Book Review: Paris in Style: A Guide to the City’s Fashion, Style and Design Destinations by Amy Thibodeau

Paris_In_Style_Cover

Paris is one of my favorite places in the world. It’s a city that unravels itself for anyone who is willing to amble through its many labyrinthine streets and neighborhoods. Although you can visit it and only usher yourself between the popular tourist spots and still feel dazzled, the only real way to get to know the city and feel a part of it is on foot. On this Janelle McCulloch and I agree. 

Paris in Style: A Guide to the City's Fashion, Style and Design Destinations is a beautiful, over-the-top walking tour through some of the most glittering parts of Paris. It’s packaged like a brightly colored macaroon or ornate piece of glass and would look wonderful on a coffee table or as an addition to any collection of picture books about Paris. It doesn’t pretend to be a practical guide and is clearly aimed at people who want to dream about a bit of luxury while still hoping to find something special or hidden in a city that almost everyone has written about. 

McCullough writes, “Splurge on Recamier’s larger, top floor rooms facing the Sainte-Sulpice Cathedral.” From what I can tell, this room costs around £500 a night and is probably out of range for most travelers. It’s a folly and a fantasy, like many of the shops and locales documented gorgeously by McCullough. Think of this as a tour of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Paris. 

Mixed in with the glamour are some solid tidbits information and curiosities: 

  • The last number of any Parisian postal code refers to its arrondissement number
  • People are only allowed to buy one Chanel bag per passport in Chanel stores, no more
  • A list of the “small, lesser-known and unusual museums of architecture, design and decorating” 
  • Another list of vintage book and paper sellers where you can find old postcards, photograph and pieces of paper
  • Where to buy the best fresh flowers
  • What to look forward to when you visit Paris during different times of the year

McCullough also covers some smaller boutique hotels that are more budget-friendly such as Hotel Fabric in Oberkampf, where my husband and I stayed the last time we were in Paris. It was located in a trendy little neighborhood that seemed well removed from MacDonald's, Starbucks, Eiffel Tower t-shirts, and English speakers. Best of all, the hotel had an amazing whiskey bar in the lobby that used the honor system. We would fix ourselves a drink and then let the front desk know how many we’d had at the end of the night so they could add the tally to our bill. Our room was lovely and comfortable and cost just over £100 a night.

At its best, Paris in Style evokes the texture and the feeling of the city, mostly though wonderful photographs (all taken by McCullough). I also loved some of McCullough's lists, which reminded me of the French classic Le Sel de la Vie by Françoise Héritier (In English: The Sweetness of Life). Hértier’s book is a list of all the things that force her to acknowledge the bittersweet ephemerality of life. 

Here’s a selection written by McCullough’s:

Becoming slowly lost in the labyrinthine streets around the Place Saint-Sulpice and feeling like you’ve fallen into an old sepia postcard ... Buying a small bouquet of bright pink peonies in the Île de la Cité flower markets on a Sunday ... Strolling through the pleached avenues of the Palais Royal in the late autumn, when the leaves are falling (or in the summer when the roses are blooming) ... Seeing the city’s famous rooftops at dusk, shimmering gold in the evening light ... Looking up and seeing that Paris is enveloped in the ‘blue hour’, when the sky over the Seine is turning from Schiaparelli pink to the most indigo blue … (pages 71 - 72)

Compare this to the fleeting, sensual moments captured by Héritier:

… having an umbrella when you need one, a big enough umbrella for several people, walking fast, trailing your feet through dead leaves, smiling lovingly at your grandmother’s photographs, listening to owls by night and crickets by day, picking a bunch of wildflowers from embankments, watching swathes of mist drift by …

Doesn’t this make you want to get out in the world? 

