8 Hidden Secrets of Temple, London

Normal Londoners will rush through the Temple area of London, race along Fleet Street and possibly settle into a cosy chair somewhere delicious along The Strand.

Instead of doing the above, the next time you find yourself with a spare half an hour or so fancy a 'London Kiwi'-style tour of the area instead? For medieval history, cats, Hollywood movies, Charles Dickens and a decent cup of tea read on. 

A (Too) Quick City Break in York.

Much like the Grand Old Duke of York, who had ten thousand men and marched them up to the top of the hill, and then marched them down again, I can't get enough of York... (because he visited repeatedly, that was obvious, right?)

Having visited nearly half a dozen times over the years, and somehow not managing to share it on my blog over the years, I would say that although you could visit from London for the day, I wouldn't. Go for a minimum of an overnight stay, or a few days if you can. Witness a misty morning, and a candy coloured sunset, wander out into the Dales or slip in a seaside visit somewhere like Scarborough, and really get to know the ancient city.

Gambolling Through Ghent; A Wanderers Guide.

As a day trip from Brussels (only a half hour train),  I've found that either many people haven't heard of Ghent, preferring to explore the chocolate box streets of Bruges, or they adore Ghent so much that when a blogger (me) visits, they spam them via instastories with recollections of days spent there and memories made. True story.

Disclaimer: I was a press guest of VisitFlanders in Ghent, 

but all planning, mischief and thoughts are all mine.

We fell into the former camp on our trip to Brussels and explored Bruges, but genuinely regretted only being able to fit one city in, vowing to return one day.

A Salisbury City Break: Exploring the UK in a Meandering Manner

A medieval cathedral city in the southern English county of Wiltshire, 9 miles south of the iconic prehistoric stone circle at Stonehenge. The city’s ornate 13th-century cathedral has a 123m spire, a working 14th-century clock and an original copy of the Magna Carta (the Great Charter), a key document from 1215 A.D. And Fudgehenge (keep reading, it'll become clear.).

Salisbury.

A luxury stay at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Singapore

When I had planned a few days in Singapore, I knew there were only two hotels that I wanted to stay in. They couldn't be more different in almost every way, and both of them fascinated me.

For my first night, the Marina Bay Sands Hotel called my name. The striking three tower edifice has 2,561 hotel rooms, a 120,000-square-metre (1,300,000 sq ft) convention-exhibition centre, the 74,000 m2 (800,000 sq ft) The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands mall, a museum, two large theatres, "celebrity chef" restaurants, two floating Crystal Pavilions, a skating rink, and the world's largest atrium. Crazy, no?

A Gathering Of Gastronomic Suggestions In Ghent.

Eating frites smothered in mayonnaise, nibbling fresh waffles under a mountain of freshly whipped cream and drinking glasses of beer outside in the sunshine is practically inviolable law when visiting Belgium. (In fact, if you look under a microscope at your Belgian passport stamp 'proost / à votre santé / prost' may or may not be etched under the flag.)

Enjoying their exquisite pralines is obviously the fourth law, but one I managed to fail miserably, thanks to a bag of Bolognaise flavoured crisps for lunch - but I did take some home to the UK, which totally counts, right?

Disclaimer: I was a press guest of VisitFlanders in Ghent, 

and our dinners were complimentary but all thoughts are very much my own.

While we spent our long weekend exploring the medieval city of Ghent, we also uncovered a few local specialities and places to explore, quenching a quota of wanderlust. The city is small enough to feel cozy, but vibrant enough to feel fun and have something going on - a perfect long weekend break. With 97 Michelin-starred restaurants in Flanders, the quality of local cuisine is rather high - and these were my favourite tastes of the weekend.

Portugal: A Peaceful Long Weekend In Porto

One of the few regrets I had about my long weekend last year exploring Lisbon, Sintra and Cascais was not being able to fit a trip to Porto into the diary. I mean whilst you're in Portugal, you should be exploring as much as possible, right?

Or is that just being greedy?

