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The best sparkling wines for summer sipping: How to get champagne taste on a prosecco budget - including a new £12 winner at Aldi

The best sparkling wines for summer sipping: How to get champagne taste on a prosecco budget - including a new £12 winner at Aldi

Daily Mail​09-06-2025

Champagne taste on a Prosecco budget?
Look to France 's crémant regions – Loire, Alsace, Limoux and more – for traditional-method sparkle without the splurge. Over in Spain, Cava is also well worth exploring - once overlooked, it's seriously upped its game in recent years, with some excellent bottles on shelves from just £8. Further afield, sparkling wines from , Australia and Argentina can offer character, freshness and brilliant value.

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Aussie reporter describes fleeing from Iranian missiles to a bunker that 'did not exist'
Aussie reporter describes fleeing from Iranian missiles to a bunker that 'did not exist'

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

Aussie reporter describes fleeing from Iranian missiles to a bunker that 'did not exist'

An Australian reporter has shared the terrifying moment she had to run for cover from a missile strike in Israel while reporting on escalating tensions in the Middle East. Channel 7's Europe Correspondent Jacquelin Robson told Sunrise she was reporting with her camera crew on Friday when she received an urgent alert to seek shelter. The group rushed towards what they believed to be a safe haven only to discover it was nonexistent. 'Some locals called us over to a bunker, but we soon discovered that bunker didn't exist,' Robson said on Saturday. 'When the final siren sounded, we had no choice but to run and find shelter. 'We managed to squeeze between a few buildings.' Robson said Israel successfully intercepted a missile fired from Iran during the incident. 'Two direct hits were reported during this wave of attacks,' she said. There were no fatalities, though several injuries were reported, along with significant damage to buildings. The strike occurred amid heightened tensions between Israel and Iran, as the Australian Government works to evacuate citizens stranded in both nations. The Australian Defence Force has deployed personnel to bring overseas citizens home with the support of the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Registrations are now open for Australian citizens and permanent residents seeking assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). So far over 3000 people have registered for evacuation support. The department has announced Australians in Israel are being offered evacuation to Jordan via private bus. Options for land departures from Iran are also being explored. DFAT's current travel advisory for Israel, Iran, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is 'Do Not Travel '. Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong announced on Friday the Embassy in Iran had been evacuated due to security concerns. 'The Australian Government has directed the departure of all Australian officials and dependents and suspended operations at our Embassy in Tehran, based on advice about the deteriorating security environment in Iran,' she said. 'The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is deploying consular staff to Azerbaijan, including at border crossings, to assist Australians leaving Iran.' Wong has also held discussions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the ongoing conflict.

Strictly star Ellie Taylor reveals the horrors of holidaying with kids - and the moment she dreads at waterparks
Strictly star Ellie Taylor reveals the horrors of holidaying with kids - and the moment she dreads at waterparks

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

Strictly star Ellie Taylor reveals the horrors of holidaying with kids - and the moment she dreads at waterparks

The thought of travelling from the UK to Australia with a toddler in tow sounds like most people's idea of hell. So spare a thought for Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Taylor, 41, who has done the '36-hour, door-to-door' journey, there and back twice, with her 18-month-old son, Rhino – and is planning a third trip to Sydney later this year. 'My husband's Australian, so we visit quite a lot,' she explains in an exclusive interview with MailOnline Travel. 'It's always gorgeous and sunny, and there are lots of beaches and fabulous food, fabulous weather and family, which is great. 'I love Sydney, because I've got a lot of fond memories there, and it's an amazing city. It's the best city in the world. 'Whenever I go there, I think, why on earth does anyone ever leave? I always say to my husband, 'Why did you leave? You fool!' But, while Ted Lasso actress Ellie loves Sydney, getting there is another story. She says: 'My six-year-old, Valentina, is absolutely fine. Once she hit about three, she was as good as gold, but the baby years are awful. 'We went when my son was four months old, and when he was a year old. 'Door to door, the journey is about 36 hours, and I think my life expectancy dropped by that many years! 'It's just so full on, and it's not their fault; they're just babies, and they don't want to sit there for that long. 'And you have to share a seat with them - and it's just all awful. 'But it could have been worse. I think I'd ramped it up in my head, like it was going to be so unbelievably horrific - and nothing could ever be that bad.' She adds: 'I think we might go again at some point this year, but he's mobile now, and he walks, so may God have kindness on the entirety of that plane, because they're going to know my child pretty well!' But the flights to Australia haven't been the worst part of holidaying since starting a family. For Ellie, her worst holiday was when she was heavily pregnant with Rhino in Sardinia. 'It was freakishly hot,' she recalls. 'It was one of those heat waves in Europe, and around 45 degrees. 'And this beautiful resort was quite barren and open, with no shade. 'I was just so uncomfortable and massive and then we found out the hotel pools were salt water, so my daughter refused to put her head under the water or swim in the pool. 'Just getting to the beach in the heat with a whinging four year old felt like some sort SAS, military ordeal 'It was an endurance test for a week, and I was very glad to come home!' These days, Ellie and her family enjoy staying in child-friendly hotels in Majorca, which she says is 'the absolute top notch place to go'. 'The food is amazing, the weather's beautiful and it's only a couple of hours from London on the plane,' she adds. Another family favourite for Ellie's clan is Centreparcs ('for our sins') - but she dreads getting recognised while her kids are on the waterslides. She says: 'As a woman who's occasionally on telly, I dread someone coming up to me while I'm standing in a queue to go down a flume, in my swimming costume, a bit soggy, having been up all night with a baby. 'That'll be like my community service.' But Ellie's not fussy when it comes to hotels generally. 'I love any hotel because it means I'm not at home, so I sleep through the night,' she says. 'Even a Premier Inn in Luton would be a mini break for me! 'As long as I have a nice, big, fat bed, loads of cushions and a blackout blind – plus free biscuits with the kettle – I'm happy.' Ellie has partnered with Intrepid Travel to 'pitch' a proposed new travel show, Travel Ann, following the adventure travel group finding almost half of Brits (48%) are 'exhausted' by the current format of most TV travel shows being fronted by men. She says: 'Intrepid is trying to get more women on travel shows, because it's just so disproportionate at the moment, and we want a change in how we view travel on telly. Only 23 per cent of travel shows in the last year have been female-fronted, and 80 per cent of holiday-making decisions, in the UK, are made by women, so there's such a big appetite for it.'

TRAVEL: How to spend a weekend in sunny St Tropez
TRAVEL: How to spend a weekend in sunny St Tropez

Daily Mail​

time8 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

TRAVEL: How to spend a weekend in sunny St Tropez

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