Anna Parker, Author at A Luxury Travel Blog : A Luxury Travel Blog

10 things to enjoy in Maine

By Anna Parker on Jul 22, 2015 in Attractions, Food and Drink, Going Out, Maine, North America, Regions, Travel Miscellany, USA

As I rapidly discovered when planning 10 days in Maine, this part of America is enormous and trying to visit it all (or even more than a small corner) in 10 days isn’t possible. Instead we picked the area we most wanted to visit – the coastline between Kennebunkport and Camden. Next time we can

5 luxury boltholes where you might not expect

By Anna Parker on Feb 17, 2015 in Accommodation, Africa, Asia, Europe, Hotels, Middle East, Regions, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Western Europe

What do you think of when you think of luxury? A grand hotel and butler service? Yes, indeed – but such luxury has a time and a place. At other times getting away from the textbook description and finding a place others haven’t or stumbling across a gem where you least expect is as good if not

3 superb boutique accommodations to enjoy in the UK

By Anna Parker on Sep 24, 2014 in Accommodation, Europe, Food and Drink, Going Out, Hotels, Regions, Restaurants, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Restaurants with rooms are great, offering relative luxury, peace and quiet and top-notch food. We have learnt recently that this is a superb way of taking a weekend break in the UK without breaking the bank but ensuring really good R&R time in very comfortable surroundings and without too many other people. To get a good

Afternoon tea - 13 choices

By Anna Parker on Oct 14, 2013 in Europe, Food and Drink, Regions, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Afternoon tea is thankfully a Great British institution and it is very unlikely to ever go out of fashion. It also blends 2 very good quotes and so as a result it must be something that needs to be taken often? 1. Henry James: there are very few hours in life more agreeable than the

3 walks in SW Cornwall and 3 good lunches

By Anna Parker on Sep 30, 2013 in Accommodation, Europe, Food and Drink, Going Out, Leisure Travel, Regions, Restaurants, Speciality Travel, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Vacation Rentals, Western Europe

I’ve written about my love of Cornwall before, much of it related to my own mining heritage and exploring the county with my husband rather than just for short family visits to see my grandparents. This October we stayed at Umber, BoHo Cornwall – a 1 bed self catering apartment on the outskirts of St

Cycling in Hampshire - watering and feeding stops

By Anna Parker on Aug 30, 2013 in Attractions, Bars, Europe, Food and Drink, Going Out, Leisure Travel, Regions, Restaurants, Speciality Travel, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Western Europe

We’re lucky in that we live in spitting distance of the New Forest – which is superb for either road or off road cycling. It is easy to get to as well – either on the train, the Hythe ferry, or by hitching the bikes up to the tow-bar and driving to one of a

Pigs or lions in the New Forest? Lions, definitely!

By Anna Parker on Aug 13, 2013 in Accommodation, Bars, Europe, Going Out, Hotels, Regions, Restaurants, United Kingdom, Western Europe

I had a useful reminder this week of what matters in luxury – is it better to spend $$$ and go somewhere everyone has heard of, or go off the beaten track and pick somewhere in The Good Pub Guide?! Definitely the latter on this occasion, although I certainly am not knocking the 5 star

Discover North Norfolk - 13 ideas

By Anna Parker on Jul 29, 2013 in Accommodation, Bars, Europe, Going Out, Leisure Travel, Regions, Restaurants, Speciality Travel, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Norfolk – my favourite place in the world; I love going abroad for guaranteed sun, warm sea, to enjoy fancy flights and lounges and for amazing hotel service and experience… BUT Norfolk is my favourite place for time off and time away from just about everything. As a teenager I was lucky to spend a

Where to next? 8 considerations that help me make my mind up

By Anna Parker on Jul 22, 2013 in Travel Miscellany

I’m in a very strange and unfamiliar position right now – I don’t have our next holiday booked, or even planned; thankfully, the UK heatwave continues or I’d be getting a bit concerned, as this is not like me. Normally I am at least 2 trips ahead and it’s not as if I can even

UK and Ireland short breaks - 6 very different ideas

By Anna Parker on Jul 07, 2013 in Accommodation, Bars, Europe, Going Out, Hotels, Regions, Restaurants, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Much as my writing seems to indicate a fondness for overseas travel, it wasn’t until I was 22 and sailing as part of a crew on a large racing yacht that my desire to leave the UK regularly began – even if it was on an easyJet plane with my 22 crew-mates suggesting that every

12 things not to miss in Washington DC

By Anna Parker on Jun 29, 2013 in Attractions, Going Out, North America, Regions, USA, Washington DC

Washington DC is a city that many visit with work and as such is probably much overlooked in terms of a holiday destination. I was lucky enough to be on a work trip that included the weekend and so spent a day with a member of my extended family touring the sights. We did this

3 days in Paris and 15 things to do

By Anna Parker on Jun 29, 2013 in Accommodation, Attractions, Europe, France, Going Out, Hotels, Regions, Western Europe

I love Paris! It is about an hour’s flight from either Southampton or Heathrow and the change in climate is staggering – much more continental. I think Paris is best done in short bursts; there is so much to see but I strongly believe it is best to see it in foot, and there is

16 happy memories of visits to South Africa

By Anna Parker on Jun 23, 2013 in Accommodation, Hotels

One of my favourite overseas destinations is South Africa, it holds a very special place – as the first big holiday my now husband and I went on nearly 10 years ago, but also as the location we chose for our honeymoon a few years ago. Luckily for my husband through his work with the

The South of France on more of a shoestring than the Ecclestones!

By Anna Parker on Jun 20, 2013 in Accommodation, Attractions, Europe, France, Going Out, Hotels, Leisure Travel, Monaco, Regions, Restaurants, Speciality Travel, Western Europe

Finally made it there last August! We took advantage of the BA short haul £35 BA Club Europe offer and kicked off with another nice afternoon in the galleries lounge. Better still our outbound was on one of the lovely BA Dove planes and the return leg was on the Firefly that carried the Olympic

Re-discovering my Cornish roots and 8 top tips for a Cornwall trip of your own

By Anna Parker on Jun 17, 2013 in Accommodation, Attractions, Europe, Food and Drink, Going Out, Hotels, Regions, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Vacation Rentals, Western Europe

Being half Cornish it would be fair to say I spent a fair amount of my childhood holidays in Cornwall, but only in the past few days have I really discovered it. My parents have said it was clearly a waste of time to take a young child to all the beautiful places that I’ve visited

Packing essentials for every eventuality (so far!)

By Anna Parker on Jun 17, 2013 in Luggage, Travel Equipment

We’ve learnt a lot about what not to forget to pack over the years by forgetting it! I never seem to have space for half of what I travel with (and never use/wear half of it anyway) and so it always amazes me that I can forget anything… my husband has set up in Evernote

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