This is what happens when celebrities start to blog.

Gywneth Paltrow, “A” list movie star and wife of Coldplay’s Chris Martin seems to have had enough of the being represented to the world by the tabloid media and has turned to the blogshere to share her tips on travelling, eating,  sustainability and relationships.

On Goop.com, the actress writes regularly about topics which she feels passionately about, giving an insight into her personality and life.

In addition, check out Gywneth’s own recommendations for hotels in London, Barcelona, Paris, New York and Los Angeles where she claims to have stayed.  If you can’t afford a room in these plush pads, then check out the Hotelopia website.

Plus read about her restaurant recommendations.  It’s also nice to see  one of her favourites, Wagamamas, is also mine.  This Asian chain restaurant  serves fantastic fusion food, although I’ve yet to spot her sharing a table with office workers and budget travellers.

Overall, Goop is not a bad read.  There’s some interesting stuff in here, which isn’t just targeted to other “A” listers with piles of cash.  But let’s just hope Gywneth writes Goop herself (and doesn’t have a team of blogsters to do the work for her).

This month, we’ve selected Almeria in Spain as Hotelopia’s destination of the month.

Read more about the southern tip of Spain, as well as our great hotel offers in and around the region. All this information and more will be included in our newsletter.  Click here to subscribe.

So what’s so great about Almeria?  Almeria boasts more hours of sunshine per year than anywhere else in Spain. In fact, you can easily visit in February or March, find a sunny spot and strip off to your bathers to catch some rays. And since, this is Spain’s most southerly tip, it’s easy to find your own piece of beach paradise on the hundreds of kilometres of glorious coastline.

What’s more, this is the perfect place to see lasting impact the once ruling Moors had on the region. Everyone’s heard of the Alhambra in Granada, but Almeria is home to the equally stunning Alcazaba, an imposing Arabic fortress which stands boldly on the coast.

Add to this Almeria’s desert-like and cactus filled landscape and you’ll think you’re in Arizona than anywhere in Spain. The region has provided a location for various blockbuster movies and spaghetti westerns, which also makes this a great place to learn or to go horse-riding – Yee-ha!

Travelling the world isn’t just about seeing the sights or chilling out on a beach.  And getting to grips with a country’s fruity gastronomic delights is as much of an adventure as the distance travelled.

We’ve scoured Hotelopia’s destinations and found five of the world’s most unusual fruits to try to help you make the most of booking an exotic break.

1.    Durian Fruit
This South East Asian delicacy smells like “hell” and “tastes like heaven” – see the Youtube video below.  In fact, when I was travelling in Singapore, there are signs on the MRT underground metro to say that the passengers are banned from carrying the fruit.  And I can confirm, that it does smell like skunk but the flesh is actually quite tasty.
2.  Dragon Fruit
Found in Central and South America (and also Marks & Spencers) the Dragon fruit is also known as the Pitaya or Pitahaya fruit.   It’s actually a fruit from a type of catus and can be eaten on its own when you slice through the bright pink skin.

3.  Ugli Fruit
The Ugli Fruit isn’t the world’s prettiest fruit, but is a cross between a grapefruit and a Clementine.  The delicious taste detracts from its ugly gnarly appearance, and is most likely to be tasted by those holidaying in Jamaica.

4.  Lamut (Sapodilla)
Visitors to Mexico will probably mistake the the Lamut fruit or a potato.  In fact the taste is surprisingly tasty.  Also, the dried sap from its Sapodilla trees (chicle) is also used to make chewing gum (or “chicles” as it’s called in Spanish).

5. Soursop
Its green cactus-like appearance doesn’t look like the most delicious fruit, but again, looks can be deceiving.  The Soursop’s pulp is tasty (if you can get around the seeds), vitamin enriched and resembles something between a strawberry and pineapple.   However you’ll need to travel to the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America to try one.

While someone’s idea of paradise is someone else’s impression of holiday hell, check out www.worstholidays.com for inspiration on places to avoid when booking a break. Don’t forget to take with a large pinch of salt.

