Sunday 7th June 2009

I arrived at the villa, Casal Antiquario, with a very large welcome pack which included a crate of beer, several bottles of wine….and breakfast and waited for the crew to arrive.  Held up by 200 euros of excess baggage and lost directions (easily sorted thanks to technology and the Blackberry), Laura and 7 of the crew eventually turned up in two mini-buses - Simon Rimmer, the Chef, was due to arrive later that evening.  We conducted a ‘Grand Tour’ of the villa to exclamations of ‘”We could do some filming here” or “This area would really work on film” – everyone really loved the place.

After the tour, out came the villa manual along with all the local area information and maps I had compiled for them.  But instead, the crew wanted to know where the sun rises, when does it get dark and where can they buy a BBQ and weights!  I was then asked to give them a beach with nobody on it (on a Bank Holiday!!!).  And all this to be sorted by tomorrow!!  Having recommended an excellent local restaurant and equipped them with directions back to Faro to collect Simon, I headed home to get a good night’s sleep…

Simon Rimmers ‘A Taste of Summer’ BBQ recipes are being shown on GMTV at 07:30 and 08:30 from June 22nd - July 3rd. If you miss any of these shows but would like to catch up, we’ll be posting all the links here on our travelogue over the coming days - just watch this space.

Simon Rimmer, of BBC’s ‘Something for the Weekend’ fame, has been filming at our delightful villa, Casal Antiquario this past week as part of a series of 1-minute-recipe slots that are going out on GMTV. You can view these shows by tuning in to GMTV at approximately 07:30 and 08:30 each day between June 22nd - July 3rd.

For the insiders view on all the work that goes on behind the scenes to get these shows on TV, look out on our travelogue for Maria’s filming diary. Coming Soon!

Tenerife now has a Thai-style water park at Cost Adeje on the south coast of the island. This new aquatic attraction is under the same ownership as the island’s long-established Loro Parque theme park and zoo and is sure to add some extra thrills to your holiday!

With rides ranging from the relatively tame Mekong Rapids to the Tower of Power which sends you down an almost 90 degree slide into a tube surrounded by alligators, there is something for people of all ages…and dispositions! For more details, go online at www.siampark.net

According to a report in Travel Weekly magazine, self-catering is a great way to have a quality holiday whilst keeping within budget, with the added bonus of giving you the chance to sample local food, wine and entertainment at the best possible prices.  With low cost airlines offering flights from the UK to destinations throughout Europe, why not take a look at the Villas to Go website to choose from our array of villas and apartments to rent in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Turkey and more.  Have a memorable holiday in 2009!

In a recent travel article in the Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Kaya Valley in Turkey was described as a ‘Turkish Tuscany’ with its peaceful, pine-forested hillsides and fascinating stone ruins now entwined with fig-laden vines.

Teach your kids to swim in the warm, shallow waters of the stunning blue lagoon at Olu Deniz; sunbathe on the white, Mediterranean lapped sand of Patara Beach (approx an hour’s drive away) famed for its rare turtles or explore the ruined port city where St. Nicholas was born; bag a bargain at colourful Fethiye market; take a boat from Gemiler Bay to the sun-baked, uninhabited isle of St. Nicholas; enjoy a meal at a family run restaurant to experience Turkish hospitality at its best.

You’ll receive a warm welcome from the locals and find plenty to do in the surrounding area whatever your interests - a holiday here offers timeless appeal for adults and children alike.

You’ve found a great villa but now you need to get a good deal on your holiday cash…..the differences in rates offered by banks and foreign exchange retailers can be quite astounding so it pays to look around.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the Post office was recently offering 200 Euros for £194.70 whilst a Travelex airport bureau de change quoted £202.98. A spokesman for Travelex said this was due to high rent, stocking and staffing costs – you can apparently avoid this by pre-ordering your currency online from www.travelex.co.uk before you travel and then picking up your cash at the airport.

If you have a debit card, it can actually work out cheaper to draw your holiday money after arriving at your resort. Choose your card with care as many card providers charge extra fees for cash withdrawals and purchases abroad. The Nationwide remains one of the best value card providers for foreign travel (along with the Post Office), with no European usage fee and no cash withdrawal fees when you use its debit card, although it has just introduced a foreign debit and credit card fee for purchases made outside Europe.