Paris is the sweet tactile experience of the decadent bonbon McCullough describes that invites licking your fingers when it’s gone. But like anywhere else, Paris is not perfect and despite the dazzling lights and confections. It’s can also be smelly, dirty, rude and in some places dangerous, desperate and poverty-stricken. It's a multi-faceted, complicated city and one that is clearly beyond the scope of Paris in Style, which is focused squarely on the maintaining the simple fantasy of a purely glamorous experience.

My own favorite version of Paris is fantastic, though quite a bit less glamorous than the one McCullough involves. It involves spring, reading books on benches in blossoming parks, fruit stands with oranges that you can smell as you walk past, warm bread, old men playing pétanque, late evenings drinking cheap wine, late mornings drinking café crème, and rooting through quirky book and antique stores. 

The wonderful thing about Paris is that all of these contradictory realities are true. If nothing else, McCullough’s book may inspire you to design your own version of the city that seems to belong to and elude everyone. Maybe it will get you to finally book the trip you've always dreamed of taking.

Paris in Style was written by Janelle McCullough and published by Melbourne University Press in October 2015. Thanks to Melbourne University Publishing for giving me a review copy of this book. 

A list of wonderful (& unpretentious) things to do, eat and drink in london by Amy Thibodeau

By Amy Thibodeau

In the spring, I relocated from London to a village in the South of France. The transition hasn't been as difficult as I'd imagined it would be. Our village may be small, but we have some wonderful restaurants and bars, a weekly market, a river you can actually swim in and an endless supply of lovely Languedoc wines. 

Every now and then I do miss London. Usually when I'm craving Japanese or Indian food, or when I hear about a wonderful exhibition at The Tate (like this one about Agnes Martin, which I was lucky enough to see last summer). This last time we lived in London for about a year and a half and although the noise and the people were sometimes overwhelming, I loved wandering down to Borough Market, having a coffee over looking the Thames in the Member's Room at the Tate or just taking a lazy Sunday walk along the South Bank. 

I pulled together some of my favorite things to do and places to eat and drink in London. If you check out any of these things, let me know. I'd love to live vicariously through you! The list looks prettiest on Pinterest, but here's an overview of what's waiting for you in London, in no particular order:

TO DO

  • Tate Modern - www.tate.org.uk
    A great place to spend a lazy afternoon wandering around galleries. There's no pressure to spend a ton of time there because the permanent collection rooms are free to view and you only have to pay to see special exhibitions (though I recommend making a donation of whatever you can afford). There's also a nice little coffee shop, a restaurant on the top floor with a great view that's good for an evening cocktail, and a gift shop with some nice stuff.
     
  • Richmond Parkroyalparks.org.uk/parks/richmond-park
    It's a bit of a trek all the way to the edge of West London, but it's well worth it. Bring a picnic, water and maybe even a chilled bottle of wine and make an afternoon of lolling around on the grass watching the herds of deer who live in the park. Make sure to take a walk over towards the Royal Ballet School, which is a lovely building nestled in the greenery of the park.
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre by Alejandro C. on Foursquare

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre by Alejandro C. on Foursquare

  • Shakespeare's Globe Theatreshakespearesglobe.com
    This is one of those rare touristy things that is actually worth doing. Located near the Tate Modern along the South Bank of the Thames, this Georgian-style building was rebuilt a number of times but still manages to feel like it's from another time. It doesn't matter what's playing because it's about the experience of going to see Shakespeare in the round. Unless you're a hearty individual looking for an exercise in persistence, I recommend booking a seat (instead of standing in the middle) and investing in a pillow when you arrive because Shakespeare wrote long plays! Make sure to try an old fashioned Ale during intermission.
Primrose Hill by Paul in L. on Foursquare

Primrose Hill by Paul in L. on Foursquare

  • Primrose Hillprimrosehill.com
    Go to the top of Primrose Hill with a blanket and a bottle of wine at sunset and watch the Shard and the glass buildings of The City light up. Buy your wine and maybe some bread and cheese from one of the sweet little shops on nearby Princess Road before heading up. Once you've taken in the sunset, wander through the area down to Camden for a pint (or two) at one of the pubs you'll find there. 
     
