Seven bucks better off, Ms Lloyd disembarked at this Hudson River settlement. Then she wished she hadn’t.”The station master warned us: `This is no place for tourists It’s a tough, violent town, a frontier town. If you stay here you’ll get robbed or shot.’ So we took his advice and caught the next train to Cold Spring, and discovered an extremely pretty (but expensive and twee) town overlooking the Hudson, with one lovely, old hotel, The Hudson House – $150 per night B&B. We enjoyed an hour’s stay there.”Then we returned to Grand Central Station, New York Yes, the train journey is delightful and we enjoyed our day.

Such a contrast in such a short space of time (75 minutes) to the skyscrapers of Manhattan.”. January

Britain: If you need a break after the pressures of Christmas, take yourself off to one of the three British Center Parcs (0990 200300). Here you can pamper yourself with a health treatment and burn up the calories. A typical three-night break this month would cost between pounds 164-pounds 205 for two and this includes accommodation and use of the pool (but all other facilities are charged separately). If you’re over 50, the cheapest way to get there is with National Express (0990 010104) who are offering a “go anywhere in Britain for pounds 9.99 return” fare between 6 and 13 February.
Europe: Thessaloniki, Cultural Capital of Europe 1997, is featured in the Independent Magazine next Saturday. Visit the Greek birthplace of Ataturk, the father of the Turks, and start your year on a cultural footing.

For details of events throughout the year contact the Greek National Tourism Organisation on 0171-734 5997.Worldwide: Celebrate Ramadan on 10 on a Jasmin Tours (01628 531121) holiday. Between 10 and 9 February the company is offering special trips to see the lights in various Middle Eastern cities. If you haven’t had your fill over the Christmas period they will even provide you with festive food, including Iftar – a special breakfast. Feast yourself after sunset and spend the next day working it all back off again. Prices start at pounds 349 for six nights’ B&B (not including airport taxes and visas) at Aqaba on the shores of the Red Sea.Other dates for your diary:20 President Clinton inaugurated in Washington31 Jan-2 Feb The Snowboard World Cup in Quebec31 Schubert’s 200th anniversary in AustriaFEBRUARYBritain: Go to work on an egg, with an egg-decorating holiday from HF Holidays (0181-905 9558). A four-night holiday in Malhamdale in the Lake District costs pounds 179 per person including full board, instruction and your basic egg kit.

After a morning spent learning how to transform a humble egg into a “fine and beautiful ornament” you are free to stride out and explore the local area.Europe: Take advantage of the cool weather and cycle through the Draa Valley in Morocco with The Imaginative Traveller (0181-742 8612). This off-road cycling tour is new for 1997 and only operates between and April. For pounds 525 you get accommodation (some of it camping), most meals, bicycle hire, transportation of luggage while you cycle, and the services of a cook. What it doesn’t include is the flight out, but if you’re really keen you could always cycle down through Europe and take the ferry across from Spain.Worldwide: Between 2 and 5 February Copacabana is the focus for a huge festival – the Fiesta de la Virgen de Candelaria. This isn’t the Copacabana where Barry Manilow fell in love, but a small, bright town on the Bolivian shore of Lake Titicaca. Pilgrims and dancers from all over Bolivia and Peru fill its streets, climb up the 14 stations of the cross overlooking the lake, drink, eat and are merry chasing bulls round a stone corral.Other dates for your diary:6 Chinese New Year11 Shrove Tuesday (and Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Rio)The Aberystwyth Indian Food Festival (01970 617995) all month.MARCHBritain: If you don’t fancy the coast at this time of year, head for London instead. The 28 March sees the opening of the London Aquarium (0171- 401 3433) at the old County Hall on the South Bank.

Stroke a stingray, peer at a piranha or stare at a shark as you pass through the aquatic landscape constructed around the 30,000 exhibits. Prices will be pounds 4.50 for children and pounds 6.50 for adults with family tickets for pounds 20.Europe: Alton Towers’ Spanish sister, Port Aventura (00 34 77 77 9090) on the north-east Spanish coast, opens a new white-knuckle ride, Stampida, on 17 March. This will be the first twin-track wooden rollercoaster in the world, and the 80ft drops should all add to that “out of control” feeling the promoters are aiming for. The park is based around five different areas from the Mediterranean to Imperial China. Entrance is around pounds 21 for adults and pounds 16.40 for children, and the park is open between 17 March and 26 October from 10am to 8pm (midnight between June and September).Worldwide: Go for the alternative Welsh experience and spend the first day of the month, St David’s Day, eating Welsh cakes in Patagonia. This is the best time of year to visit the wilder parts of southern South America, but if you’re expecting summer to be hot you’ll be underdressed. The Chubut valley in Argentina is perilously hanging on to its Welsh roots.