Using a Nationwide debit card in a European cash machine, that same purchase of 200 Euros in mid April would have cost £188.60 – a potential saving of nearly £15 on other choices at the time. If you are using a card to make purchases abroad, it is generally safer to use a credit card as you’ll have protection under the Consumer Credit Act for any purchase between £100 and £30,000. Do remember to advise your card provider of your travel plans, however, so that their fraud department doesn’t put a very inconvenient stop on your spending!

Don’t forget to take out travel insurance in case of any emergencies. Again, it is worth looking around for the best price – comparison websites such as Moneysupermarket.com and Confused.com are useful for this. You will find online companies now offering annual family policies from as little as £39.99 for a family of four, with the option to add on cover for ski-ing or other ‘high risk’ activities if appropriate!

If you’re travelling in Europe, always remember to take your European Health Insurance card with you - apply free at www.nhs.uk/ehic or call 0845 606 2030. This should be in addition to comprehensive travel insurance but will entitle you to state-provided health care in all European Economic Area countries and Switzerland. Remember to retain any invoices for doctor’s fees etc and also to keep the barcodes on the packaging of prescribed medicines as you may also be able to claim for these on your return to England.

If you’re visiting Croatia this year, lavender scented Hvar Island in the Kornati Archipelago is just over an hour’s fast ferry ride from Split and offers the perfect opportunity for relaxed sunbathing or exploring.  The island’s charming capital has a chic harbour, some fine seafood restaurants and dozens of delightful waterfront cafes where you can stop for refreshments on your return from the beach. Boat trips are available to take you to inaccessible little coves dotted around the coastline for a spot of tranquil picnicking and swimming.

The first British Concorde took off on its maiden flight 40 years ago on 9th April.

BA grounded its fleet of seven Concordes six years ago, giving six of them to musuems.  However, Alpha Bravo remains in storage at Heathrow and according to Times Online, a Dubai-based consortium has big plans to turn this legendary aircraft into a tourist attraction.

“Six British Airways Concordes are on display and open for public viewing at Locations in the UK and abroad.  We’re looking at a number of options for the seventh, including a permanent home at Heathrow but we have not made any decisions yet on its final location”, a BA spokesperson told Gulf News on Wednesday.

The famous supersonic plane may settle in Dubai alongside the much-loved QE2 ocean liner which is already destined to become a luxury floating hotel at the Palm Jumeirah.  The BA spokesperson declined to comment on this, whilst officials at the Dubai-based consortium were unavailable for comment.

Unsurprisingly, a beautiful Algarve beach features amongst the first five of the Top 10 European Beaches picked by AOL;

Praia Dona Ana, Algarve

“It’s the most photographed beach in Portugal - and drop dead gorgeous. Dive from spectacular rock formations, swim in clear, calm water and laze on wonderful golden sands.”

If you can tear yourself away from your book and sunbed, you can enjoy a boat ride through the fabulous grottos at Ponte de Piedade. Alternatively, take a trip into town and explore the historic city of Lagos, which ‘rocks’ according to AOL. Street entertainers and holidaymakers fill the streets at night, with souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants doing a roaring trade. Stroll around the chic marina and admire the luxury yachts and cruisers bobbing gently in the breeze – the explorer Prince Henry the Navigator set sail from Lagos in the 15^th Century.

Browse our selection of Lagos villas and apartments at Villas to Go.

Expectations always run high and it can be very frustrating if things don’t go quite according to plan. Have a chuckle at some of these extraordinary complaints taken from a list compiled by the Daily Telegraph (source: research done by Thomas Cook and ABTA)….. we’re sure you’ll agree that there are times when you really can’t pin the blame on your hapless holiday provider!!!

“The beach was too sandy”

“Topless sunbathing on the beach should be banned. The holiday was ruined as my husband spent all day looking at other women.”

“No-one told us there would be fish in the sea. The children were startled.”

“It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England it only took the Americans three hours to get home.”

“I compared the size of our one-bedroom apartment to our friends’ three-bedroom apartment and ours was significantly smaller.”

“There are too many Spanish people. The receptionist speaks Spanish. The food is Spanish. Too many foreigners.”

“On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don’t like spicy food at all.”

“We booked an excursion to a water park but no-one told us we had to bring our swimming costumes and towels.”

Totally transfixed, I couldn’t help but read on and browse through ‘20 stupid questions asked by tourist’ to find gems such as:

“Are there any lakes in the Lake District?”

Or, my personal favourite;

“Why on earth did they build Windsor Castle on the flight path of Heathrow?”