These are some of the typical questions posed by foreign visitors to Scotland attracted by Edinburgh’s festivals, Glasgow’s hidden charms and world-famous golf courses such as St Andrews.

All these things, of course, short-break visitors can fix for themselves.

But to explore the miles of rugged countryside outside those cities, and appreciate the stunning scenery and history of regions such as the Highlands, they usually need expert help.

That’s why Rabbie’s Trail Burners a tour company specialising in small-group excursions proved such a big hit when it started in 1993, attracting visitors from the rest of Britain and around the world.

Year round, Rabbie’s operates a luxury fleet of 23 Mercedes mini-coaches for a maximum of 16 people - driven by guides who enliven the commentary with a string of tales and humorous asides.

Our bus, departing from Glasgow, mixed visitors from the USA, Germany, Hungary, Japan and India, but we soon shared a smile.

Maybe humour is more international than we think?

On the first stage of our journey, we headed north on twisting roads along the banks of Loch Lomond.

The loch is also popular with day trippers, as Glasgow and Stirling are less than an hour away.

Our driver and tour guide Gilbert, supplied a history of the area.

After stopping for some photos of the loch, which is surrounded by hills and forests, we began crossing the ancient natural fault line that runs across Scotland.

We continued our journey into the majestic Highlands - where scenery can change quickly and dramatically. Flat, fertile Lowlands plains gave way to shimmering lochs, rugged mountain tops and forest-filled glens.

How easy to forget this was once a dangerous frontier, fought over by fiercely territorial Highland clans such as the MacGregors, made famous by the folk hero and outlaw, Rob Roy MacGregor.

Foreign tourists on the trip gasped as we wound our way through the glen, hanging on the driver’s every word as we learned about Mr MacGregor and his fate.

Bagpipe music in the background raised eyebrows and smiles. There was no mistaking we were in Scotland!

Travelling north through Breadalbane, which means ‘the high country’, we climbed towards desolate Rannoch Moor. At an altitude of more than 1,000ft, covered by heather and peat-bogs and dotted with dozens of pretty lochs, it is an untamed yet picturesque landscape. And it contrasted with the spectacular mountain scenery as we passed the peak of Buachaille Etive Mor and down into Scotland’s most famous valley, Glencoe.

In Fort William - to the delight of young American girls on our tour - we got our first sighting of kilts.

The further north you go, the more chance you have of seeing traditional dress.

In the shadow of Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain, Fort William targets tourists with twee gift shops selling shortbread, all things tartan and even haggis.

The town is a great base to explore the surrounding area, which is popular with climbers and outdoor enthusiasts. It is also part of the Mountain Biking World Cup circuit, offering some top-class runs.

Our next destination was made famous by a monster.

No-one knows for sure if Nessie actually exists, but there have been many sightings, some legendary, and even a grainy
photograph of a shadowy creature on the loch.

Since the 1930s, the inquisitive have flocked to the area to see more. No definitive proof ever suggested Nessie is real - but the Loch Ness Monster has attracted curious tourists to the area, eager to see a beast featured in big-budget Hollywood movies.

At 23 miles long and more than 700ft deep, Loch Ness is the largest loch by volume in Scotland and contains more water than every lake in England and Wales combined.

The pretty village of Drumnadrochit sits on the west shore of the loch and is a popular base.

There is no shortage of B&Bs and guest houses. There are also several hotels overlooking the loch.

From Loch Ness we headed south again, stopping briefly in Spean Bridge before heading through the mountains of the Cairngorms National Park.

Our route took us alongside Loch Laggan, the setting for the British TV series ‘Monarch Of The Glen’, over the Drumochter Pass at 1,500ft above sea level and past 13th century Blair Castle, the ancestral home of the Duke of Atholl.

Last stop was the pretty resort town of Pitlochry, built on Victorian tourism and nestled among the mountains of Highland Perthshire.

After fish and chips, without a fried Mars Bar in sight I might add, we headed back to Glasgow - all of us thanking Rabbie for cramming so much into such a short time.