  • South Bank southbanklondon.com
    Don’t go on the London Eye, but do spend a sunny afternoon walking along the South Bank. There are great views, good places to stop for a glass of wine or a pint, and lots of nice things to see along the way. In the summer, the South Bank Center often has interesting art displays scattered around too. 
     
  • Waterloo Vaults - the-vaults.org
    This is one of those weird places that is so very London. It’s located underground in the old vaults beneath Waterloo Station. Check out their website to see what’s on and take in a play or performance, or just stop by for a drink.
Electric Cinema by Ameet R. on Foursquare

Electric Cinema by Ameet R. on Foursquare

  • Electric Cinema - electriccinema.co.uk
    Sometimes after a day of walking around, all you want do is put up your feet and enjoy a good film. Electric Cinema in Notting Hill is in a beautiful old building and it’s a fancy, comfy way to enjoy a movie. They also serve bar snacks, hotdogs and cocktails, and if you’re into luxury, you can rent a bed to really relax while you watch your movie. 
     
  • All Star Lanesallstarlanes.co.uk
    Super fun place to go for a night out. It has everything: a lounge straight out of the 1970s, vintage-inspired cocktails, private bowling lanes, and a restaurant with perfectly decent burgers and pub food. It’s also one of the least douch-y London night out spots I’ve been to—friendly and no pretenses or velvet ropes. 
     
  • Little Venicetimeout.com/london/things-to-do/little-venice-area-guide
    One of the nicest things to do in London is to wander around different neighborhoods on a nice day. The canals in Little Venice (also called Maida Vale) are lovely and are dotted with pubs and cafes where you can stop for a drink or some food.

TO EAT

  • The Providores & Tapa Room - Breakfast - theprovidores.co.uk
    I've only been here for coffee and breakfast, but it was stand out good. It's located in Marylebone, which feels a bit like Paris to me and is well worth a wander with its posh shops and cafés. The Providores does solid eggs, great coffee and they have crazy good donuts. 
     
  • Abeno Too - Lunch or quick dinner - www.abeno.co.uk
    The only reason to go to Abeno Too (and it's a good reason!) is for Okonomiyaki. It's a Japanese dish that's sort of like a sweet, savory cross between a pancake and a pizza. You can pick your toppings but I usually go for some combination of onions, kimchi and pork. Particularly good for lunch or a quick, easy dinner before heading to the theatre.
     
  • Mestizo - Dinner - london.mestizomx.com
    London is not a hotbed of great Mexican food. Unless you want some fast food from Chipotle, there are pretty slim pickings. Mestizo is an exception. If you live in California or anywhere with wonderful Mexican food, you can probably skip this. But if you don't or you're just craving some chunky, limey guacamole or want to explore an impressive Tequila menu, Mestizo is solid. 
     
  • The Laughing Gravy - Dinner - thelaughinggravy.co.uk
    Weird name for an easily overlooked, highly underrated hidden gem tucked up in the area between the Old Vic theater and Borough Market. This little area is a proper neighborhood with a little high street and is easily accessible from Waterloo Station with a little walk. The food here is wonderful as is the service, and the restaurant itself is beautifully designed and perfect for a romantic dinner. They also make the best dry gin Martini in London. 
     
  • Homeslice - Lunch or casual dinner - homeslicepizza.co.uk

    The best, oven baked, thin crust pizza in London. The limited menu means that the ingredients are always seasonal and fresh. Be prepared to wait for a table though if it's a nice day, you can always get a few slices to take away. 

  • Est. India - Lunch or dinner - estindia.co.uk
    Forget the trendiness of Tayabs, the hipness of Dishoom and whatever other new Indian place the cool kids are queuing for. For my money, this unassuming restaurant near London bridge features the best Indian food in London. Fresh, spicy and with the friendliest, most welcoming service. 

