My Bucket List: Tea at the Ritz

It's Thursday, and I'm starting a new series of weekly posts about the items from my bucket list that I've been able to experience so far. Sampling the culinary traditions of the countries I visit is one of my favourite travel pastimes and what could be more British than afternoon tea? The experience was a natural addition to my bucket list so when I visited London a few years ago, we did tea in grand style at the luxurious Ritz Hotel on Piccadilly.

The Ritz London

7 Ways to Avoid Motion Sickness

I've never forgotten the poor woman who got seasick while taking the jet boat to the Isle of Capri when I was in Italy a few years ago. I’m sure she spent most of her time dreading the return trip back to the mainland, rather than enjoying the beauty of the legendary island. And I'll be spending plenty of time on the water myself when I visit Italy again this summer.

Jet Boat Returning to Sorrento from Capri

Motion sickness is thought to be caused by conflicts in sensory input to the brain when travelling by car, boat or airplane. And I can’t handle motion as well as I did when I was young. (The last time I rode the Tilt-a-Whirl my head continued spinning for hours.) But I love spending time on the water so I did some research and came up with these seven tips to avoid motion sickness.

5 Oh-So-French Features of the River Seine

The Seine River, Paris

1. The Boats

Numerous glass-topped boats cruise the Seine River, offering visitors unique views of the City of Light. The Bateaux-Mouches are excursion boats providing commentary on passing sights. The Batobus is a riverboat shuttle service which allows passengers to hop on and off at eight stops along the route, including the Eiffel Tower, Louvre and Notre-Dame.

A Week of Photo Themes

Destination: Fiction is all about travel and photos and I love an inspiring theme. So when I discovered the wide variety of photo themes and Communities on Twitter and Google+ I had to join in the fun. Here's a small sampling of the themes I've found, celebrating everything from people to food and scenery, for every day of the week from Monday to Sunday. I participate with my travel photos but you can use pictures taken in your own home town.

MONDAY

#PeopleAtWorkMonday on Google+

Yeoman Warders, or 'Beefeaters', at the Tower of London,England

French Sweets

Fancy pastries. Gourmet chocolate. The colourful macaron.

France has long been associated with the finer things in life, whether it be fashion, wine or cuisine. On a visit to the city of Lyon, the capital of French gastronomy, I was eager to tour the food market where local chefs do their shopping, Les Halles Paul Bocuses. And the tempting array of tarts and cakes kept me busy taking photos. Unfortunately, I was so busy preserving the images that I neglected to sample the goods.

Displays of Tarts and Cakes at Les Halles Paul Bocuse, Lyon