I am not sure that The Good web Guide needs much introduction or perhaps I am just such a seasoned 'on-liner' that GWG to me feels like the Wikipedia of what is best about life online including guides to the best sites (TTC being one of them of course) and loads of info on lifestyle and consumer interests. I particularly enjoy the Guest Edits (just sign up for their newsletter) from GWG which drop into my mail box each week. Here Arabella invites her guest to list their favorite websites and why….. think Desert Island Discs for good places to go online…. the on line entrepreneurs/ journalists and people that are just good at the on line stuff have introduced me to some absolute gems of sites and blogs that end up being included in my top destinations…and round it goes. I do love the internet! Over to Arabella…. I’m easy to please when it comes to holidays. They come few and far between so when one does happen along, all I’m looking for is peace and quiet, somewhere to read, sleep and enjoy good food and wine. Oh yes, and if the sun was shining, even better. This summer I was invited to spend a week’s long celebration for a friend’s 50th in France. On the edge of the Ardèche, Le Mazel is a handsome chateau that nestles into the hills where olive trees once grew, overlooking a lunar landscape of rocky outcrops. Renovated to perfection, it offers the ideal escape from reality, although the recent installation of broadband has meant that home is never too far away.

Days were generally geared around food, whether it was a trip to a market to pick up fruit and vegetables, roast chickens, saucisson and cheese. Add into the mix, a coffee taken whilst watching the world go by or lunch in a shaded alleyway. A trip into Uzès is always a highlight; as always, the sun was shining, buskers were playing on street corners and the place was humming with activity. Walking in the crush of people past the stalls, one minute you’re smelling the sweetest melons, the next it’s fruity olives and glistening bottles of golden olive oil or the ripest of cheeses. It’s a feast for the senses and this is my heaven. I then return home heavy laden with arms about six inches longer. Food aside, Uzès has a charming castle with the most perfectly proportioned arch within its confines. When I’m on holiday and removed from my regular armoury of cookbooks, I like to think that I start to think outside the box and use my imagination more creatively. Cooking with friends too is fun and doesn’t happen enough. Even the washing-up is bearable when surrounded by like-minded souls.

Exercise is always an important part of my day whether home or away and at Le Mazel this year, it was either a brisk walk down to the village and up again, which certainly got the heart beating faster or heading on up into the hills and climbing over rocks until you reach the top and the most fabulous panoramic view. Swimming in the river perks up the senses very sharply and rids the cobwebs from the night before.

A week quickly passes, with not enough books read, and the holiday was over. Where to next, I wonder? I’d like to go on a fitness retreat, the likes that In:Spa does so well or if I really wanted to purge myself, a trip to the Mayr Clinic in Austria . What a bundle of fun I am.