  • Hawksmoor Seven Dials - Sunday lunch or dinner - thehawksmoor.com/locations/seven-dials/
    Best beef Sunday lunch I’ve had in London. Expect to pay for it, but as a special treat, the quality is worth the money. Also, the Yorkshire pudding is gigantic and the rich beef gravy plentiful. 

  • Borough Market - Lunch - boroughmarket.org.uk
    A fantastic food market with everything you could possible want to eat. Go for lunch but if you’re there on a Saturday, be prepared for crowds. Eat all the things. The salt beef sandwich with spicy mustard on granary bread, served with a dill pickle from Hobbs Meat Roast is a standout.

TO DRINK

  • Sipsmithsipsmith.com
    Sip smith Gin is fantastic. Go to their distillery and learn how really good gin is made. Then take a bottle or two home. 
     
  • The White Cross - thewhitecrossrichmond.com
    One of the biggest mistakes you can make when visiting London is spending all your time in the middle. Take an afternoon and head over to Richmond in West London. It's got nice shops, some lovely restaurants and pubs (like The White Cross) and the river walks just have a slower paced feel than they do in central London. The White Cross does traditional pub food and has a standard selection of beer and ale, but it's friendly and it's got a lovely location right on the riverfront. 
The White Cross by Andrew F. on Foursquare

The White Cross by Andrew F. on Foursquare

  • Monmouth Coffee Companymonmouthcoffee.co.uk
    It's considered the ultimate cup of coffee in London. Unless you dig your coffee enough to stand in line for an hour or more or have no other option, avoid the Borough Market branch, especially on a Saturday. Opt for the Covent Garden shop instead. 
     
  • The Star at Nightthestaratnight.com
    If you like gin, this is for you. It's in a slightly off-the-beaten path part of central London and they serve only gin, including some wonderful cocktails and a special tasting menu where you can pair accompaniments like mint and lime against different types of artisanal gin. Inside it's dark and feels a little bit like a place where you'd sip moonshine back in the 1930s. It's also completely unpretentious, which is rare in a central London cocktail establishment. They serve some small tapas items, but really, this is a place to go for the drinks. If you're planning to go on a Friday or Saturday night, I highly recommend making a reservation or you'll never get a table. 
Star at Night gin club by Steve L on Foursquare

Star at Night gin club by Steve L on Foursquare

  • Callooh Callaycalloohcallaybar.com
    A quirky Lewis Carol-themed cocktail bar in the Shoreditch area. There's a little bar when you walk in but then you'll be taken through the looking glass into a secret, dark area filled with topsy turvy chairs and outlandish furniture. The cocktails are good and the drink menu is vast. On Friday and Saturday nights there's DJ and part of the bar becomes a dance floor. If you want a table on a weekend, or you want to avoid queues, book ahead. 
     
  • The Evans and Peel Detective Agencyevansandpeel.com
    One of London's many "secret" bars designed to make you think you're back in the prohibition area. You need to book this one in advance and think of a case you need solving before you arrive. You'll be buzzed into a long stairway with an old fashioned office at the bottom where a secretary will ask you why you need detective services. She'll type a little bit and then eventually a part of the wall will move away and you'll be taken into an underground, dimly lit cocktail bar. It's fun, kind of romantic and also a good place to escape from a rainy winter day. 
     
  • The Rakeutobeer.co.uk/the-rake
    A tiny little pub near Borough Market with an insane amount of specialty beer, including some strange bottles you'll rarely encounter anywhere else (coconut and banana beer!). It's the perfect place to stop on a south of the river pub crawl. If the weather is good, there’s also a nice outdoor deck area. 
     
  • The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Townthemayorofscaredycattown.com
    London loves the kitschiness of a "secret" bar. This particular speakeasy is located beneath The Breakfast Club, which is a good breakfast or lunch spot. If you're there for the cocktails, ask to speak to the mayor and you’ll be taken through the door of an old fashioned refrigerator, down a set of stairs into an underground bar. 
     
