The Travel Diaries

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Travel & Leisure's Jacqui Gifford Aug 25, 2020

Show notes

Today, I’m joined by Jacqui Gifford, the Editor-in-Chief of America’s biggest travel magazine, Travel & Leisure. With a circulation of almost two million and an online readership of nine million, the magazine has always inspired me with its incredible covers, breathtaking photography and moving features, and Jacqui will absolutely inspire you with this episode. Having lived all over the world, and specialising in travel and lifestyle content for two decades, she has so many wonderful destinations in her travel diaries for you to add to your travel wish list. From Anguilla and Mexico to Bermuda and Puglia, speaking to me from NYC, these are the travel diaries of Travel & Leisure’s Jacqui Gifford.

Destination Recap:

Long Island, New York, USA
Kauai, Hawaii, USA
Japan: Tokyo, Peninsula Hotel Tokyo, Okinawa, and Setouchi
Saudi Arabia
Ireland: West Coast and Dublin
Morocco: Marrakech and Dar Ahlam, Atlas Mountains
Paris, France: Le Meurice, Shangri-La Paris and Park Hyatt Paris
Borgo Egnazia, Puglia, Italy
Gritti Palace, Venice, Italy
Bermuda
Mexico: Oaxaca and San Miguel de Allende
Anguilla: Belmond Cap Juluca, Four Seasons Anguilla, Malliouhana and Zemi Beach House
Riga, Latvia
Rwanda
Southern India including Goa and Kerala, and Varanasi

Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a rating or a review, why not do so now? Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast.

Don’t forget to hit subscribe so that every week a new episode will appear in your library.

To find out who’s on next week’s show, come and find me on Instagram. I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. And visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com for everything else podcast-related.

And If Jacqui has tempted you to visit the West Coast of Ireland, one of the most magnificent places to stay is Adare Manor - found out more, here.

This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Jane Goodall Aug 18, 2020

Show notes

Today, I’m joined by legendary ethologist and conservationist Dame Dr Jane Goodall, known best for her groundbreaking research of wild chimpanzees.

When Jane moved from England to Gombe in Tanzania, at the age of just 26, virtually nothing was known about chimpanzees in the wild. Her findings, in particular observing them using tools to get food, changed our understanding of animal behaviour and the natural world, and propelled Jane to international fame. What makes this even more astounding is that at the time, she had no formal scientific qualifications. Still running today, the study is the world’s longest running continuous wildlife research project.

Jane has since been named a United Nations Messenger of Peace and was invested as a dame of the British Empire. Now at the age of 86 she remains a dedicated activist, travelling 300 days of every year (before covid), becoming equally well known as a conservationist and a champion of human rights.

Destination Recap:

Bournemouth
Serengeti
Gombe
Germany
Cape Town
Tanzania
Nebraska
Malaysia
Tendaguru, Tanzania
Lubbock ,Texas
Auschwitz
Haiti
Death

Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a rating or a review, why not do so now? Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast.

Don’t forget to hit subscribe so that you receive a new episode each week.

If you want to get involved or find out more about Jane’s work, visit www.janegoodall.org.uk and www.rootsnshoots.org.uk

The documentary, Jane, is currently available on Netflix and is a fantastic watch.

Book your stay at the spectacular Gleneagles hotel at https://gleneagles.com/

This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Cracknell Aug 11, 2020

Show notes

Today, I’m joined by the sportsman, adventurer and double Olympic gold medallist, James Cracknell. We first got to know James as part of the coxless four rowing team, alongside Steve Redgrave, that won gold at the Sydney Olympics. Several world titles later, James went on to take part in countless feats of endurance, from becoming the highest ever placed Brit to run the Marathon des Sables, the hottest hardest race in the world, to rowing the Atlantic in a two man boat, and racing to the South Pole with his friend Ben Fogle, who you might have heard on the podcast earlier this season.

Then, in 2010, James’s life was turned upside down. While cycling in a race across America, he was struck by a lorry and experienced a serious brain injury that left him in a coma. As we discuss, his journey to recovery has been anything but straightforward, but his story is one of sheer determination and resilience, ultimately leading him to return to university - Cambridge, no less - where he became the oldest ever winner of the famous Oxbridge boat race.

