Posted by Ruth Miller on Fri 29th June 2007 at 06:00 AM, Filed in Hotels
For a sophisticated urban retreat, look no further than the recently opened Corral Del Rey in Seville. A new venture from the family behind Hacienda de San Raael, a classy joint just outside Seville.
The Corral Del Rey offers contemporary, spacious rooms balanced by 17th century beams, marble columns and fine art.
According to their web site:
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Posted by Ruth Miller on Thu 28th June 2007 at 06:00 AM, Filed in Hotels
Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum is a wonderful masterpiece of avant-garde architecture. Designed by Frank Gehry it encapsulates perfect contemporary lines with functionality, as does Mr Gehry’s new hotel.
The Ostentatious Marques de Riscal is situated in the rolling hills of La Rioja Alavesa and enjoys many of the character filled elements that have made the Guggenheim a notable landmark.
The interior can be angular but that goes with the territory of a beautiful building such as this.
The hotel includes a restaurant operated by a Michelin starred chef and enjoys a lavish spa where you can soak in a merlot bath. Umm nice touch!
Posted by Ruth Miller on Wed 27th June 2007 at 06:00 AM, Filed in Hotels
Due to be unveiled this month, the Aquapura Hotel is being hailed as Portugal’s first six star resort in what is described as a “stellar location”.
Situated within the exclusive Douro Valley this complex will contain 50 ultra luxurious rooms contained within a lavishly restored 19th Century Manor House. A further 21 secluded suites feather nearby woodland.
The piece de resistance is the hotel spa designed by the same team behind Hodson Bay, Ireland’s acclaimed wonder spa. Enjoy a thermal suite and a plethora of specialised treatments in natural light and candle light.
Enjoy quality cuisine by Aquapura’s top chef Alain Ducasse and plenty of high end local vino.
Doubles will be marketed from £150 per night.
Contrary to the cliche, sharks are usually harmless. Not only that, they are wonderfully majestic creatures with a genuine mastery of rapid manoeuvrability through water. What a sight to behold.
Opportunities to see these creatures in any numbers are rare, so it was quite interesting to read about Big Animals Expeditions trips to Cocos and Malpelo Islands.
One of the quotes which tickled my fancy was:
“My view from the extreme left to the far right was completely filled with bodies of sharks, swimming, parading carelessly along the wall swinging their tail and hammer like head from left to right ever so slowly like they were deliberately parading in front of our eyes and cameras. It was one of the most electrifying moments in my 40 years of diving.”
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Posted by Ruth Miller on Mon 25th June 2007 at 06:00 AM, Filed in Travel News
If you’re in to breathtaking cosmic experiences then should try and keep your diary free for 4am August 13 2007.
We’ve all seen shooting stars and made a wish. Still waiting for my windfall! But imagine looking up into the heavens and seeing maybe hundreds of shooting stars fizzing through the atmosphere. Scientists are predicting with amazing accuracy that on the 13th a shooting star should be visible every few seconds.
This amazing cosmic event is a result of an obscure comet’s last pass through the solar system leaving a trail of miniscule ice crystals and debris to rain down onto the earth’s surface. The comet in question (named bizarrely Swift-Tuttle) made it’s pass way back in 1992 and only now are the remnants of it’s journey due to pass into the path of planet earth.
To view this natural light show you really need to get out of the big cities and into pitch black rural areas. Outer Hebrides would be perfect!
Alternatively, if you’re on holiday in the Mediterranean the chances of clear skies could make this event a breath taking experience for the family to witness.
Apologies to our Southern Hemsisphere cousins but this is likely to be a Northern Hemisphere event only.