According to the website, Norway tops the list as the world’s worst holiday destination, billed as the most expensive place in the world.

You can expect to pay $660 for hiring a small car, then easily pour $70 into crossing toll bridges.  And eating out on a budget is great, if you like hot dogs, which at  $7 a pop are the cheapest food around (and that’s from the street vendors).

However, if you’re looking for a chav free holiday, this is the place to go.  Another reader writes “I imagine the ‘pricey-ness’ would keep the rif-raff out, and that’s good thing.”

Other least favoured destinations include bizarrely Costa Rica, which is also blamed for being overpriced and touristy.  In France, the website claims people are arrogant, especially when it comes to visitors inability to speak French, and blasts the the country’s scenery as being unspectacular and urban areas as dirty.

Indonesia is blacklisted for being overly humid, while India is said to be swamped by bureaucracy making moving around a challenge, and where everyone’s out to make a fast buck.

Most bizarrely, creeping into numbers nine and ten in the websites “top ten” of worst places to go is Iraq and Afghanistan. Looks like you’ll be dodging a bullet if you avoid booking a break to these destinations.

After reports earlier this week that airline Sky Europe had collapsed, Blogteloipa brings you advice on how to book flights safely, avoid losing your cash and where you stand should an airline go bust.

According to Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, if your flight cost between £100 and £30,000 and was paid for by credit card, then money can be claimed back.  This also applies if your flight or trip was booked through an ATOL bonded agent.

If however, you booked your flight was booked with a Visa Debit card, the best advice is to contact the account provider who will try and recover the money.

It’s also the tour operators responsibility to make alternative arrangements for passengers left stranded by the collapse of package holiday companies.

Rochelle Turner from Which? Holiday says, “With yet another tour operator collapsing and leaving holiday-makers stranded, it’s really important that people take steps to ensure they are protected should a similar incident occur in the future.

Also check your travel insurance policy, which should be able to help you out.

To protect yourself in the future, make sure you check the clauses set out by your travel insurance, and book with a reputable flight company such as easyjet.com or if you’re travelling further a field, gulfair.com.

As September sets in, employers are warned about the potential “end of summer hangover” which affects thousands of workers returning to work.

Some one in three workers dread settling back into the daily grind, according to a survey carried out by the organisation Investors in People.

The change of season, and fewer daylight hours are just one factor contributing to the post summer depression.  Employees are reported to be less motivated and dread a stockpile of work and emails.

Investors in People are suggesting that employers ease workers gently back into the working day, starting by simply welcoming them back.   It’s amazing the amount of workplaces that don’t actually do this.  Employers, take note!

They also recommend a mini-reintroduction into the workplace to help prevent a post vacational productivity gap which could impact on the economy.

However, in the current economic climate it seems anyone returning to work is lucky enough to have a job.  And instead of moaning about it, the best way of getting over post-holiday depression is to book another break and have something to look forward to.

Check out Hotelopia’s autumn offers on city breaks.  The summer may (almost) be over, but this the perfect time to visit some of Europe’s top cities for less.  Temperatures have cooled, kids have gone back to school, and hotel prices are cheaper.  So what are you waiting for?

Anyone who has holidayed in the resorts of Magaluf, Falikari and Benidorm, will have either felt at home with the Burberry brigade, or wanted to run a mile.

For many holidaymakers, chavs don’t paint the best picture of Brits abroad with their cheap tracksuits, antisocial behaviour and binge-drinking.

That’s maybe why www.activitiesabroad.com are winning customers by promoting “chav-free holidays.”

Earlier this year, the holiday company ran into some problems discriminating against its customers.  It claimed in an email, that after scouring its database, no one with the names “Dwayne”, “Wayne,” “Chardonnay” or “Bianca” had booked with them, making their holidays strictly a “chav-free zone” and even signing-off the email with the line: “nuff said, innit?”
Sparking controversy, the company’s MD was forced to face the media.  Standing up for the middle classes, he was quoted to have said, “Everybody else in our society seems to take from us whether it is incompetent bankers or the shell-suited urchins who haunt our street corners.”

