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Travel, Cruising, Cruise, Viking Cruises, Viking River Cruise, Viking Skaga, Ship Tour, featured

Viking River Cruise Ship Tour and Review

Travel, Cruising, Cruise, Viking Cruises, Viking River Cruise, Viking Skaga, Ship Tour, featured

Welcome to the Viking Skaga - one of Viking Cruises’ noble river ships. She takes her name from an ancient Norse myth, where the Valkyrie Skaga rode into battle and escorted the dead to Valhalla, before preparing them to fight in the epic battle of Ragnarok.

A relatively new ship, the Viking Skaga only entered the fleet in 2020. At just 410 feet and carrying 168 guests and 48 crew, she was built specifically to sail down the Seine in France, although the specific itinerary will vary depending on the time of year. I was fortunate enough to join the ship for her week long Christmas on the Seine cruise, which starts and ends in Paris, calling at Vernon, Caudebec-en-Caux, Rouen, Honflour (via an excursion) and Les Andelys along the way.

b2 hotel, b2 boutique hotel, library, library hotel, literary hotel, travel, zurich, switzerland, featured, Hotel review, Europe

B2 Hotel + Spa Review

b2 hotel, b2 boutique hotel, library, library hotel, literary hotel, travel, zurich, switzerland, featured, Hotel review, Europe

Welcome to Zürich’s designated literary hotel, the B2 Boutique. This is somewhere that’s been on my literary travel bucket list for a very long time, and visiting was an absolute dream come true. I’m excited to show you around!

Upon entering the hotel lobby you’ll snatch your first glance of the B2 Boutique’s coveted library. The lobby area has lots of comfy seating options and doubles up as a large coworking space, making it a great place to grab an armchair and a coffee and get some work done, or just relax with a book.

travel, cruise, cruise ship, tour, featured, Arvia

P&O Arvia: Honest Cruise Ship Review

travel, cruise, cruise ship, tour, featured, Arvia

I recently returned from a cruise around the Caribbean on P&O’s newest and largest ship, Arvia. The sister ship to the near identical Iona, which launched in 2020, Arvia set sail in 2022 and can hold a maximum of 5,200 passengers and 1,800 crew. She’s often described at P&O’s sunshine ship, with features including a retractable roof and swim up bar. You’ll often find her sailing around the Caribbean and Mediterranean, where passengers can make the most of what she has to offer, with 18 decks, 30 restaurants and 4 separate pools, Arvia really is incredible.

I’ll see you at the bookshop!

Julia Mitchell 1/28/25 Julia Mitchell 1/28/25

Inside Mayfield Garden Centre’s Refurbishment (2025)

Run by charity Solent Mind, Mayfield Garden Centre is a not-for-profit plant nursery, cafe and community centre based in Mayfield Park. I was invited to celebrate their reopening after an extensive renovation which saw the main greenhouse’s roof and floor completely replaced.

I visited during their official reopening which was attended by the mayor and a local television crew, who filmed the cutting of the ribbon, followed by a tour of their fantastic new space.

Stepping inside the garden centre, the first thing you’ll see is the main greenhouse, which is home to the centre’s shop and cafe, with a wide variety of plants, gifts, gardening accessories and decorative ornaments available to purchase.