Travel has been hugely important to James. Of course he’s spent a lot of time on some of the world’s most beautiful lakes and rivers - and I love being by the water, so I really enjoyed hearing about those. And his Slovenian hidden gem is a spot that I’ve now added to my travel wish list, and I’m sure you might do too.

Destination Recap:

Biarritz, France
Lac d’Aiguebelette, France
Galtür, Austria
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Annecy, France
South Pole, Antarctica
Rowing the Atlantic Ocean
Lake Bled, Slovenia
Lake Maggiore, Italy / Switzerland
Grand Canyon National Park, USA
The Amazon
Tepui Table Top Mountains, Venezuela

Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a rating or a review, why not do so now? Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast.

Don’t forget to hit subscribe so that every week a new episode will appear in your library.

To find out more about Lanserhof at the Arts Club and Lanserhof Sylt, visit https://www.lanserhof.com/en

This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wanderlust Magazine's Lyn Hughes Aug 04, 2020

Show notes

Today, I’m joined by Lyn Hughes, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of one of the UK's best-loved travel magazines, Wanderlust. In the early nineties Lyn and her late husband were bored on a flight to South America, so they schemed out their dream travel magazine on the back of a sick-bag. The idea stuck and, returning to the UK a few months later, they launched Wanderlust magazine from their spare bedroom, with Lyn as editor and her husband, Paul, as publisher. The magazine gradually grew through word of mouth, and now, years later, it’s one of the UK’s leading travel magazines. Of course, through her work with the magazine, Lyn has travelled all around the world, and has her finger on the pulse of what’s hot and what’s not when it comes to travel. I particularly love her hidden gem in this episode and along with her travel diaries we cover wildlife travel, future travel trends, and of course a little bit of travel during Covid - it’s hard to escape it at the moment. As usual, though, the plan is to transport you far away from all those worries, so from New Zealand and Borneo, to Macedonia and Morocco here are the travel diaries of Lynn Hughes.

Destination Recap:

Southport, Merseyside, England
Exmoor, Devon, England
Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, England
Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore trip
Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia
African safaris including Zambia
Caiman Lodge, The Pantanal, Brazil
Kaikoura, New Zealand
Marrakech, Morocco
Number 43, Cumbria, England
Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia
St Naum Monastery, North Macedonia
Japan
Sumatra, Indonesia
Sabah, Borneo

Wanderlust Magazine is available in all good newsagents as well as online at wanderlust.co.uk

Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a rating or a review, why not do so now? Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast.

Don’t forget to hit subscribe so that every week a new episode will appear in your library.

To find out more about Lanserhof at the Arts Club and Lanserhof Sylt, visit https://www.lanserhof.com/en

This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Giles Coren Jul 28, 2020

Show notes

This week, I’m joined by the food writer and TV presenter, Giles Coren. Giles has been a restaurant critic and columnist for The Times for 17 years and alongside chef Monica Galetti, he is the presenter of Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby, which sees him travel the globe, visiting some of the world’s most incredible hotels, rolling up his sleeves to work alongside their staff. As well as some fabulous hotels, stay tuned for some fab foodie recommendations too.

I loved chatting to Giles - his take on travel amused me from start to finish. I hope you enjoy it too!

Destination Recap:

MGM Macau
Kenyan safari
Andalucía, Spain
La Petite Maison, London, England
Chewton Glen, Hampshire, England
Le Gavroche, London, England
The River Cafe, London, England
Min Jiang, London, England
Gymkhana, London, England
Palmers, London, England
Scott’s, London, England
J Sheekey, London, England
Inter-railing around Europe
Tourettes-sur-loup, France
Corsica, France
Giraffe Manor, Kenya
Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Switzerland
Schloss Elmau, Germany
The Brando, French Polynesia
The Bell Inn, Langford, England
Kerala, India
Cuba

Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby is out now on BBC 2, and is also available on BBC iPlayer.

Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a rating or a review, why not do so now? Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast.

Don’t forget to hit subscribe so that every week a new episode will appear in your library.

This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ed Stafford Jul 21, 2020

Show notes

On today’s episode, I’m joined by the explorer and survivalist Ed Stafford. In 2010, Ed became the first person to walk the entire length of the Amazon River, a feat that took 860 days and put him on the map as one of our most prominent and exciting adventurers. From there here’s gone on to present and self film more massive challenges, like living in complete isolation on a desert island for 60 days without food, clothes or equipment, or being left for dead in various extreme environments around the world from Madagascar to Mongolia. These became incredible TV series that I’ve watched religiously and couldn’t recommend more.

Ed is someone I’ve wanted to interview for the very beginning but like so many of my dream guests he’s normally always travelling so I was lucky to finally get this time to speak with him and I hope you enjoy what I think is a really raw and honest account of the spiritual and emotional development that comes with travel - as well as hearing about some inspiring destinations along the way.

Destination Recap:

Henfaes, Aberdaron, Wales
Leicestershire, England
Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England
Walking the length of the Amazon river
Olorua, Fiji
Argentine Patagonia
Northern Thailand
Ibiza, Spain
Antarctica

Ed’s new podcast, Dangerous Minds, is out now

Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a rating or a review, why not do so now? Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast.

And don't forget to hit subscribe so that every week a new episode will appear in your library.

Huge thanks to The Lygon Arms hotel for their support for today’s episode - you can follow them here

This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sir Michael Palin Jul 14, 2020

Show notes

Sir Michael Palin - where do you start! He’s a legendary comedian, part of pop culture history as one of Monty Python. He’s a BAFTA-winning actor, a best-selling author, and one of our most loved travel documentarians and travel writers. His journeys across the world, beginning with Around the World in 80 Days, followed by Pole to Pole, Full Circle, Sahara, Himalaya, Brazil and more, were a key part of how many of us discovered the world growing up, through his eyes, and through his warmth and curiosity with whoever he encountered along the way.

From Saharan Africa and the Amazon, to western Scotland and North Korea, it was such an honour to hear the travel diaries of Sir Michael Palin. I hope you enjoy them.

Destination recap:

Sheffield, England
Norfolk, England
Solden, Austria
Venice, Italy
Barbados
Morocco
Mauritania
Chinguetti, Mali
Persian gulf to Indian Ocean dhow boat trip
West coast of Scotland including Glencoe
Aberfeldy, Scotland
New York, USA
Istanbul, Turkey
Kolkata, India
Pongo de Mainique, Peru
North Korea
Algiers
Vietnam
Gulag camps, Kolyma, Russia
Mongolia and the 'Stans
Altai Mountains
Walking in the Dolomites, Italy

Michael Palin’s North Korea Journal is out now, and available from all good bookshops.

Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a rating or a review, why not do so now? Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast.

Hit subscribe and every week a new episode will appear in your library.

This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beautiful Destinations founder, Jeremy Jauncey Jul 07, 2020

Show notes

Jeremy Jauncey is the founder and CEO of the world’s largest online travel community, Beautiful Destinations, which has a combined social following of over 25 million people.

The jaw-dropping photos on Beautiful Destinations’s Instagram feed have provided me with endless travel inspiration and undoubtedly influenced some of my travel choices.

And what was once a passion project has become a global business, with Beautiful Destinations offices based out of the US, UK and Asia.

While it might look like Jeremy spends most of his time being photographed in some of the most epic locations around the world - meditating on North Island in the Seychelles, hugging giant pandas in China, posing on a horse rearing in front of a pyramid in Egypt - most of the time he is actually consulting with major travel brands and tourist boards, helping them to tell inspiring stories through social first content.

This conversation gives a deep insight into the business of travel and travel marketing, of the power of imagery, and the power of human connection.

From New Zealand and Japan to the Philippines and Norwegian Fjordland, these are the travel diaries of Jeremy Jauncey.