Just as well then that Hotelopia offers everyone, even “chavs” the opportunity to book a break away, even if your name is Shazer or Kay-Tee.    “Nuff said, innit?”

Turns out the Brits no longer consider Germans to be the most troublesome tourists on holiday.  According to a survey carried out by Realholidayreports.com, the Russians have won the title as the most complained about nationality.

It seems that in resorts across Europe this summer, Russians have gone one step further in battle over the sun beds.  Turns out they are not just getting up early in the morning to reserve a sun bed, but have been spied putting beds into their hotel rooms overnight to secure a poolside spot in the morning.

What’s more, the survey has highlighted other disagreeable Russian holiday behaviour  which includes stocking up on the all-inclusive buffet bars, swearing in public areas, dressing in chav gear (tracksuits and trainers), and flashing money around.  Obviously, no one’s made a study of the Great British behaviour in Magaluf then?

As Blogtelopia reported a few weeks ago, it’s not just the Russians or the Germans that should be pinpointed for sparking the sunbed wars.  Turns out the Brits are just as bad. Check out this Youtube link with shows how a hotel full of Brits in Majorca’s Palmanova reserve sun beds in just 2 minutes and 26 seconds at 6.30am one morning – now if that isn’t shameful….

If packing to go on holiday means taking everything except for the kitchen sink, then check out website www.onebag.com.

Created by Doug Dyment, the so-called Go-Light Guru, learn about the art and science of travelling light.

With all low-cost airlines now charging extra for checking in luggage, and some (inc. Ryanair) reducing their check-in weight, means you pay more, for the more you take.

The website shows how to create your own reusable packing list, to ensure you’re taking the essentials without over packing.

As for other benefits:

-  Travelling light means a better journey: You can board trains and busses more easily and get around on underground trains or metros without having heart failure.  It also means you’ll save a packet on taxi fares.
-  Help save the environment: Planes need less fuel depending on the weight of the luggage carried.  The less you take, the less impact you’ll have on the planet.

What’s more, the website is packed with fascinating facts.  Did you know that a wheelie suitcase weighs 75% more and has less space than one without?  Or that you can use dental floss as a cheese or cake cutter, heavy duty thread for making repairs, as a temporary luggage lock, to mend dripping taps, and even if you’re forced to give birth, it is also strong enough to cut the umbilical cord!

After checking out this website, you won’t travel in the same way again.

One of the best things about going on holiday is sampling the local cuisine but if you’re travelling to Asia, there are a few dishes that’ll take the courage of adventurer Bear Grylls to get your chops around.

And we’re not talking about a chicken chow main or a plate of sushi.  There are some pretty hardcore Asian dishes out there.  Here’s a guide for what to look out for depending where you travel:

South Korea:

In South Korea you can literally tuck into a real hot dog (with our without the bun).  Chowing on man’s best friend isn’t that common in Korea as eating dog meat has actually been banned.  It is allowed on August 17 or  ‘Malbok’ day and it’s mostly eaten by older men, who believe it will boost fertility.

Cambodia:

Spiders have become something of a delicacy in Camboida, particularly around the town of Skuon.  It’s believed that when the country was under the rule of the Khmer Rouge, people were starving so had to resort to eating what they could find.  As such Skuon spiders  found their way onto the menu and they still remain today.

Vietnam & Thailand:
If it was possible to whip up a meal made with all the rats that plague towns and cities, the global food crisis would be solved.  However, in Vietman and Thailand, fried rats (the countryside variety) can be found deep fried on the menu.   Apparently they are pretty hard to digest and can be dangerous if they’re not properly cooked. Munch with caution.

Japan:

Tuna eyes are hot on the menu in Japan, and a great delicay that can either be eaten raw or lightly steamed.  This dish is not recommended if you don’t like being eyeballed when you’re eating.

China & Taiwan:

If you think that eating tiger meat is unethical, then spare a thought for the few locations in China or Taiwan that serve up tiger penis soup. Believed to be a potent aphrodisiac, tigers everywhere are grateful that Viagra has now been invented, as the demand for the $400 dish has dropped.