RAVEL A BITE OF THE Feast your eyes on the sights and culinary delights
Stansted on February 24. See dealchecker.co.uk.
France ski from £699pp: Hit the slopes on a seven-night catered stay at Chalet Naomi, Alpe d’Huez.
It’s down from
£1,085pp and based on two sharing. With return flights from Gatwick to Grenoble on February 8. Hit igluski.com.
Norfolk from
£535: Treat the family to a half-term getaway at Norfolk Woods Resort And Spa, which offers a selection of modern lodges, many with hot tubs. On-site activities include archery, laser clay shooting and pool.
Arrive February 17 for a four-night stay for up to four. Go to hoseasons.co.uk. Greece from £339pp: Go self-catering on the beautiful Greek island of Symi for a week at the Anastasia Apartments.
Includes return flights from East Midlands on May 17.
You can find out more at olympic holidays.com.
“RUN!” shouted the bear handler ...and by the look on his face he wasn’t joking.
A tree had just fallen, crushing the electric fence – the only thing separating us from two huge brown grizzlies.
Luckily, TV’s Jeff “The Bear Man” Watson was on hand to lure them back to their lair with an emergency bucket of fried chicken.
And although a little hair-raising, the encounter with Bob and Screech at Wilstem Ranch, southern Indiana, was a real highlight of our 1,100-mile fly-drive across the USA’s Great Lakes.
The wildlife park is home to dozens of animals, including elephants, and you can even hand-feed lettuce to giraffes.
Our journey had begun in Detroit, Michigan. High crime, unemployment and a plummeting population left the city bankrupt in 2013.
But Detroit is living up to its motto: “We hope for better things; we will rise from the ashes.” New businesses and apartments are popping up everywhere.
Alleys that were once no-go areas are filled with murals and cocktail bars.
Downtown is full of speakeasies and restaurants in grand Art Deco buildings.
Wright and Co, which specialises in sharing plates made from seasonal ingredients, had queues round the block. And after sampling the lamb skewers with flatbread I could see why.
The Detroit-based luxury brand Shinola has recently launched a superstylish hotel in the city’s historic Woodward district.
Detroit has cool in its veins. It’s the birthplace of Motown, so a visit to the studio where Marvin Gaye, The Jackson 5 and The Supremes recorded their hits is a must.
At Hitsville USA, the original home of Motown Records, holes in the floor show where founder Berry Gordy stomped to the beat.
Down the road is Detroit’s oldest neighbourhood Corktown, with colourful clapboard-fronted houses and Folk, a cosy restaurant famous for its waffles with pistachio butter.
Join the hipsters at the Two James Distillery nearby. Or for a true taste of the city, try Grey Ghost – their filet mignon comes with zip sauce, the original Detroit steak-eater’s drizzle made with butter, herbs, garlic, mustard and Worcestershire sauce.
We drove on to Cleveland, Ohio, which is foodie heaven thanks to the state’s abundance of farms and orchards.
At Greenhouse Tavern try Flintstonestyle ribs with no-name frites, smothered in bacon, eggs and mozzarella.
Then walk off the calories at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a distinctive pyramid-shaped building packed with 6,000 music artefacts.
Breakfast at Lucky’s Café in the Tremont area was superb, with fresh bread and dishes made using local ingredients.
Pushing on to Holmes County with its endless rolling hills, big red barns and grazing animals, at the Berlin Farmstead we sampled good oldfashioned pie. Dutch apple, key lime, pecan…there are 32 varieties on offer. Arriving in Columbus, we discovered it is a craft beer destination, with 51 of the 300 breweries in Ohio.
The Short North Arts District is dripping with galleries, museums and trendy hangouts. Rooftop bar Lincoln Social was heaving on a Tuesday night. The Buckeye State’s capital is affordable, bustling and young, with a big chunk of its population under 40.
Dinner of parmesan creme brûlée and prosciutto-wrapped scallops at lively Italian Basi proved it isn’t all about the kids here.
The next morning we strolled around the historic German Village eating gooey cinn