18th September 2009 – Day 1 – London, Amman
This trip starts with a disappointment; my Indiana Jones hat hasn’t arrived through the post on time and that doesn’t bode well for my search for the Holy Grail… Nonetheless, my mood lifts sitting at Heathrow in front of the departure board. There’s something about being in [...]

30 April 2009 – Day 1 – Catania, Aci Castello, Acitrezza
I force myself to down a truly repulsive Gatwick airport coffee knowing that for the next six days I’ll be treated to the best of the best. The destination is Catania, where my father grew up, and we’re taking this pilgrimage to explore the east [...]

6th December 2008 – Day 1 – London, New York
18 years ago, at the age of ten, I had my first holiday memory: I was standing on the top of the Empire State Building and I couldn’t believe how small all the cars and people looked on the road far below. It affected me and [...]

18th October – Day 1 – London, Miami, Lima
I wake at 05.00 to the sound of three alarms. Twenty-five hours later I am crashing in a bed on the other side of the world. It’s the furthest I’ve ever travelled and I’ve finally made it to South America!
I’ve already had a few moment of panic; [...]

6th March 2008 – Day 1 – Zermatt
I’ve landed in Switzerland and unfortunately I’m three months too early to see Italy in the European Championships. So instead, I jump on train from Genève to Täsch.
The journey itself is easy and picturesque, in particular as the train works its way around Lake Genève. I can imagine [...]

12th January 2008 – Washington DC
I’m sitting on a transatlantic flight reading American Psycho. Rather worryingly (and coincidentally), the fat American sitting next to me keeps speaking and grunting to himself and giving people aggressive stares. Fortunately, I survive the flight and land in Virginia. It’s my tenth state but the first time I’ve been [...]

13th October 2007 – Marrakech
The echoes of horns and scooters are ringing in my head and the scents of spices and petrol still linger on my clothes. I’ve returned to Africa and this time I’m in Morocco. More precisely, I’m in a small riad just off Djemaa el-Fna in the central medina of Marrakech.
The accommodation [...]