Advantages: Stunning scenery, history and a great cup of tea!
Disadvantages: None

...Did you know that tea grows in Europe? Well I didn't until I went on holiday in the Azores. Friends all said "Where are the Azores?" so I'll start by briefly explaining where these wonderful islands are situated. The Azores consist of nine islands found in the Atlantic Ocean between the continents of America and Europe, Sao Miguel is the largest of these islands and is about a two and a half hours flight from Lisbon. Not quite the middle of the ocean, but a good distance from Portugal, so it came as a surprise to see tea growing. The temperate climate and rich volcanic soil results in lush vegetation and the growth of tropical plants - I can recommend the pineapples! We were touring the island and were on the lookout for another tea factory mentioned in the guide book, which we knew the bus tours visited, so were delighted to find... Read review

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Advantages: Read review!
Disadvantages: See review

...My hubby bought me this book after rooting through the books in our local charity shop. He was really looking for Jackie Collins books for me!! Not finding any he came home with this and a few others. I only got around to this book recently and really enjoyed it. It is written by Faye Kellerman, an author I hadn't before heard of. She is the wife of Jonathan Kellerman, who is also an author and psychologist. She has written 9 books in total featuring the detective Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus, who in this book is married to Peter Decker. She has also written one historical mystery. This book revolves around the murder investigation of Doctor Azor Sparks. He is a widely respected and celebrated heart surgeon. He has been working on a revolutionary medicine that is designed to help stop heart transplant patients from rejecting... Read review

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Advantages: Relaxing, stunning scenery and still unspoiled!
Disadvantages: Cuisine lacking in fancy menus.

...Sâo Miguel also known as the Green Island is 65 kilometres long and 16 kilometres wide. It is the largest of the islands making up the Azores. The island is made up of several volcanic groups, the black lava fields form a dark coastline dotted with a handful of beaches, but the green hills provide some splendid scenery, and every turn (and there are many!) along the windy roads unfolds some wonderful surprises. In the east the highest point is Pico da Vara standing 1,103 metres tall, in the centre is the Sierra de Água do Pau, with a volcanic Lake called Lagoa do Fogo. In the west are the smaller volcanoes, and the highest point is about 900metres, one of the most popular places to visit called the Caldeira das Sete Cidades, where the ground still rumbles and geysers boil and streams flow with the water of hot springs. There are two... Read review

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Advantages: Great times, Great Songs
Disadvantages: None

...There’s more to female Canadian singers than the likes of Celine Dion or Alanis Morissette, you know. New kid on the block is 21-year old Nelly Furtado, whose debut single, the uplifting, poppy ‘I’m Like A Bird’, has already soared high into the singles charts. Next up is her debut album, the eclectic ‘Whoa Nelly!’, which Nelly herself describes as “A throwback to really good pop records that existed in their own universe”. Fair enough! ‘Whoa Nelly!’ is a bringing together of all of Nelly’s influences throughout her (rather short!) life – hip-hop elements from her teens, along with pop, rock, folk, dance, and even some traditional Portuguese elements (her parents hail from the Azores Islands). Not just a singer/songwriter, she’s an MC, too, so check out the rap... Read review

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Advantages: Fashionable, unusual shoes, mens and womens range, student discount.
Disadvantages: Some shoes can be quite pricey (however you get what you pay for)

...***WHAT TYPE OF SHOES DOES SCHUH SELL?*** For women: - High heels - Low heels - Casual - Boots - Sandals - Sport Brands such as: Adidas, Ben Sherman, Bronx, Dr Martens, Caterpillar, Destroy, Firetrap, Hush Puppies, Gola, Kickers, Miss Sixty, Rocket Dog, Nike, Ted Baker etc. For Men: - Shoes - Boots - Sandals - Sport Brands such as: Airwalk, Adidas, Caterpillar, Ikon, Azor, Evisu, Dr Martens, Gola, YSL, Kickers, Rockport etc. See their website for more details: www.schuh.co.uk ***ACCESSORIES*** Schuh also sell bags such as Gola, Kickers, Nike and Red or Dead. They also sell 'Scholl Party Feet' (that help stop your feet hurting), and cleaning prducts for your new shoes. ***WHAT I LIKE ABOUT SCHUH*** - I like the range of boots that they have: knee-high and sude (slouch style) boots. They may be quite expensive but you... Read review