Disclaimer: We were press guests of Cheapflights in Oporto, but all planning, mischief 

and thoughts are totally mine (and to be fair, Rebecca's). 

Luckily enough, a few weeks ago I was set a challenge by Cheapflights to book a long weekend away in Porto for two adults for the princely sum of £550. Nope, not each, that's split between us. Keeping things easy, breezy and on the affordable side for a slice of sunshine, all for the cost of a night in a gorgeous luxury hotel, or pair of designer shoes, we spun out a lovely little break from London.

Dîner en Blanc: Somerset House, London 2017

A couple of years ago I was introduced to the mystique of Dîner en Blanc.

In a nutshell, Dîner en Blanc is a worldwide event spanning six continents, in which people flash-gather in a public space and set up a temporary, chic dining area. Guests from around the city meet in a variety of designated points, coming together all dressed in white to enjoy gourmet picnic food, wine and the rather magical atmosphere.

Unique London: The Old Royal Naval College Painted Ceiling Hall Tour, Greenwich

Do you ever have those moments where you realise that you are a square peg in a round hole, and you are absolutely ok with that?

Most modern ladies, they buy handbags and dresses off Instagram, but having spotted the Painted Hall ceiling tours on a good friend's instastories, I knew we had to make our way down to Greenwich to take in this unique tour.

The Luxury Brunch Afternoon Tea at Le Meridien Hotel (warning: this is not a typo)

Brunch is somewhat of a religion in New Zealand, and Afternoon Tea is rather a genteel worship of tinkling tea cups in England. They are both altars that I spend an inordinate amount of time at, both in London and away, and more than once I've declaimed them to be my favourite meals.

Disclaimer: We were invited guests of Le Meridien but all thoughts, 

flavour sentiments and brunch chants are entirely original.

Somehow, the stars aligned to not only find an afternoon that both Becca (of Runaway Kiwi infamy) and I had free, and coincide with an invite to try out the Brunch Afternoon Tea at Le Meridien Hotel in Piccadilly. Living our best lives indeed.

48 hours in Sydney, Australia

I'd only been to Australia once for more than 4 hours - back in the days when I was knee-high to a grasshopper. Aside from picking up a sole faded photograph - sat on the plane next to my little sister, both of us dressed in scarlet velvet dresses trimmed with crisp white ruffles, I can't remember a second of it.

It's kind of crazy - even though Australia is the closest geographical neighbours to New Zealand, as it was so close, I'd never visited. Fresh from the desert city of Doha, Qatar, where the lovely Polly had shown me around her home in 40°C+ temperatures, I was ready to walk into an antipodean Autumn - a far more reasonable range of 15-20°C temperatures.

Eating at the luxurious Bovey Castle Hotel - Codename: OperationDon'tTellAftab

They say an army marches on its stomach, attesting to the importance of forces being well-provisioned, but when this phrase was invented they hadn't quite encountered the voracious appetites of 4 particularly travel obsessed food bloggers.

Having organised a night at Bovey Castle escaping the confines of London for a few belated birthday celebrations, we made sure to enthusiastically test their onsite restaurant offerings, not least as we were a 40 minute drive from Exeter St Davids.

An afternoon at the polo and exploring the Cowdray Estate.

Boarding the train at Waterloo Station armed with morning cups of tea in hand, we chatted the whole way through our 50 minute journey to Haslemere, watching the skyline change from forests of steel to boughs of ancient leaves.

We were bound for an afternoon at the Polo, to watch the pinpoint trained ponies and riders duke it out for the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup, a match played to honour one of the riders.

Disclaimer: We were invited guests of Cowdray Estate, 

but my swooning prose is very much original and unaffected.

After a quick 20 minute cab ride through the country lanes lined with stone built cottages, many with yellow framed windows* - we dismounted for a tour and lunch at Cowdray Manor House. What used to be the family home of Lord and Lady Cowdray, is now an exclusive residence that can be hired out for special occasions, wellness retreats or for private use.

