The Travel Diaries

Today, I’m joined by the travel writer and broadcaster, Simon Calder. He’s TV’s travel guru, and the travel editor at the Independent newspaper, where he’s known as “the man who pays his way” because he doesn’t accept any freebies from the travel trade - and in this episode, he gives some great tips for travelling on a budget. Simon’s got a great story because his first job was at Gatwick airport, cleaning planes and working on security, and the notion of simply travelling abroad while working there felt like a distant dream. Now of course, he spends his life travelling the world - and this episode includes such a variety of fascinating and unusual locations that this had to be a ‘long haul’ feature length episode.Make sure you stay tuned for his all time favourites and hidden gems - there are some really interesting ones in there - I’m already dreaming up some travels from those. Here’s a recap of the destinations mentioned:Swanage, Dorset, England Lake District, EnglandGuernsey, Channel Islands, EnglandGranada, SpainSkye, ScotlandIsle of Wight FestivalAconcagua, ArgentinaSantiago, ChileEast BerlinTirana, AlbaniaCubaNew York, USAMumbai, IndiaEsquinas Rainforest Lodge, Costa RicaPan American Highway - Nuevo Laredo, Mexico to PanamaMexico City, MexicoPuebla, MexicoWahaca, MexicoWuppertaler Schwebebahn, (Wuppertal Suspension Railway), Germany Tiraspol, MoldovaThe AzoresSyracuse, SicilyArctic Canada and Greenland cruiseCaribbean cruisingAlaska to Canada cruiseCuillin, Skye, ScotlandNepalMt Vinson, AntarcticaYou can follow Simon’s travels on his Twitter page, @Simoncalder - and tune in to his podcast which is on Soundcloud, it’s called Escape podcast. 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. Don’t forget you can listen on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher and pretty much all other podcast apps. 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.And visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com for everything podcast-related.This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m joined by the historian and broadcaster, Dan Snow. You’re probably already a fan of his podcast, Dan Snow’s History Hit. Following in the footsteps of his journalist parents, Dan is now a mainstay on our TV screens, often presenting programmes linked to his love of history - and history and travel of course come hand in hand. I enjoyed this chat with Dan so much that it had to be a “long haul” feature length episode. As well as bringing to life so many far flung destinations (check out that list below!) Dan’s insights into the meaning of travel, and the impact of travel, I found to be fascinating. I hope you do too! Destination Recap:North WalesZanzibar, TanzaniaTimbuktu, MaliMount Assiniboine, Western CanadaMaui, Hawaii, USAAmsterdam, Holland Oberoi Hotel, Jaipur, IndiaIcelandVasa Museum, Stockholm, SwedenStockholm Archipelago, SwedenNorthumberland, EnglandLancashire, EnglandChinaDemocratic Republic of the CongoSyriaNew England, USASt Helena, South Atlantic OceanSao Tome & PrincipeMicronesiaYou can listen to Dan’s brilliant podcast, Dan Snow’s History Hit here. And check out his online history channel, HistoryHit.TV too.Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, 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 to find out more about the podcast, visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com This is episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m joined by one of the most prolific magicians of all time - Dynamo.250 million viewers around the world tuned in to watch his award-winning TV shows, as he levitated in front of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro; and seemingly walked on water down London’s River Thames. 750,000 attended his last stadium tour, with famous fans from Jay Z and Snoop Dogg, to Gwyneth Paltrow and Ed Sheeran.And then, at the very peak of his success, he had to step away.As you’ll hear on this episode, Dynamo became so ill from the affects of Crohn’s disease that he spent months in hospital, thinking he would never be able to perform magic again. Now, 5 years later, having come close to death, Dynamo’s resilience and determination mean he’s back. He’s been working on a new show which will take viewers on a magical journey across the globe. From Bradford to Japan, and Syria to Australia, these are the travel diaries of Dynamo. Destination recap:Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USABradford, Yorkshire, England IndiaTokyo, JapanChūbu, JapanSyriaWolgan Valley, Blue Mountains, AustraliaLondon, EnglandHampstead Heath, London, EnglandChiltern Firehouse, London, England Bar Bruno, Soho, London, EnglandHarlem, New York, USAGorilla Trekking, RwandaDynamo new show Beyond Belief is on Sky One now.Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, 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 to find out more about the podcast, visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m joined by the much loved chef, restauranteur and TV presenter, Tom Kerridge. Tom’s worked in food since he was 18 years old, but he rose to fame when his pub in Buckinghamshire, The Hand and Flowers, went on to become the only pub in Britain with two Michelin stars. I, like many, got to know and love him on the BBC’s Great British Menu show, where he was the first chef to cook at the banquet two years in a row and he’s since gone on to release several best selling cook books and many popular TV shows. More recently, he’s made headlines with his dramatic 12 stone weight loss. As well as chatting a bit about that, Tom takes us on a journey across the UK, Europe, Asia and the US with his travel diaries, and lots of foodie recommendations along the way. This is what I call a “long haul” episode - you’re getting a bit more this week because Tom is so lovely and we just couldn’t stop chatting. I hope you’ll really enjoy it.Destination recap:Isle of Wight, EnglandOstend, BelgiumAgistri, GreeceCrete, GreecePaphos, CyprusSingaporeHong KongNew York, USANorth Kent coast, EnglandWhitstable, EnglandThe Good Shed, Canterbury, EnglandThe Fordwich Arms, Canterbury, EnglandThe Compasses Inn, CrundaleThe Sportsman, SeasalterLaplandIndiaJapanTom’s new book, Lose Weight and Get Fit, is out now, and you can watch the accompanying BBC 2 series on Wednesday nights at 8.30pm.Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, 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 to find out more about the podcast, visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BAFTA winner and Oscar nominee, Dev Patel, is one of Britain’s finest young actors.He first graced our screens in the seminal teen drama, Skins, before going on to make his movie debut in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, which picked up eight Oscars, including Best Picture. He’s gone on to star in many more critically acclaimed films, including The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and Lion, for which he won a BAFTA, and received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.Now, he’s taken the lead role in Armando Ianucci’s adaptation of The Personal History of David Copperfield, which is already a critic’s favourite.Like in Season One, this episode I’ve called a "short haul" episode, because I didn’t have quite as much interview time as I normally do. The way that it tends to work with movie stars is you meet up in a hotel - in this case it was the Soho Hotel in London, which is a real celeb haunt - and you’re given quite a tight time slot before the next interviewer comes in. If you’ve seen Notting Hill, it’s like when Hugh Grant interviews Julia Roberts for Horse & Hound!Despite literally just getting off a flight from LA, Dev was as warm and down to earth as he seems on screen, and having shot movies and travelled all around the world in some fascinating locations, I really hope you’ll enjoy hearing his travel diaries.Destination recap:Gujarat, India Mumbai, IndiaChor Bazaar, Mumbai, India Alibag, IndiaTokyo, JapanSouth KoreaNorfolk, EnglandKoreatown, Los Angeles, USAQuarters, Los Angeles, USAToe Bang, Los Angeles, USAJohannesburg, South AfricaSoweto, South AfricaNew Zealand Dev’s new movie, The Personal History of David Copperfield is out now.Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, 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 to find out more about the podcast, visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m joined by international treasure and culinary royalty, Rick Stein. He’s graced our screens, and lined our bookshelves for over 25 years, cooking up cuisine from all over the world. Fish is his great love, served in his restaurant empire from Padstow, Cornwall to Sydney, Australia.Along with his travel diaries, we talk about the very surprising career path he originally pursued that had nothing to do with food; how the loss of his father led him on a real voyage of self discovery; and he reveals which destinations he’s tipping for this year’s culinary hit list. All that and more, coming up. Destination recap: Isles of Scilly, EnglandPadstow, Cornwall, EnglandCombrée, France Cantabria, Spain Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne, France Jura, France Collioure, France,Perpignan, France Alice Springs, AustraliaIceland Rajasthan, IndiaLucknow, IndiaSydney, Australia Tbilisi, Georgia Bologna, Italy Trieste, ItalyBuenos Aires, Argentina Rick Stein’s Secret France is out now and his accompanying TV series is on BBC iPlayer.Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, 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 to find out more about the podcast, visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s season finale, I’m joined by one of the world’s greatest chefs, Raymond Blanc.Raymond had a very humble start to life in rural France and his journey to opening Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, the internationally-renowned Cotswolds country house hotel where he’s been the chef patron since it opened in 1984 is nothing short of extraordinary. For half of his life he’s held two Michelin stars - the only chef in the UK to have retained two stars for so long. And of course in time, with his success, he has travelled the world, and has many stories to tell. I spoke to Raymond at the Cheval Three Quays apartments, looking out at the London skyline. I don’t think I’ve ever met somebody overflowing with as much passion and joie de vivre as Raymond. It came as no surprise to hear that 34 of his protégés have gone on to win their own Michelin stars, including Marco Pierre White and Michael Caines. His passion is infectious.Destination recap:Franche-Comté, FranceSwitzerlandProvence, FranceBesançon, FranceKuching, Malaysia Japanese Tea House Garden, Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, EnglandBarocay, Philippines Hong KongNice, Provence, FranceBelmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons celebrates 35 years this year.Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, 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 to find out more about the podcast, visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m joined by one of the world’s most influential and multi-award winning travel writers, the global editor in chief of Condé Nast Traveller UK and US, Melinda Stevens. She’s a trend setter, taste maker and considered by many to be travel royalty. After beginning her writing career at Vogue Magazine, Melinda went on to become a columnist for the Sunday Times and Evening Standard, and the travel editor at Tatler, before taking the helm at Condé Nast Traveller.Reading Condé Nast Traveller - the way the writers would transport me to far flung places with the power of their words - was my inspiration for becoming a travel writer. So heading to its offices in the heart of London’s Mayfair, where the walls were lined with its iconic covers, was really thrilling.Unsurprisingly, Melinda has her finger on the pulse of the hottest destinations, which we of course discuss, as well as reflecting on some of the all time greats. And she gives a real insight into the makings of a top magazine. This is wanderlust guaranteed.Destination Recap:Frinton on sea, Essex, England The Long Mynd, Shropshire, England Bali, IndonesiaRoad trip from Seattle, Washington, through Idaho, Wyoming and MontanaRoad trip from Sun Valley Utah, through Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico Danakil Depression, EthiopiaKazakstan Charleston, South Carolina, USA                       The BahamasKerala, IndiaRajasthan, IndiaCala di Volpe, SardiniaAmilla Fushi, MaldivesHotel Escencia, MexicoLe Bristol, Paris The Mercer, New YorkLa Reserve, ParisHondurasBelgrade, Serbia Soviet Russia EgyptSleeper train from London to Scottish Highlands Belmond trainsJapanCondé Nast Traveller magazine is available in all good newsagents.You can follow Melinda's Instagram here, as well as the magazine here, for all the travel inspo you could ever need.Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, 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 to find out more about the podcast, visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, I’m joined by Gyles Brandreth. Summing up the life and career of Gyles is no easy feat. He’s a prolific broadcaster, actor, journalist, novelist, biographer and podcaster, and he was formerly an MP and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury. You'll have seen him on Celebrity Googlebox; Countdown's Dictionary Corner hundreds of times, as well as on numerous TV panel shows. He's even the President of the Association of British Scrabble Players!Through all these different jobs Gyles has travelled the world several times over, from Sri Lanka and Dubai to former Soviet Russia and East Germany. As you’ll hear, though, it’s the British seaside staycation that Gyles loves most.Destination recap:Norderney, GermanyIsle of Thanet, Kent, England Broadstairs, Kent, EnglandSwitzerlandCorfu, GreeceFranceIceland Isle of Wight, EnglandSri LankaIndiaDubaiSardiniaSicilyMexicoBelfast, Northern IrelandSwansea, WalesRussiaEast Berlin, East GermanyMekong Delta, Vietnam and CambodiaHeaven!‘Dancing by the Light of the Moon - over 250 poems to read, recite and relish’ is out now.Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, 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 to find out more about the podcast, visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com This is episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m joined by James Lohan, the co-founder - and the Mr - of Mr & Mrs Smith, the much-loved boutique and luxury hotel booking service and travel club. It all began when James and his wife Tamara (aka Mrs Smith) decided to go about creating their own boutique hotel guidebook, travelling the UK to dine the best spots for a luxurious weekend break. The book was a huge success, and the business has since grown to include a popular online booking service, and its membership programme now has more than a million global members.In 2014, James and Tamara received MBEs for their services to the travel industry, and when I asked James how many hotels he’s visited, he estimated a whopping 2000.As soon as we started chatting, I knew this had to be a long haul feature length episode. As a bit of a hotel junkie myself, this was just so much fun, listening to James zig zag across the globe from one extraordinary destination to the other. Whatever you’re dreaming about, if you’re thinking of a weekend staycation or a mega honeymoon, I guarantee you’ll get some great inspiration from James.Destination recap: Polzeath Beach, Cornwall, EnglandTresanton Hotel, Cornwall, England Blakes Hotel, London, EnglandThe Witchery, Edinburgh, Scotland Drunken Duck Inn, Lake District, England Le Manoir aux quat’saisons, Oxfordshire, EnglandUxua Casa, Trancoso, BrazilVik, Southern Iceland Deplar Farm, Troll Peninsula, Iceland Soneva Fushi, The Maldives Il Latini, Florence, ItalyJK Place, Florence, ItalyLime Wood, New Forest, England Reschio, Umbria, Italy Ett Hem, Stockholm, SwedenFoxhill Manor, The Cotswolds, England Morokuru, De Hoop Nature Reserve, South AfricaGeorgiaNamibiaRwandaIndia MenorcaYou can find Mr & Mrs Smith online and on Instagram @mrandmrssmithThank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, 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 to find out more about the podcast, visit Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.