barock, Ludwigsburg, Germany

One of my favourite gardens was just “down the road” from where I lived in Germany, and that’s the Bluhendes Barock in Ludgwigsburg, not far from Stuttgart. As well as impressive gardens there is a fairy tale park featuring models and displays of well-known fairy tale characters amongst more gardens.

Bluhendes Barock by Amanda Kendle

Europe a la Carte Flowers & Gardens Board on Pinterest

Follow our Flowers & Gardens in Europe board.

Source: flickr.com via Karen on Pinterest

10 Lovely European Gardens

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Sculptures on River Ericht Walk in Blairgowrie, Scotland

Karen Bryan — Thu, 17 May 2012 07:04:09 +0000

Our first stop on Day 2 of our budget break in Scotland was for a walk along the River Ericht in Blairgowrie in Perthshire. You can enjoy this walk without needing to be super fit and into country hiking; it takes around 40 minutes to do the walk illustrated below, if you turn back soon after the footbridge. You get to the car park at the start of the walk from the town centre if you’re coming from Perth and take a sharp left turn just before crossing the bridge heading in the Braemar direction. There are several relief stone sculptures at various points along the walk.

Birds sculpture near car park

Monkey puzzle tree branch sculpture

Me by monkey puzzle sculpture with Keathbank Mill in background

Looking along the River Ericht

Salmon sculpture

The water wheel at the derelict Oakbank Mill

Flower sculpture

View from bench along River Ericht

Love UK

Sculptures on River Ericht Walk in Blairgowrie, Scotland

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Walking Along the North Sea Trail from Eyemouth

Karen Bryan — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:08:45 +0000

One of our regular short day trips from Berwick upon Tweed is to the coastal town of Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders, for a walk along the North Sea Trail towards Coldingham. The views were particulary attractive one afternoon in mid April. Although there was a chilly wind, it was sunny and bright. The white heads of the crashing waves contrasted sharply with the colour of the rocks.

After our walk along North Sea Trail we had a late lunch at the Oblo Eyemouth.

Love UK

Walking Along the North Sea Trail from Eyemouth

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Review of Travelodge Dunfermline

Karen Bryan — Tue, 15 May 2012 07:07:22 +0000

We stayed at the Travelodge Dunfermline on the first night of our budget break in Scotland during early May 2012. The room cost £19 for a Saturday night booked during the December 2011 Travelodge Sale. It’s quite hard to get cheap Travelodge rooms on Saturdays, so this was a good price. Travelodge Dunfermline is located close to the M90 Perth to Edinburgh motorway. The hotel is a bit out on a limb, near an industrial unit. There’s often a restaurant next to Travelodges; here it’s a few minutes walk to a Harvester Inn at Halbeath Retail Park, where you’ll also find an Asda supermarket.

Exterior of Travelodge Dunfermline

We were allocated a room at the back of the hotel which is very close to the access road from Dunfermline up to roundabout to join the motorway. Most of the traffic noise was screened out by the double glazing and trees. I did go back to reception to ask if we could change to a room at the front of the hotel, but was told that the hotel was almost full and the only rooms left were at the back.

Travelodge Dunfermline room

The room was of a good standard. Fortunately the traffic didn’t disturb our sleep. There’s no Bar Cafe at Travelodge Dunfermline, so no free WiFi on offer.

Travelodge Dunfermline is fine for a one night stopover between Edinburgh and Perth, but I prefer locations closer to some facilities and not quite so close to roads.

Keep It Real Travel Reviews

Review of Travelodge Dunfermline

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Is the Food at Gourmet Restaurants Better?

Karen Bryan — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:12:37 +0000

I am left wondering if gourmet restaurants serve better food, after eating at a variety of establishments during my recent visit to Portugal. I freely admit I’m no foodie with a refined palate. I really enjoyed lunch in Tomar which cost 13 Euro for two. Mary Goudie of Your Lisbon Guide and I both had the dish of the day, 2 pork chops with potato, served with tomato and lettuce salad and collard greens. Mary had a beer and a coffee and I had water to drink. The food was really tasty and the waitress a very pleasant young woman, who was working all the tables single handedly. I also had a good two course set menu meal which included a drink for 7.5 Euro in Faro in the Algarve.

