A quintessential experience is to raft the Rio Grande through the Blue Mountains, stopping off at waterfalls and having picnics of barbecued fish.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are an incredible place.

My obsession with eating out partly comes from having spent 10 long years at English boarding schools in the 1980s, where food was pretty low on the list.

In the same way I am addicted to puddings - the sweeter the better - I have become addicted to the daily routines my Pilates and Gyrotonic guru, Nada, puts me through.

I base jumped off the Jesus statue in Rio de Janeiro.

When she reached the shallow end, Kingsley held out his hand and pulled her up, but she lost her step and fell into his arms, her body crushing momentarily against his.