My favourite places in the world, part one.

St. Kilda – Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

This bayside suburb is perfect. If it was a person, I’d marry it. It has a little bit of everything I love, from gorgeous esplanades and sandy beaches, Edwardian houses to edgy street art, a theme park alongside tiny patisserie’s, kitsch stores to family-run restaurants, and best of all, PENGUINS. Unfortunately there was some construction work going on around the pier when I visited St. Kilda so my little friends stayed clear, but it is renowned for having it’s very own penguin colony that clamber on to the rocks by the bayside when the sun begins to set. Just a short tram ride from Melbourne’s CBD, St. Kilda was built for Sunday afternoons. Acland Street is where it’s at for local markets and delicious food, particularly homemade cakes and freshly brewed coffees – you can sit out on the street on mix-match furniture and do a bit of people watching, as you eye up what you’re going to eat next from the lines of bakery windows staring back at you. And if you keep your eyes peeled, you might see a dad pushing his triplets along in a trolley. Dotted across the pier are boats large and small, and there’s nothing more beautiful than sitting off the edge of the jetty watching the sunset over the bay, with Melbourne’s skyscrapers towering majestically in the background.

Bruges, Belgium

Bruges is probably one of the most idyllic towns I have ever been in. With it’s windy cobbled streets, boat-lined canals, red-brick everything, flawless medieval architecture and delectable creperies, it’s hard to believe that this little place used to be the “chief commercial cenrte of the world”. We stayed in a quiet campsite, Camping Memling, just a short bus ride from the town centre. Even driving through the suburbs was a joy! The people are so friendly and everything is so topsy-turvy and intertwined – it’s not hard to get lost. Being in Bruges is like stepping back in time, with it’s horse-drawn carriages, authentic street signs and sculptures scattered every which way. Unfortunately we were only there for a day, so I’ll definitely have to return…

Lake Tekapo – South Island, New Zealand

This tiny village just south of Christchurch is most definitely the most breath-taking place I have ever seen. It is beyond me how it hasn’t ended up on one of those “Must-see places before you die” lists because it is otherworldly. We spent 3 days here, and it was really just for the scenery because we only seen about a quarter of the 303 residents of this sleepy town. Lake Tekapo takes it’s name from the lake which surrounds it. The water was uncharacteristically blue for a lake, but we soon learned that it was so because of the ‘rock flour’ from the glaciers that floated in the water, and reflected the sunlight thus creating this unique and unimaginable water colour. We wandered around Lake Tekapo photographing the beautiful snow-capped mountains mirrored in the lake, hiking up Mount John Walkway to the South Summit, playing on zip-slides hidden between pine tree forests, and bathing in the hot pools when dusk rolled around. It even has log cabins, an ice-rink, and observatory for star-gazing, snow-tubing and skiing.. oh, and a gorgeous church, The Church of the Good Shepherd, which has an altar window that perfectly frames the picturesque scenario outside so you can capture that perfect shot!

If you’re ever in New Zealand, don’t skip this hidden gem – you won’t regret it!!

Croyde, North Devon

North Devon is arguably one of my favourite places in the world. I’d go as far as to say that it’s like a third home. To be honest, the surrounding areas of Braunton, Saunton Sands, Georgeham and Woolacombe are all beautiful villages, oozing with old-world heritage and British charm, but Croyde just steals my heart. I’ve spent summers working in this busy, albeit tiny village, and I couldn’t be happier than when I am there! Basically a village that is mostly beach and sand dunes, with a narrow road winding through white-wash thatched cottages alongside modern beach homes. The people are what make Croyde even more heart-warming. They are a close-knit community who’d welcome any stranger and their dog! It’s so refreshing to see people who actually really care about their village and beaches, especially the young surfing community in Croyde. This little village has a real feel of home about it. A carefree bunch of people who spend their evenings walking their dogs along the sandy beach or on the coastline of Baggy Point, then going down to one of the 4 local pubs in the evening for a pint of Tribute. Obviously that ‘one’ is The Thatch 😉

Croyde Bay also plays host to GoldCoast Festival – check it out if you’re planning to head down to this coastal haven!

Photograph courtesy of Sean Maguire @ IMagine iMages.