How to get there
Emirates flies direct to Glasgow from Dubai, while Rabbie’s Trail Burners, offers award-winning small-group tours around Scotland. Call +44 131 226 3133 or visit www.rabbies.com

Los Angeles trades off its Hollywood glamour, San Francisco its hippy past and New York well, it needs no epithet. And Chicago? We can name deep-pan pizza and corrupt local government as two of its better known products.

But there is far more to the city than this.

Unlike its supercool cousins, Chicago does not sit on the trendy East or West Coast, but in the rather less hip Midwest.

This makes it something of an unexpected treasure when, after a drive through the endless Illinois prairie land, its majestic skyscrapers appear on the horizon.

Built on the shore of Lake Michigan, it is a modern metropolis accommodating some of the finest architecture in the Western world.

The best way to see it is by boat.  To get my bearings, I took a Chicago Architecture Foundation cruise along the turquoise river that snakes through the heart of the city.

Towering overhead on both banks, against a piercing blue sky, were a dizzying number of Victorian, Modernist, neo-classical, neo-Gothic and Postmodernist masterpieces - all built since the Great Fire of 1871, which all but destroyed the centre.

The blaze provided Chicago with an opportunity to start afresh and fashion a wonderfully liveable new city from the embers of the old.

European influences abound - as one tour guide told us, “America didn’t have its own architectural style before Frank Lloyd Wright” - but Chicago looks nothing like anywhere in Europe. Its triumphs include Tribune Tower, whose resemblance to a cathedral is not accidental - the home of the Chicago Tribune was inspired by Rouen Cathedral in Normandy, complete with decorative buttresses and scrollwork.

A sort of Midwestern Xanadu perhaps.

My favourite - The Carbide and Carbon Building is designed to look like a champagne bottle, with every bit as much fizz and sparkle in its unusual gold tower and dark green base. And then there’s the beach a charmingly incongruous addition to the urban landscape.

Gaze out from it across the lake and you’ll fancy yourself on a seaside holiday.

Turn around and you’ll see the skyscrapers looming over you - a surprising contrast.

The pleasant walk along the lake shore - or cycle ride, if you prefer  will take you to touristy Navy Pier. Here, the air hangs heavy with the smell of fast food while greedy yet agile seagulls swoop to snatch morsels dropped by the overfed crowds.

Sandwiched between the usual end-of-pier attractions is a McDonald’s restaurant whose sign sports the legend: ‘McDonald’s the future.’

But in Chicago, McDonald’s is very much the present.

Somehow I can forgive this though. For a fan of Americana in all its glorious and inglorious forms, the ubiquitous fast food chain is far easier on the eye here than it is at home.

Still, while Navy Pier merits a visit especially for the twice-weekly firework display it is not a place to spend the bulk of your time. I lingered longer in the Art Institute of Chicago. A whole day, in fact.

With one of the best collections of Impressionist paintings in the world, this enormous gallery is an art lover’s paradise.

Also worth a look is the American Modern Art section, where Grant Wood’s American Gothic hangs alongside works by Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe and others. And when your aching feet can’t take any more, conceptual art-filled Millennium Park offers a vast expanse of green on which to lay back and take in that skyscraper-lined skyline some more.

The park will give your purse a rest as well and allow you some time to recharge but have no fear, Chicago is not a city that never sleeps. There’s no lack of nightlife, but it does get its beauty sleep. Maybe that’s why it feels so laid back and fresh.

After dark, if you squint, you can picture Gotham City.

But open your eyes wide and you’ll see the Midwest’s finest jewel: a
stunningly conceived slice of urban America - with Coke and extra fries.

Chicago - the facts
Best for: Spectacular architecture and rich history.
Time to go: Early summer or early autumn, when the climate is moderate.
Don’t miss: A river boat tour is the ideal way to see the city.
Need to know: The CTA - Chicago’s train system - is a good way to get around but taxis are also relatively cheap.
Don’t forget: Save the diet for when you get home: burgers, chops and hot dogs are standard Chicago fare.

