Not far off 10pm and the sun’s not setting for another half hour here on the northern French coast. Fabulous.

This seems to be my week for winning awards. Got back from Rijeka in Croatia where I won the Grand Prix in the print category in the Golden Pen Media Awards for my Daily Mail guide to Croatia. And I got to spend a few days in my beloved Kvarner region. Still buzzing from it all.

Well, this was unexpected. Last night I won an Inspire Global Media Award for my BBC Radio 4 From Our Own Correspondent report on the sponge divers of Krapanj in Croatia. Such a pleasant surprise.

Really chuffed to have been asked to write the cover feature on Croatia for the new April issue of Wanderlust magazine. And it’s huge – 18 pages of 35 secrets of Croatia. In the shops now.

One of the many lovely things about being in the Maldives at the moment is that I get to miss all the dire April Fools “jokes”. (And I get this view. Yes, I know.)

Always lovely to see my features in print as well as online. Here I am in today’s Sunday Times with the newest holidays to book in Croatia and Montenegro. www.thetimes.com/article/8c57...

Marking World Book Day by being immensely chuffed that @itsjamesstewart.bsky.social included my Croatia travelogue My Family and Other Enemies in his Croatia feature in the new issue of National Geographic Traveller. Details here if you fancy buying it. linktr.ee/marynovakovich

I’ve spent the past week in the French Alps back on skis for the first time since a large Austrian ploughed into me three years ago and killed my ACL. How utterly joyous to be back on skis in the mountains in the sunshine. God, I’ve missed this.

Goodbye, old friend – one of the last that still had European Union on it. And, thanks to Brexit and the fact that most of my travels are in EU countries, I had to renew it a few years before it expired because it’s nearly full. 😔

Happy new year from a very windy Norfolk beach. Cobwebs well and truly blown.

It’s that time of year again when I post yet more pics of beach huts in Wells on our annual NYE walk. Can’t help myself.

I never tire of walking along Holkham Beach, even after 27 years of constant visits.

Rainbow over Holkham Beach. Lovely.

Christmas Eve in our house means a fondue savoyarde, which we’ve been doing for more than 15 years. Bringing the Alps to Hertfordshire.

Still one of the best. And so true.

Arrived in St Maarten yesterday after far too many hours in transit. Worth it for this view, though. And my first taste of the Caribbean.

I'm reading a new anthology by members of the British Guild of Travel Writers to mark the guild's 65th anniversary. It's called Around the World in 65 Years and is officially being launched at the @travwriters.bsky.social gala dinner tonight. (And there's a contribution from me too.)

Quite taken with Évora and its white and ochre houses – some even wedged under an old Roman aqueduct.

Good morning from Évora. Quite lovely having an ancient Roman temple outside my hotel.

Seriously chuffed to be a finalist in the @travwriters.bsky.social BGTW Members' Excellence Awards. My @theguardian.com feature on food and wine in Samoëns made the shortlist for best specialist feature. I'm up against stiff competition, but it's wonderful to be shortlisted.

Didn’t know that my online feature for the Telegraph about Swedish death cleaning would be in today’s print edition. Lovely surprise.

Been hiding here away from all the nastiness. #croatia

Off again. Need to be back in the Adriatic where it’s warm.

Queue to get into the Elizabeth Line station at Liverpool Street Station tonight at 5.30pm. Just a wee bit busy during the London Tube strike.

Thoroughly enjoying Small Earthquakes by @shafikmeghji.bsky.social, a fascinating history of the British in South America. Some truly surprising nuggets here.

So proud of my pal @shafikmeghji.bsky.social whose Small Earthquakes book was launched tonight at @stanfordstravel.bsky.social Huge congrats! @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @travwriters.bsky.social

Loved being back in BBC Broadcasting House to record another radio report for From Our Own Correspondent. They’re such a pleasure to do.

Joyeuse fête nationale from Le Crotoy, where the 14 juillet fireworks were in fine form.

Good things come to those who wait. All this for €10 at Le Crotoy’s Kermesses aux moules festival when you buy a portion later in the evening and they just dump whatever’s left. Delicious.

That sigh of relief when I find myself back in France. And … relax.