  • Paper Dress Vintagepaperdressvintage.co.uk
    By day this is a vintage clothing store, but by night, the racks go against the walls and it's transformed into a sweet little bar. Nice beer, wine and cocktails and quite often, live acts. 


What are your favorite places to visit in London? Let me know in the comments so I can visit them next time I'm in town. 

Come for the food, stay for the magic by Amy Thibodeau

Photo of San Sebastian by Dan Zambonini

Photo of San Sebastian by Dan Zambonini

By Amy Thibodeau

A few weeks ago, I had a once in a lifetime meal at Mugaritz, currently rated the sixth best restaurant in the world. It’s located in the green foothills on the edge of San Sebastian, a little surfing bastion in Northern Spain.

This is Basque country where the border between France and Spain blends together to form a unique culture of people with their own language and a history of fighting for self-determination. The food is rich and unpretentious: meat cooked over open fires, fresh seafood and stews. Meals are long and food is usually shared and enjoyed with friends and family. Bars serve plates of pintxos, tiny bites of fresh food consumed between beer and cold glasses of kalimotxo.

I love food, but I tend to favor classic, comfort foods. I cook spaghetti bolognese nearly every week in the tradition of my mother and grandmother who made it when I was growing up. A few years living in California made me love tacos with fresh, limey avocado and homemade salsa. Marriage to a Brit and living in London made me embrace the tradition of Sunday lunch, which isn’t complete without a puffy helping of Yorkshire pudding. These aren’t elegant tastes but they’re connected to moments that feel like home.

The food at Mugaritz was the opposite of comforting. Each plate was like trying to solve a puzzle. Some things were more pleasing to look at than they were to eat, particularly a dish called “beef candy”, a bone marrow cracker filled with a cube of coagulated beef blood. Or the bright pink mackerel, beetroot and horseradish, delightful on the plate but such a combination of strong tastes that I had trouble swallowing it. The unfamiliarity heightened every moment as we resolved to take bite after bite of almost 30 courses.

At nearby tables, I noticed waiters regularly offering to replace dishes when people seemed unwilling to eat. But there was no half-way business for us. Before we arrived we decided that we would put ourselves in the hands of the kitchen, set aside preconceived ideas about what we like, and eat everything offered.

This approach resulted in a few surprises. It turns out that I like “grilled and bathed sting ray” and “asparagus with scarlet shrimp essence”. But my favorite taste of the evening was the innocuous sounding “fried raw peas”, tempura filled with fresh peas that exploded with the most intense pea flavor of any pea-like thing I’ve ever eaten.

But the real revelation of dining at Mugaritz had little to do with the food, the cava, the wine or the service (impeccable). Instead it was a feeling of intense presence in the experience and most importantly with my dinner companion. As each beautiful plate arrived, my husband and I looked at it, looked at each other, touched the food, smelled it and then slowly, slowly, worked our way up to tasting. For particularly daunting plates, we’d debate who would take the first bite, or we’d decide to do it at the same time. Everything was tactile, from the crunch of the tiny anchovy bones in our mouths to the delicate porcelain plates that were crafted specifically for each dish. My husband, a design junky, ran his fingers across their edges and turned almost each plate over to inspect it once he’d finished a course.

For three hours we were completely there, in a simple wooden building, nestled in tropical hills outside of San Sebastian in the middle of a rain storm. The food, which was strange and unfamiliar to us, was only the anchor that held us there.

Everything else, including the cab ride back into San Sebastian through the black night and the rain, was pure magic.


Our menu:

I.