Destination recap:

Perth, Scotland
New Zealand
Colombia
Panama
Rwanda
Singapore
New York City, USA
Tokyo, Japan
Palawan, Borocay and El Nido, Philippines
Siargao, Philippines
Scandinavia, in particular Norway including Fjordland and Lofoten Islands

You can follow Jeremy on Instagram @jeremyjauncey and of course @beautifuldestinations, too.

Thank you also to CV Villas - you can browse and book their stunning villas around the world, here

If you’ve enjoyed this episode today then don’t forget to subscribe and leaving a review or a rating really helps others to discover the podcast. And to find out who’s on next week’s show come and find me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein - I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks so much for listening and I’ll see you again next week.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fabulous France - Destination Special Jul 01, 2020

Show notes

Bonjour! As quarantine-free travel is soon to be announced between France and England, here is a bonus episode celebrating Fabulous France to whet your appetite and inspire your future travel plans.

As well as hearing from some of my favourite guests from the past two seasons, today’s show is introduced by Nicola Williams, France expert for The Telegraph and Lonely Planet. She shares her experience of living in France during lockdown and her top tips and hidden gems to visit across the country now that we can travel freely again.

Destination Recap:

Nadiya Hussain - Paris
Rachel Khoo - Paris
Conde Nast Traveller’s Melinda Stevens - Le Bristol Paris hotel, La Reserve Paris hotel
Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa
Rick Stein - Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne; Jura; Collioure and Perpignan
Ella Eyre - La Clusaz
Jo Malone - Grasse; Mougins; La Colombe d’Or Hotel, St Paul de Vence, France
Raymond Blanc - Provence

Nicola Williams on…

Ile de Ré
Le Martiniere Ice Cream shop, Ile de Ré
Haute-Savoie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Nernier, Haute-Savoie
Château de la Treyne, Lots, Dordogne
Les Prés d'Eugénie, Eugénie-les-Bains, Les Landes

Thank you so much for listening today. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating or a review, why not do so now! Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast. Come and find me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. And to delve into the back catalogue, visit thetraveldiariespodcast.com

Don’t forget you can listen on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher and pretty much all other podcast apps. Hit subscribe so that each new episode lands magically into your feed.

See you next week!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben Fogle Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

It’s the start of Season 3, and who better to join me to celebrate than Ben Fogle? Ben is not only an award-winning broadcaster, fronting many of our most loved TV shows - he is also one of the UK’s most prolific adventurers. He has rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco, run the Marathon Des Sables (a 6 day ultra marathon across the Sahara Desert), raced across the Antarctica to the South Pole and most recently climbed Mount Everest.

He’s written nine best-selling books - many about travel - and has the enviable title of the United Nations Patron of the Wilderness. And speaking of the Wilderness, he has travelled to every corner of the globe while filming his long-running hit TV series, New Lives in the Wild, a notion that feels particularly relevant right now during lockdown.

Get ready to be transported to Guatemala, the top of Mt Everest, Ethiopia, the Canadian Wilderness and…Ayia Napa, Here, are the travel diaries of Ben Fogle.

Destination Recap:

Taransay, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
Lake Chemong, Ontario, Canada
British Columbia, Canada
Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada
Latin America
Quito, Ecuador
Antigua, Guatemala
Bolivia
Pitcairn Island, South Pacific
Pleistocene Park, Siberia
The Atlantic Ocean
Mt Everest, Nepal
Cornwall, England
Ethiopia
Lalibela, Ethiopia
Ayia Napa, Mallorca, Spain
Haiti
The Great Wall of China, China
The North Pole
The South Pole

The Wilderness Collection for Barbour by Ben and Marina Fogle is available from www.benfogle.com

Thank you so much for listening today. If you haven’t yet left a rating or a review, why not do so now? Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast.

Don’t forget you can listen on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher and pretty much all other podcast apps. Hit subscribe and every week a new episode will appear in your library.

To find out who’s on next week’s show come and find me on Instagram. I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. And visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com for everything podcast-related.

Today’s episode was recorded during the UK’s Covid-19 lockdown. It was produced by Holly Rubenstein.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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