For most of us, when you’re asked to name one of the worlds most luxurious cities, destinations like Paris, New York, Milan or Tokyo would probably spring to mind in an instant.
While Sydney is definitely up there in terms of most ‘expensive’ cities in the world, it may not be one of the obvious choices for the ultimate luxury destination, however the opening of the Langham Hotel Sydney, may just change all of that.
It’s #throwbackthursday and we all just loveeeeeeeeeee digging out those old photos and stories, so I figured it was a great opportunity to share a post that I’ve written, where I have spent some time reflecting upon my ideas about bucket lists and my life well travelled, so enjoy!
I’m on a mission this year to post on my blog more frequently, as I love writing and sharing my travel experiences, but sometimes life just get’s in the way. When I say ‘life’, I refer mostly to work, going to the gym or yoga, or seeing friends, so it’s definitely not all bad.. just busy.
My goal is to write 1 post a week (starting from when I landed back in Australia), so last week was all about conversations with strangers on chairlifts, and this week it’s all about New York and my visit to SoHo.
I’m writing this as I sit here in L.A, enroute to Sydney after yet another journey around the world, and I can’t help but reflect upon some words of wisdom that I have taken away from conversations had with people I’ve met along the way, and to be honest I use the term ‘met’ loosely.
See, I’m talking about those random people that you share a chair lift or gondola with for those 8 to 15 minutes when you’re ripping around a ski field. Strangers, who you no doubt share a common interest with, but otherwise would never have spoken to.
As an Aussie, the reality is we are far far away from anywhere when it comes to travel, and you know you’re getting old when you can’t fathom taking that long haul flight from Sydney to the UK (around 24hrs + transit time all up) without a stopover.
Where once you just wanted to get there and make the most of your destination, you’re now trying to plot and plan your itinerary to avoid (at all costs) spending any longer than 13hrs on the plane in one stint.
The good news for Australian travelers (and visitors) is that there are some pretty cool places to break the journey, and my current fave is Dubai. Not only is it the perfect stopover point in terms of time spent on the aircraft, but with so much to see and do, it will actually become a part of the trip and not just somewhere to lay your head.
About this time last year, I posted about Bucket List’s (check it out: http://mytravelust.com/2013/12/30/is-a-bucket-list-the-new-new-years-resolution/) and how for me, having a list of goals and experiences that I want to achieve helps me to live in the moment and ensure that I’m being true to myself and living the life that I’ve always imagined. A life filled with love, people, places and most importantly new experiences that keep pushing my boundaries, so that I can continue to learn and grow.
Well, as I sit here at 2am on the 1st of January 2015, the year in reflection ended up being pretty darn RAD!
As 2014 draws to a close (and I shake my head in disbelief. It was seriously just January, wasn’t it?) it’s time for me to share my next journey with you.
While this year has already proven to be a pretty great year of travel, with trips to the Cook Islands, China, Bali and the USA already under my belt, my motto (as you know) is work hard, play hard and that life is too short not to live your (travel) dreams, so this time it’s 6 weeks away to explore Dubai and the UK for Christmas and New Year. Then it’s off to the USA and my favourite city, New York, before getting our ski gear out to enjoy 3 weeks of skiing and snowboarding in Jackson Hole & Colorado with my man.
This time, there is also a difference…. the trip isn’t just about us.
Yep, I said it…. I LOVE MY JOB, and I guess when I think about it, I don’t really even consider it a job. It’s my passion!
While the perception of what a ‘travel agent’ does is very different to the day to day reality (It’s not all free holidays and talking travel hot spots you know), I do love that everyday I get to inspire travel in others and that I get to turn their holiday ideas into a reality.
One of the first rules of blogging (so that you can grow and maintain your audience) is to be frequent with your posts, and to be honest, I’ve been a bad blogger!
Life has been C-R-A-Z-Y busy of late, so i’ve not found the time to write a super inspiring travel post for you this week (or last week for that matter… opps!), so instead I thought a little ‘Travel Quote’ Inspo might do the trick.
Who doesn’t love a good travel quote to inspire them to get out there?
Have you ever found yourself in a moment where you’ve heard a song and it’s instantly transported you back to a specific time, place or event?
I had one of these moments the other day, and upon hearing the song it sent me zooming back, to a day in 2001 when I was sat perched on a bench, at the back of a Greek Island ferry. All of a sudden I was sun drenched, brown as a berry, and a slightly naive 21 year old again, out exploring the big wide world of ours.
What was the song? Nelly, ‘ride wit me’. You know the one (Hey, must be the money!)’.
‘eeeeeeeeek’ tragic i know and definitely NOT one of my finest musical moments (I do pride myself on having a decent taste in music), but it DID get me thinking about how music is basically a time machine to past experiences and while you can’t be on holidays all the time, you can attempt to re-live some of those epic moments at the push of a button.
And that’s why MUSIC is my ultimate and must have travel accessory.
Firstly, I’ll be posting my Yosemite ‘Must do’ list shortly, so if you’re pressed for time and can’t fathom reading the full post, stalk the photos and maybe that will be inspiration enough.
Secondly, to clear something up… Yosemite National park isn’t where Yogi Bear lives. That would be Yellowstone National Park (If indeed a fictional character lives anywhere at all). You would be surprised at how many Yogi bear jokes were made when I said I was heading to Yosemite, so I thought I’d nip that clarification in the butt right away. Haha.
Now if you’re still with me, allow me to share my Yosemite national park experience with you….
If you were born in the 80’s and watched TV as a kid in the 90’s you MUST have seen the epic US sitcom Full House (and if you are a girl, you probably had a crush on Uncle Jesse – aka John Stamos too!).
Not only did Full House inspire my love for double denim, socks with frills and side pony tails, but it also gave me the inspo to visit their beloved home town of San Francisco. The cable cars, painted houses and of course the Golden Gate Bridge had been firmly etched in my mind, and somehow I’d managed to miss it during past visits to the USA.
Well, not this time. This time I made sure it was on my itinerary, and despite only having a couple of days to take in the sights, I definitely made the most of it, and while I didn’t exactly leave my heart there, it certainly captured a little piece of it.
Kate Scott - Travel Stylist 