Grilled fennel with goat
Cod tongues, with a syrup of spices
Crunchy pork rib
Fried raw peas
Marine cold cuts
Vegetal bestiary
Gelatinous salmon mille-feuille
Asparagus with scarlet shrimp essence

II.
Oyster and young garlic warm omelette
A thousand leaves
Bovis máxima: vive la France!
Mackerel, beetroot and horseradish
Grilled mochi
Grilled and bathed sting ray
Glazed mille-feuille of lamb
Beef candy
Beef with hazelnut praline

III.
The cheese
Whiskey pie
Anis waffle
Glass: Sugar and cocoa as a cookie
Cream of chocolate and cured ham

IIII. Seven deadly sins (mostly chocolate related, served in a literal puzzel box): pride, envy, wrath, gluttony, greed, lust, sloth

(This post was first published on Medium)

North of Myself by Mackenzie Kulcsár

Lac La Ronge
Photo by MacKenzie Kulcsár

Photos and text by Mackenzie Kulcsár

My earliest memory is of my father, my uncle and myself canoeing across Lac La Ronge while I ate sunflower seeds between the gunwales and sent the shells spinning into the eddies of my father’s paddle strokes.

Some places make me feel at home; some places make me feel like a stranger. There is one place where I feel like both. Imagine that: it’s an uncomfortable feeling. Imagine: being on the fringe of belonging to a place, where some people are in, others are out, and you’re somewhere in the hazy bits in between. La Ronge, Saskatchewan is that place for me. Like an unrequited love between two people, I have a love for the place, and while the place doesn’t not love me, (it’s a place after all), I can’t help but feel that if the north were a person, it would merely tolerate me. Six hours north of where I call home, is a place that is indelibly part of me but which I cannot call my own. My extended family lives here, but coming from the south, I sometimes feel I need to remake myself to fit this place; to make myself worthy of its unreciprocated love.

Photo by MacKenzie Kulcsár

The town of La Ronge is a northern community in the boreal forest and Canadian Shield of the province of Saskatchewan, on the shore of Lac La Ronge. Taking its name from the French verb “ronger” (“to chew” – most likely from the prolific beaver chewings of that abundant northern resident), the name fits a place established by chewing itself into existence from the harsh landscape into a hardscrabble settlement of fur trading parentage and voyageur idylls. Canadian history books would have you believe that the fur trade is dead – killed off by the anti-fur movement and the ignorance of southerners. In the north, the fur trade continues and the people of La Ronge and the surrounding area, although they may be outside of the fur trade directly, are indirectly affected by it.

Maybe it’s the simpler notion of living with the land that makes me love the north. Likely it’s also this essential fur trade that makes me feel on the fringe of actual belonging as I wonder if I’d measure up to the rougher realities of life in the north. Every winter, we make a journey to La Ronge, to celebrate the New Year with our family. Every year I make a mental list of the things I love about the place. La Ronge is permeated with the smell of wood smoke. That’s what winter smells like to me. La Ronge rings with the calls of ravens, a bird which has always held my interest as a tricky, adaptable creature, and beautiful too. Northerners call them scavengers. Yesterday I saw a raven the size of a small dog breaking into a tub of becel in the Co-op parking lot. On a previous trip I saw one flying down La Ronge Avenue with a pizza box grasped in its beak. True story.

I love the stillness of the night. I love that you can count on snow. I love the sound the trees make as they rub against one another. I love the shades of greys that delineate islands from the frozen lake, rocks, trees and horizon. I love that the perfect circle my coffee cup made in the snow on the deck banister is investigated but untouched by the squirrel that left its tracks around it, as though it knows that the circle, like me, is unnatural in this place. When I stand alone in the north, I feel how I suppose Canadian explorers felt when they traded through and eventually settled this place. I see the landscape as a character in the writings of the Canadian north, just as authors of Canadian literature have for years – willing to tolerate your presence, and also completely able to obliterate you. In the words of the Hudson’s Bay Company “Pro Pelle Cutem”, the north demands sacrifice – a skin for a skin, and probably your own. John Donne once wrote that “[n]o man is an iland, intire of it selfe…”, but I’d ask you to consider this anew in the north.

