The remote arctic island of Svalbard – or, at least, its main settlement Longyearbyen, is not as inaccessible as you might imagine! Here’s what lured me there, how I managed to visit, and what I got up to whilst I was in town.
Two nights in… Oslo
Despairing of the lack of a proper winter in the UK, I took a weekend in Oslo in search of snow.
Year in Review 2015
A quick summary of my flights, train rides, and hotel stays – plus all the corresponding loyalty scheme antics – in 2015.
My North American Travel Bucketlist Tour 2015
An overview and links to coverage of my trip to New York, Vancouver, Seattle and Los Angeles via a mix of international business class flights and long distance trains.
Rome 2015
An overview of our winter trip to Rome.
Three nights in… Brussels
A long weekend in Belgium – based in Brussels, with a side trip to Ghent – plus Eurostar’s standard premier service.
Gallery: Vancouver to Los Angeles by train
The photographic version of my rail journey along the west coast.
Routemap: Vancouver to Los Angeles by train
An interactive map of the rail route down the west coast of America.
Coast Starlight Day 2 – California
The second day aboard the Coast Starlight – having crossed into California overnight, we still had a long way down to Los Angeles!
Coast Starlight Day 1: Washington and Oregon
The first day aboard the coast Starlight, working our way from Seattle, WA to Klamath Falls, OR.
First class on the Coast Starlight
An overview of my ‘roomette’ and the amenities available to sleeper car passengers on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight service, including the Pacific Parlour Car.
Gallery: Vancouver to Seattle on the Amtrak Cascades
From Canada to the US, by train.
New York to Vancouver in Cathay Pacific Business Class
Crossing the Americas in extreme comfort, thanks to a bargain-priced avios redemption.
BA1 London to New York
Sampling BA’s ‘baby bus’: a 32 seat business-only A318 from London City to New York JFK (via Shannon).
Three nights in… Strasbourg
A very green Easter weekend in France – traveling by train, and exploring by bike! Thus justifying a pancake-based diet throughout.
Trip Report: Barra beach landing
Quick overview of my trip to Barra, and link to the detailed Flyertalk report.
BRR, The beach airport
Photos of Barra airport and the Twin Otter, plus on-board video of landing and takeoff at the beach!
Trip Report: The big win, big science, and a big storm
Full report on my 2013Q4 project: chasing IHG’s Big Win promotion.
Trip Report: A Californian status run
In-depth report of my push for HHonors Gold and BA Silver, hotel-hopping and tier-point running around California.
Trip Report: the FT advantage
My luxury-holiday-on-a-budget, to Gibraltar in Club via a 5* London hotel.