A STRAIGHT TALKING NEW ZEALAND LIFESTYLE BLOG

November 1, 2018

Travel Link Up: My Favourite Things…

This month’s Travel Link Up theme is “My Favourite Things” with the usual suspects Rebecca and Emma plus our awesome Kiwi co-host for November, Frankie from The Mayfairy.  My favourite movie of all time is The Sound of Music and I’ve visited Salzburg twice…and I want to return for a third time as I love the city so much.

I will admit to having the soundtrack on my iPod as well which I totally love…whenever my work colleagues over the years have gotten a tad stressed, I’ve always prescribed the sound track and forced them to listen to it until they’re in a happier place…usually by the second song they’re feeling instantly better.

Anyway…so my favourite things…

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

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Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens

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Brown paper packages tied up with strings

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These are a few of my favorite things

My Favourite Travel Photo

This is my favourite travel photo of Lisa and I in Krakow…we had such a brilliant weekend together even though I had the sniffles…Lisa is the best tour guide and sister that I could ever wish for…she completes me!

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This photo would be a close second…sweaty and hot in Belarus covered in cheap polyester…it was such a funny day as you can tell by the smiles on our faces…Belarus is amazing by the way!

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My Favourite Place for Ice Cream

Okay once again in Krakow…best place for ice cream in Europe is Lody…just do it!

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My Favourite Hotel Welcome Gift

Seriously a shoe cake…the guys at the Grande Bretagne in Athens will never be beaten…ever!

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And then the Sheraton in Krakow gave us a dragon…let’s just say the dragon sleeps with my sister each night in New Zealand.

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Starwood do the most amazing Hotel Welcome Gifts…thank you so much for every one!

My Favourite Place for Mocktails

Lisa and I had definitely rated the Sheraton in Krakow for mocktails…we couldn’t stop giggling over the fluffy kiwi mocktail as obviously we’re kiwis!

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My Favourite Place for Gluten Free Chocolate Eclairs

Two words…Helmut Newcake…in Paris…go to Paris just to eat these chocolate eclairs.

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My Favourite Up in the Air Photo

I’m petrified of heights but for some reason I love taking photos from the plane…my all time favourite is this one coming into land at Heathrow when we flew over Windsor Castle on a perfect May day.

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My Favourite Thing about London

The icons…I still get giddy when I see the Tower Bridge and Houses of Parliament.

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My Favourite London Event

I think I must have been a detective in a past life as I love snooping…my favourite London event is definitely the Open House weekend where you can snoop inside buildings which are normally closed off to the general public.

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My Favourite Place for a Shoefie in London

Duck and Waffle folks…go for the shoefie…they do gluten free waffles as well…you could go for those as well…and maybe the views

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My Favourite London Afternoon Tea

Claridge’s…my number one…where they don’t bat an eyelid when you turn up looking like this…with a broken arm, two black eyes, bruised teeth and a broken nose to have afternoon tea…I don’t recommend falling off a ladder and slamming your face into a man hole cover!

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My Favourite Train Station

If I ruled the world every train station would look like Porto…just saying.

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My Favourite View with Afternoon Tea

Afternoon Tea at the Old Cataract Hotel served up with a glorious sunset…the reason why we visited Egypt.

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My Favourite Place for Sunsets

African sunsets are incredible but for me there is nothing better than watching the sunset set over the Nile

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I have so much video footage and photos of these sunsets!

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My Favourite Thing about England 

Definitely the castles and the incredible amount of history…I remember a work colleague lending me a book about Henry VIII and I managed to read all 600+ pages in under a week (he was shocked) but it gave me a real passion to learn more about the history of England. Possibly the reason why I don’t watch Coronation Street or Eastenders…there are more saucy and scandalous plots in England’s history to discover in the great castles you can snoop inside.

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My Favourite Place to Play Princess for a Night

If you’re an expat make sure you book yourself in for a night at a castle…I’ve only done this once but it’s high on the list again and yes take your slippers like little old grandma did here…

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Thornbury Castle is a great place to spend a night and apparently Henry VIII slept at the castle once.

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My Favourite Place in England

Cambridge…a 30 minute drive from my house and just takes my breathe away with every visit…and it has great shopping.

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My Favourite English Summer Tradition

For some reason the English love to open up their gardens during the summer months, normally for charity and offer cream teas…I love this English Summertime tradition…and it makes me grateful that I don’t live in London anymore as this is definitely a “shires’ thing (but am sure you can find a few in London if you looked).

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My Favourite Thing about the English Seaside

Beach huts…and the more colourful the better!  And I will admit, I’ve never gone swimming at an English beach yet.

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My Favourite Travelling Hat

I bought this hat from Max Fashions in New Zealand years ago and it travels with me everywhere…it’s the first thing I pack when I go on holiday…always wear a hat…I managed to get skin cancer on my scalp…trust me wear a hat!

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My Favourite Travelling IBS Photo

This is what happens when things get lost in translation…hello gluten food baby…I’ve been expecting you!

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My Favourite Thing About Lifts in Hotels

You can take a sneaky selfie and nobody will judge you or roll their eyes.

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My Favourite Thing about Christmas in New Zealand

Christmas and sunshine go hand in hand…along with giant santas…preferably with a moving finger…

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…but my favourite thing is the gorgeous Pohutukawa tree…and my folks of course…that’s my mummy!

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My Favourite Christmas Market in Germany

I’ve visited quite a few…okay more than a few…a lot…Dresden is possibly my favourite but I think Hamburg would be a close second.

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My Favourite Thing about Travelling

Meeting new people…I love the pyramids (and I’ve seen them three times now) but on my last trip it was meeting all these cute little school kids and telling them about New Zealand and having loads of giggles with them…for me that is what travelling is about all…

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…and I like to talk to random strangers…it takes you out of your comfort zone and you just never know who you are going to meet.  Take the time to talk to the locals…and if you can’t speak to the language then a smile goes an awfully long way.

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