Photo by MacKenzie Kulcsár

My grandfather was the pioneer writer, editor and publisher of the La Ronge newspaper, aptly named, The Northerner. Part of my appreciation of the north lays here I suppose. A man of words, of art and intellect, my grandfather lived through The Northerner as other men lived through the war. It defined his purpose in the north. Through his diligence, The Northerner was brought forth, lived and remains, although today, sadly, it is a pitiable rag unreflective of what the north means to the northern people. If my life in the south ever falls irreparably apart, I will come north, repair myself and repair The Northerner. North of myself, is the self I could be – the sacrificial lamb of my southern skin for a tougher northern one.

Two days hence I will begin the journey south, to my home on the plains and await the next New Year when I find myself north of myself once again.

How to find off the beaten track destinations by Robyn Vinter

Photo by Neal Sanche

Photo by Neal Sanche

By Robyn Vinter

“The first I heard of the beach was in Bangkok, on the Ko Sanh Road.” goes the first line of Alex Garland’s The Beach. In the novel, and subsequent film, if you’re not familiar with it, a traveller acquires a map to a legendary secret beach community and follows it to a paradise, untouched by tourism.

The book encapsulates a feeling amongst travellers of finding something new, experiencing something authentic and raw. One of the things that many serious travellers have in common is the urge to discover, to see things that others have not seen.

For those, the idea of this kind of travelling is intoxicating.

With 196,939,900 square miles of the earth’s surface to explore, why would you want to visit the same old touristy places?

But how do you go about finding these unmissable experiences?

Whilst there is no solid answer to this question, here are some tips to help you make the most of opportunities that come your way.

First of all, throw away that guidebook. You won’t need it where you’re going. Wherever that will be. Instead, keep an eye on travel blogs for up to date information by real people. Most travel bloggers are more than happy to help you and pass on any contacts they might have in the areas you are visiting.

Talk and listen. Converse with as many people as you can, both fellow travellers and locals. Your travel comrades will have been to places you haven’t and will be able to tell you which places to avoid and which are worth a visit. Whilst everyone is eager to share their stories, resist the urge to one-up them with your own amazing travel adventures and instead listen to what people have to say about where they’ve been. Get some contact details for people you meet, should you want to speak to them again.

Whilst speaking to your fellow travellers is essential, you need to chat to the locals to find out where they go and what they do in the vicinity. If someone asks me what there is to do in my home town I cannot resist giving them a run down of the best places to visit, hidden treasures they don’t know about and where to avoid. Not everyone is like this but if this sounds like you, you’re not alone and many people in the places you’ll visit will be the same.

Be flexible. You’ve just found out about some beach huts where you can live for free as long as you help out painting them for a couple of hours a day. Trouble is, you’ve already booked flights to move on to your next destination. Whilst planning is essential for some things, you don’t want to have a rigid schedule if you can help it. Have an idea of where you want to go and when, but don’t let this dictate your travels.

Similarly, be up for anything and remain open minded. I know it’s easier said than done and when you’re exhausted or jetlagged after a long flight. You might not feel like speaking to new people in your hostel or going to explore the locality but say yes to invites, take up opportunities and converse with everyone as you just don’t know where it will lead you.

Despite this, be prepared for tough times. Sometimes the great place you’ve heard about isn’t as good as the guy in the hostel made it sound or the seven hour bus ride squashed up against someone’s armpit doesn’t seem worth it. You have to be prepared to take risks, not all of which will pay off.

Keeping in mind these tips, however simple they may seem, can help you create unique memories and once in a lifetime experiences that few others will have.

Do you have any other tips to add to this? Where have you been that’s off the beaten track?

Robyn Vinter is a travel blogger and content writer for Looking4Parking in Leeds, UK. Having graduated with a first class degree in Journalism from Leeds Metropolitan University, she has written for numerous local and national newspapers and magazines in the UK. Her passion for travel is usurped only by her passion for writing, neither of which she feels she could ever do enough of.