A dreamy Shangri-La Hotel stay in Sydney, Australia

To sit in my hotel room window, and gaze over the Sydney Harbour - the waters enfolded by the Sydney Harbour Bridge on one side, and the iconic Sydney Opera House on the other  - is a memory I won't forget for a long time.

I mean, this was the view from my bed.

When planning my epic holiday, it just so happened that one of my favourite London buddies, Madam Globetrotter Postcards (a regular guest on this little corner of the internet), was going to be visiting family in in Sydney - we're so close now, we have a joint railway card, talk about commitment - so we teed-up 48 hours of fun meandering, culminating in sunset cocktails from our hotel bar in the Shangri-la. (The evening before I stayed in the neighbouring Four Seasons, but more on that another time.)

4 Days in Doha - A stopover in the Middle East

Having decided to change my career, I thought that I deserved a wee holiday to celebrate. Now, most people would book a long weekend in Spain or perhaps a week on a beach, but I decided that a 3 week trip to New Zealand was in order. With the blessing of my Mr Kiwi (who had to keep the UK hearth fires burning and the cat fed due to work commitments) and a brand new baby nephew to meet, I booked myself on a flight.

It's becoming a bit of a cliche to say that the best thing about blogging is the community - but it is. Hence the cliche. I'm in the very, very lucky position to have made friends all over the world through blogging, and when I realised just how easy it was to hop off my flight to Qatar en route home, I couldn't resist the temptation to harass Mrs Follow Your Sunshine for a few days, not to mention soak in some of the Middle Eastern sunshine.

A delicious staycation: The Vicarage in Cheshire

The Vicarage, a hotel in the small Cheshire of village of Holmes Chapel intrigued us.

Identifying itself as 'a restaurant with rooms' we couldn't resist testing out their foodie credentials, so for the last night of our Chester staycation we hopped back into the train and shot out into the countryside.

72 hours in Chester

Chester is the first holiday I've ever booked through the power of Instagram alone. We had been looking for somewhere as a long weekend break (well, I say we, but I had actually been put on a travel ban which Mr Kiwi now mostly denies, his baby blues all innocent) when I spotted that a friend of mine had day tripped up to Chester. It was beautiful.

So firing up the laptop, I booked us a cheeky little Cheshire staycation.

An elegant brunch at The Balcon, Pall Mall

In a million years we probably wouldn't have met. In a city of 10 million+ people the likelihood was even slimmer. And yet our lives have converged thanks to the "faceless screens" of the internet.

Disclaimer: We were invited guests of The Balcon but my (very many) thoughts on Saturday morning eggs benedict and champagne are only ever my own.

Of course, I'm talking about the one and only Sir Aftab of Fresh and Fearless. Most recently our adventures took us to a Parisian corner of Pall Mall.

Relaxing on the doorstep of Richmond Park: A staycation hotel review

To say this was the laziest most relaxed adventure yet would be an understatement. 

At the beginning of this year, my one and only Mr Kiwi put me on a travel ban. After a 6 week period that included a surprise birthday trip to Gothenburg, a myriad of business travel, a weekend staycation and two awesome weeks roadtripping around Texas and Louisiana at the end of last year, he felt like he had had enough.

So in order to assuage the flame of wanderlust that has my soul (one day it may waver so I'm making the most of it whilst I can) I had to get crafty. I mean, compromise. Yes, compromise. *shifty eyes*

My perfect day in Paris: slipping solo across the Channel for lunch

There are many bloggers who are getting flack about sharing their love of travelling solo. It isn't for everyone - but then neither are berets. It shouldn't be a rite of passage shoved down the throats of unwilling accessories (see what I did there?), but simply another tool in the wanderlust arsenal.

I have to say that as much as I adore my cheeky husband, I also love the chance to revel in sheer unadulterated 'me' time. Wandering through art galleries for hours, indulging in freshly baked patisserie and taking. as. many. photos. as. I. want. (For the record, in a 10 hour window I took about 800, ridiculous I know.)