The main course of the 13 Euro for 2 lunch in Tomar

Contrast that with the trendy Bocco in Lisbon, where you could easily pay more than 50 Euro per person for a meal including drinks and be served some pretty weird concotions, including the worst dessert I’ve ever tasted. The pork I had for my main course in Tomar was tastier and less greasy than the pork main course on the 35 Euro Executive Menu at Cozhina Velha in Lisbon. However, I may not be the only one questioning the whole gourmet/food porn thing, as you can see in the video below.

Of course, different grades of restaurants and styles of cuisine appeal to different diners on different occasions. However, has the whole gourmet restaurant thing gone a bit too far with chefs trying to outdo each other with increasingly outlandish combinations when simple dishes do often taste better and cost less?

Keep It Real Travel Reviews

Is the Food at Gourmet Restaurants Better?

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Do You Love the UK?

Karen Bryan — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:45:28 +0000

Do you love the UK? I do and I’ll be taking a UK staycation at least once a month over the next few months, as well as day trips from home. Yes, I know all you fellow Brits are muttering what about the unreliable weather plus going abroad seems more exotic. However, I want to illustrate that you can have a great time on home shores. Below are some recent and upcoming UK highlights.

Duddo Stone Circles – April 2012

In an example of discovering what’s on your doorstep, we’d driven past the sign for the Duddo Stone Circles on many occasions but finally made the decision to turn down the country road to see them in late April 2012. We couldn’t have picked a better time, as the rapeseed in the surrounding fields was in full bloom.

Duddo Stone Circle

Scotland Mini Tour – May 2012

Our budget break in Scotland was based on Travelodge Sale rooms, staying in Dunfermline, Inverness and Perth. The total cost was under £200 for fuel for our car, accommodation and food.

Loch Ness sculptures in Fort Augustus in the Scottish Highlands

Bath Fringe Festival: 24 – 26 May 2012

My first assigment as a member of the Best Western Year of Get Up & Go blogging panel is to visit Bath in the south west of England. There’ll be a stopover in Sheffield on the drive down and in Chester on the way home.

Glasgow: 10 – 12 June 2012

This short break is based on £10 rooms in the Travelodge Sale. If you’d like to be my guest for afternoon tea at the Glasgow Thistle Hotel, leave a comment on that blog post or a tweet with the hashtag #afternoonteaglasgow.

Harrogate Summer Festival: 20 – 22 July 2012

On my next Best Western trip, I’ll be staying in Knaresborough in Yorkshire.

London August 2012

I’ll be hosted by Roomorama for 3 nights in Mile End in east London.

Kendal Torchlight Carnival: 8 – 10 September 2012

The third Best Western trip is to the Lake District in north west England.

York Illuminations: 27-29 October 2012

Back to Yorkshire for my final Best Western Trip of the year.

listen to ‘Love UK Staycations’ on Audioboo

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Tips for the Best Places to Visit in the UK

Please leave a comment to tell us your favourite places to visit in the UK and tell us about your UK travel plans this year.

Alternatively you can tweet your tips with the #bestplacesuk

Love UK on Pinterest

Source: i.imgur.com via Karen on Pinterest

Do You Love the UK?

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Afternoon Tea at the Glasgow Thistle

Karen Bryan — Sat, 12 May 2012 09:48:39 +0000

Update 21 May 2012 – The random draw has been made & Dougie Baird of BairdsTravel will be joining me for afternoon tea at the Glasgow Thistle on Monday 11 June. We’ll be tucking into freshly baked scones and cakes, accompanied by either tea or a glass of Prosecco.

Prize Draw

If you’d like to be my guest for Afternoon Tea, you can:

Leave a comment on this post
Tweet with the hashtag #afternoonteaglasgow

I’ll pick my afternoon tea guest at random from the blog comments and tweets.

Groupon have asked me to roadtest their offers, so I wanted to share some the treats on offer with Europe a la Carte readers.

You can enter the draw twice, once by leaving a blog comment and once by tweeting with the hashtag #afternoonteaglasgow. The last date for entries is Thursday 17 May 2012. The winner will be contacted by email or Twitter. The Editor’s decision is final. There’s no monetary alternative.

Afternoon Tea at the Glasgow Thistle

Best Places to Visit Europe from the Europe a la Carte Travel Blog. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.