It’s that time of year again. The cold weather begins to grate and we all start dreaming of fantastic getaways we’d rather be planning for hot weather. The first of the holiday dates for the year are being booked off and you want to get in early to beat your colleagues to the best of the long weekends, right?

Beginning this Thursday 3^rd – Sunday 6^th Feb is one of the hottest exhibitions for travel buffs.

Sponsored by the Times, the Destinations – Holiday and Travel Show is a fantastic place to pick up ideas and tips for exciting trips.

I last visited in 2009 and was overwhelmed by the information to hand. I’m told this year will be the biggest yet, with all my favourite features still there; The Wanderlust Travel Photo of the Year Competition, fantastic guest speakers on the Main Panel sessions and loads of stands where you can buy every type of camping gear, book holiday packages or just glean information.

I’d recommend at least 3 hours there as the more I began looking the more I wanted to see – I tried on hiking shoes, climbed into a giant yellow iron tourbus that goes through 10 countries in 10 days and listened to a seminar on how to get more work from travel writing.

I can also highly recommend the frozen margaritas in the World Entertainment Stage, so potent were they, that by the time we stumbled out of the show after 6 hours of wandering, we had acquired sarongs from the Caribbean, José Cuervo tequila straw hats, bags of brochures and magazines and even a spork – a necessary implement for any serious camper, backpacker or general traveller I’m told.

If you miss it in Earls Court then the show will take on Birmingham from 4^th – 6^th March 2011. Tickets for London can be bought here and are only £10 in advance or £12 on the door.

Ever since they were launched I’ve wanted to try the ‘Boris Bikes’ but have wondered about shelling about for membership and how heavy they might be to ride.

An original 6,000 Barclays bikes across 400 docking stations are set to be increased by the end of 2012 to include a wider area and will also include marked Superhighways to navigate city traffic more easily.

Yes, I’d read about them here on the blog when they first launched last July, but being short on cycling finesse I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to enjoy them. Picture a few moments of shining glory tempered with many moments of frustration as I veer towards inanimate objects. Whenever I’ve tried riding a bike as an adult I’m instantly taken back to being a child learning how to ride and hurtling faster and faster towards a broken arm and hours of waiting in ER on Easter Sunday.

Scarred childhood aside, luckily for me (and my new year’s resolution to tackle 2-wheeling) I’ve discovered the perfect place. Hyde Park has the best combination of wide, flat paths and enough significant points at which to stop and divert attention from my wobbles and frozen grin.

A friendly video explaining how the scheme works did little to dispel the fears that it would be overly complex, so it was off to Hyde Park corner to check them out myself.

A friend told me the membership fee was restrictive if you weren’t sure how often you’d use them, but there is an easy way to pay for casual membership as and when you need it. Pop in a credit card and you’ll be charged a daily fee of a quid, plus hourly use starting from a quid (but the first half hour is free) – just perfect for a few hours touring in the park.

My friend and I took advantage of the InterContinental London Park Lane’s free bike hire for guests and suited up for our outing. We had a picnic full of yummy pastries and savouries, warm jackets, gloves and the obligatory crash helmet (trust me – I need it) and even a rug with a flask of hot chocolate!

The bikes themselves were easy to eject, but you do wait a bit for the elusive green light. Yes, they feel a bit heavy but perhaps that actually makes them feel a bit sturdier? They have only 3 gears and a bell, but the best kit is the front bag rack with a huge elasticised strap to secure all your luggage.

I must say, it was thoroughly pleasant – I got enough practice in, broken up with feeding the ducks on the Serpentine, having a picnic brunch and generally take in the crisp sunny day. Being Wednesday lunchtime there were blessedly fewer tourists to maim with my turquoise greased lightning.

The website details other places for you to try and even without an iPhone you can use this nifty app to see where the best docking station is for you.  Now if only they rented training wheels….

Gosh, last night’s wine and cheese pairing at Cafe du Marche even exceeded my high expectations. One of my favourite restaurants in London, I was blown away by the hospitality, attentive service, warm Gallic ambiance and – most of all – the ample and fab samples of gorgeous wines and cheeses available to us lucky duck Qypers.

Guiding us through the marvelous worlds of cheese and wine were Cheese Cellar‘s Tom Badcock and Joel Lauga of Great Western Wine.  Rather than running down all their glorious pairings, I recommend to those unable to attend that y’all have a look-see at their sites and that you also book a table at Le Cafe ASAP. You’ll be hard pressed to find a more romantic setting for sampling wine and cheese along with some of the best French cuisine in London. However, I will say that dessert wine with blue cheese is very much a winning combo.

To quote Mr Badcock, the best cheeses are those “stroked by French troglodytes” for several months and that “violence and hatred toward your neighbours” is “alive and well in the world of cheese”. With considerably less aplomb and on a note of foodie practicality, Mr Lauga summed up last night’s lesson with this simple piece of knowledge to remember: the key to great cheese and wine is balance. A Thursday night of brilliantly selected cheese and wine in a lovely setting with lots of friendly people – a delightful balance was indeed struck! Viva le Qype.

If free events like this sound like a delicious way to spend an evening out, make sure to visit the Qypers Love Events forum for more fun stuff to come.