Best pub in the world!

Whitsunday Islands/Whitehaven Beach – Queensland, Australia

Words escape me when I try to describe this magical place to anyone who asks. We sailed around the Whitsunday Islands for two days, and it is definitely up there in the top 3 experiences of my life. By day we snorkelled with and fed beautifully coloured tropical fish, played on the purest sand in the world on Whitehaven Beach, watched for whales, dolphins, sea turtles and dugongs in the sea around our boat, and sipped beers under the scorching Australian Sun. By evening/night, we caught Tuna fish and used it to bait sharks to our boat (great idea) and lay on the roof of the boat star-gazing. Never before have I seen stars so clearly, we could even see the Milky-way. It was incredible!

Queenstown – South Island, New Zealand

The daredevil’s capital of New Zealand, as well as the place for skiing and snowboarding, Queenstown is probably busier than the entirety of the rest of the South Island. Although it’s an extreme tourist town, it still maintains the true beauty if Kiwi landscape. Surrounded by water and snow-capped mountains, Queenstown is nestled in a little valley, from which you can hit the slopes, go mountain-biking, or like me, jump to your death. But it’s not just for the winter months… Queenstown is heaving all year round, and the locals love it! You can take a short trip to the Skyline deck on some very cute bubble gondola’s, on which you will pass by pine-tree forests, little picnic areas, log cabins, Flying-fox arena’s and bungee-jump podiums. Being the idiot that I am, I decided that I would swing myself off this bungee-podium. Not my finest moment. Although the initial shock of having to unlatch myself from the cord connecting me to the podium, and the subsequent winding I received when plummeting closer to the nearby rocks, the AJ Hackett Bungee Swing was actually great craic. The view I had of the valley and of Lake Wakatipu was breathtaking… enough to distract me from the rope that was cutting off the blood circulation to my legs.

Queenstown plays hosts to some fantastic eateries, but Fergburger on Shotover Street definitely takes gold for me. It’s a tourist attraction in itself. This burger takeaway has the most obscure menu of burgers that you’ll ever see… as well as the largest – it was the size of my head! I had the ‘Bombay Chicken’, and sometimes when I’m reallllllly hungry… I think about it. When we returned to our hostel our friend Kirsty asked if we had managed to finish our burgers… her face was priceless when we told her that we had.

Here’s the link to the Fergberger website if you want to see what all the fuss is about: http://www.fergburger.com/fullscreen.html

That’s me!

Ravello – The Amalfi Coast, Italy

The Amalfi Coast looks like I’d imagine a coastline would look if a rainbow melted over it. There’s a multitude of colours coming at you from every angle, from houses and churches, to grape groves and food markets, and not forgetting the Gelato stands. We based ourselves in the tranquil town of Ravello, as this was where my cousin was to be wed, and as other neighbouring towns such as Positano, a fishing town, were considerably busier. Ravello dates back to VI Century A.D. and this is more than obvious from its elegant architecture. With the small town square covering about as much space as a school dance hall, it is lined with family-run restaurants, ice-creameries, grocery stores and bars. Stemming from the town centre are Ravello’s quiet, winding streets of coloured stucco houses, wrought iron gates to the gardens at Villa Cimbrone, rose gardens, and lemon groves, some of which lead to the Terrace of Infinity from which you can take in the heart stopping views of the Gulf of Sorrento! Surrounding towns and villages are easily accessible thanks to the conveniently built, although small and daunting, hillside stairs. Go to Positano and rent a boat for the day – nothing like cruising along the Costiera Amalfitana sipping Prosecco.

Woody Harrelson owns three hotels in Ravello, and we met him, Ed Norton, and Alicia Silverstone, who were on a yoga holiday, at his hotel Villa Eva. My uncle invited the ‘Clueless’ star to join us at our cousins wedding (which was at Woody’s other hotel) not realizing who she was. When she bid us farewell he said, ‘Who the f*ck was that?’ Despite the celebrity and tourist draw, Ravello has not succumb to conventional tourist attraction status, and has kept its cultural and regional values in tact – all of which you are expected to abide by when residing in the quiet mountain top village.

Courtesy of John Murphy.