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Advantages: modern, good transport infrastructure
Disadvantages: airport bus service only runs until 9pm

...Lisbon airport, a mere 7 km from the centre of Lisbon has been recently rebuilt, partially to coincide with the 1998 Expo, and also because before that it badly needed it. Now there is a very modern terminal building, with excellent connecting infrastructure (didn’t imagine myself saying that in relation to Portugal!) and altogether it is a very pleasant experience. Many Brits fly into Portugal via Faro, so may not be that familiar with Lisbon, but its airport is certainly worthy of praise. Firstly there minimum check-in times are shorter than in a lot of airports in mainland European. For internal flights you can check in half an hour before departure, for flights for Madeira and the Azores, which of course both belong to Portugal, the minimum check-in time is 45 minutes in advance, and for other European destinations... Read review

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Advantages: Great songs of a mature lady!
Disadvantages: no hit single

...that matters is the well constructed music and her stories with some amazing pearls that you won't stop listening. In this record she mixes the stories of her Portuguese family heritage, with those of her urban life in Canada. "Powerless" was the first single and is a pretty good song, but far from the best in this album. "Fresh of the boat" is a brilliant music about the way she saw the fishing boats at Azores islands bringing the fish to the land, with an amazing mix of different music styles, from the most traditional to the latest pop. "Força" was the original song for Euro2004 in Portugal and is surely known everywhere. "Try" and "Childhood Dreams" are both great songs, in her pop melancholic way. "Saturdays", my favourite song is Nelly and her guitar with the great collaboration of Jarvis Church voice in the back vocals. "Explode... Read review

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Advantages: One of the best in the world. Even recomended by Jaques Custo!
Disadvantages: A slog to get to and certainly not cheap. No nightlife.

...I was introduced to Sipadan Island by a friend of mine in a Biology set from school who wanted to dive there but had no one to go with. Everything just seemed to fall into place and so less than two days after my flight landed in Kuala Lumpur I found myself on this Island. Sipadan Island lies in the Celebes Sea about 50 km off the East Coast of East Malaysia and it is argued that it lies amongst the top five diving sites in the world. The thing is a lot more than five dive sites claim that they fall in that category, you name it: French Polynesia, The Azores, other islands in Malaysia, Australia and Vanuatu to name just a few. All the brochures promise superb diving and everyone who comes back from there raves about it, I think though Sipadan rises above these and does indeed fall in at least the top ten. When I say top ten I... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful setting
Disadvantages: Buffet dinner could be better

...Stepping off the plane at 21.00 hours in Ponta Delgada, on Sao Miguel in the Azores the humidity hit me. WOW. It was hot, I was tired and hadn't expected this level of humidity. Thankfully we quickly collected our cases and didn't have any passport control to queue in, as we had flown in from Lisbon. Our tour operator was waiting as we came into the arrival hall and whisked off to our destination. Twenty minutes and many bends and bumps later we turned a corner and saw a large hotel block, lit up and sparkling against the dark sky, standing beside the Atlantic ocean, with a high tree covered backdrop or should I say side drop! The long driveway through the gardens with lovely trees and flowers prepared us for the serene and calm entrance to this otherwise pink concrete block. There was a plaque saying when the hotel was opened... Read review

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Advantages: Safe, friendly island.
Disadvantages: Not if you like to party....

...Madeira's claim to fame is it's flowers and cake. It is quaintly described in travel brochures as the 'floating garden of the Mediterranean'. And this probably sums up Madeira in entirity! Madeira is a Portuguese island off the coast of Africa. It's nearest relatives are the Azores, which if my memory serves me correctly, are approximately 200 miles away. Many people believe the island to be Spanish, however they are proudly and defiantly Portuguese. The main town in Madeira, and it's capital, is Funchal. Not to be confused with the island's airport of the same name, which is in fact 30 minutes away from the capital. Funchal is a mixture of old and new. The old being the heart of the city, where you will find cobbled streets and narrow back streets. This area is known as *the Old Town and it is where you will find the more traditional... Read review

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