How to get there
Etihad flies direct to Chicago and Emirates has several routes to the US, from which you can take a connection to Chicago.

www.visitchicago.com to plan your trip

It’s a brave woman who attempts to prise a sun-worshipping 17-year-old away from a pool, and suggests instead a worthy programme of sightseeing and exploring a fascinating historical and archaeological location.

At the mere mention of the ‘C’ word - culture, not clubbing she raised her sunglasses, stared in disbelief and uttered the words: “Err, hello, I thought this was supposed to be a holiday!”

Heated discussions ensued as we lazed in the glorious surroundings of five-star Aldemar Royal Mare Village in Hersonissos on the island’s north coast.

Suddenly, I could understand the stress suffered by Greece’s poor politicians negotiating with the EU to save the country from bankruptcy.

But, secretly, I could understand Sarah’s reluctance to leave this spot which is surprisingly idyllic despite being only a half an hour taxi ride from the airport and Crete’s capital, Heraklion.

Finally, I resorted to bribery to persuade my daughter to leave our relaxing sanctuary. She agreed to join three excursions in return for a shopping trip and a visit to nearby Malia, the clubbing capital of Crete and a favourite of British youngsters who flock there each summer.

Fortunately, our first outing was the Cretan antidote to a teenage sulk a lively Jeep Safari trip up into the mountains.

Our English guide, Robert regaled us and our fellow travellers backpackers and over sixties with ‘bite size’ history and humorous anecdotes.

The dramatic island landscape includes stunning mountain ranges, dotted with caves and gorges, which are home to an endangered species vultures.

We spotted the rare bearded vulture which can fly at speed and use its 10ft wing span to kill a goat by knocking it off the
hillside. Fortunately, it didn’t fancy a stroppy adolescent for lunch!

Inland, the island is said to include around 35 million olive trees, one of them possibly 5,000 years old.

Extra virgin olive oil earns more for the island than tourism.

We drove along rugged roads, through carpets of wild flowers and breezes headily scented with aromatic herbs all growing wild. We escaped the heat in the largest forest on the island, following a winding route littered with roadside shrines honouring accident victims.

Luckily, we saw the extraordinary sight of a goat standing on top of a tree before lunch at a hillside cafe. Otherwise I might have blamed Raki, the Greek fermented wine we had consumed.

Apparently, herds of wild goats ‘cri cri’ roam this area, part of the fertile Plateau of Lasithi, all agile enough to climb trees and nibble foliage. It’s impossible to ignore the wealth of Greek mythology, and we descended hundreds of steps to go deep into an enormous and awe-inspiring cave hung with stalactites and stalagmites that legend relates is the birthplace of Zeus, father of all the Gods.

Our safari day - costing 70 euros (dhs322) per person was a brilliant awakening to the natural beauty and legends of Crete, while a boat trip to the tiny, rocky island of Spinalonga, Greece’s main leper colony for half a century to 1957, was a fascinating insight into social history.  Its poignant serenity was in complete contrast to Heraklion, the commercial heart of Crete, where we hunted ‘designer’ label bargains in heaving markets before visiting Knossos, three miles to the south.

This vast archaeological site is the village where Sir Arthur Evans, then director of Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, found proof that the mythical ancient civilisation of Crete really existed. He named them Minoans after their well known king, Minos.

What remains today is a complex maze of rooms, ruins and intriguing glimpses of artefacts and frescos. Go early in the morning or late in the day to avoid heat and crowds.

The final part of our bargain remained a visit to a culture-free zone Malia, which certainly lived up to Sarah’s expectations with seemingly endless discos, ‘English’ bars, fast food and long, sandy beaches. Teenage bliss...

So mother and daughter found harmony at last. The two ‘C’s culture and clubbing seem an unlikely holiday cocktail, but they mixed together rather well.

How to get there?
Emirates flies to the Greek capital of Athens where you can pick up an internal flight with Olympic Air to Heraklion, Crete.
Visit the sites www.emirates.com and www.olympicair.com