It seems as though we are in the throes of a premature month of April showers. The beautiful yet fleeting days of glorious sunshine have passed and now we are left soggy and damp with what feels like endless days of persistent rain and cloudy skies. Of course, it is only the beginning of March. The trouble with having a few days of beautiful sunshine is the excitement it brings for sunnier, more permanent, climes. Although only February, our hopes were raised that we wouldn’t see another Beast from the East this year; that spring may well and truly be on its way, albeit it a little early.


The buds and bulbs of hyacinths and daffodils are starting to poke through – another promising sign – and the colourful eggs have long been taking pride of place on the supermarket shelves. And yet, checking the weather, it doesn’t look as though those cloudless skies and unseasonably high temperatures will be returning any time soon.

If, like me, you long for the warmer weather and long bouts of sunshine then, it’s about this time we all start thinking about summer. Not just one spent here in the UK but oversees too. If we were promised a 2018 summer every year, there would almost be no need to pack our bags and head to the airport, but our great British summer is not always predictable. It’s comforting to know however, that we needn’t travel far. We are lucky with all the beautiful destinations that surround our little island, many only a short flight away. From Seville to Porto, Florence to Palermo, many of these sun-rich cities present a tempting choice for a relaxing yet cultured city break.

Whilst we continue to live in a rather uncertain climate as to whether these holiday hotspots will remain quite so accessible come the summer months, it’s always nice to have an idea or two of where you’d like to visit. After all, in the wise words of Simba, you can’t change the past – so we may as well start planning for the future, whatever it may hold.

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