Taking it Nice’n’Easy…

There’s only one word to describe Nice – fabulous! Walking through the port, daydreaming that all those glitzy super yachts might one day be mine, supping café crème on promenade des Anglais and people watching from behind my en vogue oversized (and fake) Chanel sunglasses, day trips to chicest of the chic Monaco, palm trees swaying in the warm Mediterranean breeze… ahh yes, I could have gotten used to the good life on the French Riviera.

Sadly, my French course in Nice only lasted 3 weeks and when it was time to leave my lovely French host, I actually cried! 25 years old and I was blubbing like a baby! I had a great host, she was in her 40s and lived alone so it was just she and I in the apartment – we got on amazingly!

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Why I adored Munich!

Möchten Sie in Deutschland Deutsch lernen? Are you considering learning German in Germany? Whether you are a complete beginner or already very advanced, just listen to someone who has taken four language courses in Munich!

I started learning German in middle school, and my parents encouraged me to go on a language courses during holidays. I was lucky enough to have family friends who lived in Munich, and invited me. They recommended that I take a course in a local language school, and the result was I went back several times!

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Don’t miss the Moscow Metro!

Ever seen a tube station with crystal chandeliers hanging down from the roof? I have!

One of my favourite places in the world is Moscow. There are many reasons to love this fantastic city: the people on the busy Tverskaya shopping street, the small shops selling hot pirogs, the amazing Red Square and the delicious Borcsh you can eat late of an evening in one of the local restaurants.

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My time in Marvellous Madrid!!!

Honestly? Okay, as a dedicated Heat magazine  reader, my immediate thought when I planned my course in Madrid was… I wonder if I’ll bump into Posh  and Becks. I never did get to meet them, but fortunately I did find that there is sooo much more to Madrid than shopping (Posh) and football (Becks)!

If you love art you will go crazy in the Prado. If you are a foodie you will be in manchego and jamon paradise. If you love history you can trek museums ’til you drop. But for me, one of my biggest raves is the nightlife – absolutely incredible. With the largest number of bars per capita of any European city, it has to be among the best in the world! In fact, I found that one of the biggest problems with going out in Madrid was deciding where to start! Fortunately, I got on wonderfully with the other students that I shared my apartment with, one of whom had already been in Madrid 3 months and had managed to put together a shortlist of the most fabulous places in Madrid!

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Surfing in Hawaii? No! Go to Lanzarote!!

Have you ever surfed the Canarian Pipeline? Do you want to learn Spanish and surf in one of the most beautiful places in Spain? Well, you should come to Lanzarote then!

Being from the Canary Islands and loving surfing as I do, I have visited Lanzarote many times, and from my personal experience, I can assure you that you will have one of the best surfing sessions of your life if you visit this amazing island. You can’t know what surfing really means until you surf these epic waves!

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A month in Provence

Aix-en-Provence is, without a doubt, my favourite place in the whole of France! It’s not often that somewhere exceeds all of the swishy romantic ideals you have about it… Aix-en-Provence did! It took me less than 12 hours to fall utterly in love with the place.

It is so beautiful, and scenic, and rustic, and quaint, but also so full of life and culture – it is just so FRENCH! In truth, before I arrived, my education on Provence came mainly from reading A Year In Provence and watching Jean de Florette, so as you can imagine, I was expecting nothing less than cobbled streets bathed in golden sunshine, splashing sounds of water fountains at every turn and the smell of freshly baked baguettes to follow me everywhere. But shockingly that is EXACTLY what I found in Aix! It is a bustling university city and does have everything your typical 21st century westerner ‘needs’, (ie. Internet café, public transport… The Gap), but quite honestly, wandering through the old town you couldn’t be blamed for thinking you had been transported 100 years back in time.

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Biarritz: why you should learn French by the sea!

Are you considering learning French in a seaside location? Then look no further than Biarritz! The sea is a gorgeous aquamarine colour, and it’s also one of Europe’s most popular surf spots.

Did you know Biarritz was where surfing as we know it all started, in 1856? It’s an ideal location for surfers throughout the year, including beginners, and this is not surprising when you see how big the waves are. They are definitely the biggest I have ever seen in the south of France. I absolutely adore Biarritz, and have been going back there every year since childhood as I’m lucky enough to have family there!

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A German course in Hamburg – a very curious experience!

Tell anyone that you’re visiting Hamburg, and chances are that they will say something like ‘Ah, the Reeperbahn!’ often accompanied with a smile and a wink! However, although Hamburg’s infamous red light district is undoubtedly an important part of Hamburg’s character (actively promoted by the tourist board) there is so much more to see and do in this wonderful city!

Getting to Hamburg is easy. The low cost airlines generally fly to Lubeck which is an hour’s drive from Hamburg by shuttle bus (or approximately half that time if you get a lift as I did in a big BMW and take the autobahn!). You can also see pictures and information on the German language school in Hamburg I visited.

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Going to Paris? Take a trip up the Eiffel Tower!

If you’re considering a French course in Paris, just listen to a Parisian born and raised!

I had not gone up the Eiffel Tower since I was 6, and my goddaughter, who came to Paris for the first time during the Christmas holidays, asked me to take her.

The Eiffel Tower is always popular. The day we went, although the weather was not very good (it was so windy that they had to close the top floor), there were still plenty of people queuing to catch the lifts.

Even from the 2nd floor, there are breathtaking views over Paris. You can see the River Seine and the bateaux-mouches pleasure boats, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe and Montmartre hill with its Basilica of Sacré Coeur.

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A Night Out in….. Shanghai!

Shanghai’s night life is simply fantastic! You’ll find nightclubs, bars and KTV-bars everywhere you go in the city.

The first thing that strikes you when you are out and about at night is the prices of the drinks. If you go to a club or bar in Shanghai, you pay around 50 RMB for a beer (approximately 5 euros), which is not bad at all!

Karaoke is huge in Asia, so don’t forget to try it whilst you’re in Shanghai! There are lots of karoke bars (KTV bars) in Shanghai. One night I decided, together with some of the other students from the Chinese school in Shanghai, to go to a KTV bar in Xu Jia Hui, a modern area in the Xu Hui district. This is a huge district with a lot of stores and shopping malls.

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