Kasteeltuinen Arcen Gardens

This spring I discovered a new gorgeous garden in the Netherlands called Kasteeltuinen Arcen (The Castle Gardens of Arcen). Although my visit was a bit early in the season to see the gardens at their best, Arcen has quickly become my new favourite garden destination.

A few months ago I ordered a book called The Garden Lover’s Guide to the Netherlands and Belgium (Buy on Amazon US, UK). While flipping through, I was blown away by the illustration of Kasteeltuinen Arcen. Andrew and I decided we would visit Arcen gardens the day after our Keukenhof tour.

Visiting Kew Gardens – London, England

Although I’ve made several trips across the channel to London, England, Friday was the first time I visited Kew Gardens. Although I had been looking forward to it, Kew was even better than I expected.

For starters, it’s enormous; 132 hectares to be exact. There was no way I’d be able to see everything in the few hours I had to spend, so I decided to focus on several attractions and take the time to enjoy exploring and photographing them.

Sardinia – Lago Baratz and Porto Ferro

This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series Sardinia, Italy

Searching for wildlife in Sardinia

Our final day in Sardinia, we wanted to escape to nature. The sun was shining, but it was cool and windy, so it wasn’t a day for lying on the beach.

Instead, we headed to Lago di Baratz, a lake and nature preserve north of Alghero. It looked perfect in our guidebook – hiking trails through the woods, a peaceful lake and plenty of birds and wildlife to photograph.

Sardinia – Necropoli Anghelu Ruju and Sunset in Alghero

This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series Sardinia, Italy

Worth waiting for the rain to stop

Onto every parade a little rain must fall and, on day four, our Sardinian adventure got soggy.

Normally I don’t mind a bit of rain when I’m travelling. I just head inside to a museum, gallery or shop and wait out the weather. This was a bit of a problem for us however, as it was Easter Sunday and absolutely everything was closed.

Sardinia – Bosa and Pottu Codinu

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series Sardinia, Italy

Bosa Beach

The sun smiled on us again on day three of our Sardinian adventure. We decided to head south and check out the city and beaches of Bosa. As often happens when travelling, the journey was even more beautiful than the destination.

Sardinia – Nuraghe Palmavera and Stintino

This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series Sardinia, Italy

Nuraghe Palmavera

Day two in Sardinia was my favourite of the five. We learned a bit of history, saw some fantastic beaches, made beautiful flower find and even did a tad of rock climbing.

We were up and on the road early to visit the Nuraghe Palmavera. Sardinia is dotted with over 8000 nuraghe but despite their prevalence on the countryside, little is known about these megalithic structures.

Sardinia – Alghero to Capo Caccia

This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series Sardinia, Italy

Sunset over Alghero

I am a huge fan of spur of the moment travel. While it’s great to tick destinations off the ‘Life List’ of travel, visiting somewhere you never considered travelling to can offer some wonderful surprises. My trip to Sardinia last weekend was one such surprise.

The trip was instigated by a friend and fellow photographer. “Want to go somewhere warm for Easter where we can photograph and escape Belgium?” Yes please! Our criteria were simple – affordable, sunny, and picturesque.

So, long before the sun came up, on Thursday morning, we found ourselves waiting for our Ryanair flight to Alghero.

10 Things to do in Sweden

Aside from a trip to Helskini, Finland a few years ago, the majority of my travels in Europe have taken me south. However, today’s guest post by Ben of offtoeurope.com has me dreaming of adventures to the North.

Belgian Chocolate Shops in Brussels, Grand Sablon

A beautiful pink box of Wittamer Chocolates

Every good chocoholic knows Belgian chocolate is the best in the world. But while tourists flock to the shops selling chocolate Manneken Pis statues around Grand Place, locals and in-the-know travelers head to Brussels’ chocolate Mecca – Grand Sablon.

Grand Sablon (Grote Zavel in Dutch) is a small square (a triangle actually) with the beautiful Notre Dame de Sablon church at its head. Lining the streets are cafes, bars, restaurants and shops – most notably the best selection of chocolate shops in Brussels.

Here’s my rundown of the chocolate shops of Sablon.

Articles About Slow Travel (Page 65)