7. Interview with Lara Dunston and Grantourismo - Podcast

February 19, 2010 by admin
Filed under Accommodation, Blogging, London and around, Media, Misc, Podcasts, Self-catering, United Kingdom, featured

2 Comments

In Episode 7 in my podcast series. you”ll find an interview with travel writer and blogger, Lara Dunston who’s embarking on a year long project together with her husband, photographer Terry Carter, which they’re calling Grantourismo. They’ll be travelling the world, staying in different apartments around the world sponsored by Home-Away holiday rentals in the UK and you’ll also hear from Sarah Chambers of Home Away on why the company decided to take this approach to promoting their holiday properties.

To download the interview with Lara Dunston podcast, right click here 31 min [mp3]

To subscribe to all my podcasts in ITunes click here

Shownotes

In the podcast we talked about;

How Lara first got started in travel writing, working in public relations, film-making and media studies which developed into travel writing, first on a part time and later on a full time basis.
The realities of being a travel writer - from the fun bits such as eating out in great restaurants, as well as the more mundane bits such as updating guidebook information.
How Lara and Terry work together as a husband and wife as well as a working partnership.
How Lara and Terry deal with the practicalities of moving all their belongings, laptops and camera equipment around the world and how they persuade airlines to waive their excess baggage charges.
The advice Lara has for those who’d like to adopt their lifestyle as a travel writer or location independent worker.
How Lara and Terry came up with the idea of taking a contemporary Grand Tour for a year, getting into the culture of each place and travelling more slowly and with an authentic flavour.
What HomeAway Holiday-Rentals can offer travellers looking for holiday apartments, and how they wanted to promote the benefits of extra space and privacy and staying in local neighbourhoods.
How Home Away wanted to tap into consumers looking for travel information online and to provide them with something that would inspire them to a different way of travelling.
The Grantoutismo itinerary that includes Marrakesh, Spain, Paris, Montenegro, Puglia, Sardinia, Venice, Asia, Indonesia, New York, Austin Texas, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, South America, Kenya and back to Europe in January 2011.
The trends that Lara sees in travel writing and blogging, with the recession hitting traditional media, leading to travel writers exploring new ways of working on line.
Sarah Chamber’s view that more travel companies are promoting themselves through inspirational content on-line and will be experimenting with approaches like the Grantourismo project.
You can follow Lara and Terry’s progress at Grantourismo and on Twitter @gran_tourismo
You can find holiday apartments like those Lara and Terry are staying in at HomeAway Holiday-Rentals
To subscribe to all my podcasts in ITunes click here

Other Podcasts to enjoy

06 Weekend in London at the Mandarin Oriental
05 An Autumn weekend in Lisbon
04 Visiting the Munich Christmas Markets
03 Ecuador and the Amazon Rainforest
02 My Istria Travel Diary

Don’t miss out - subscribe to Heather on her travels

Tags: blogsherpa, England, Europe, Home Away Holiday Rentals, Lara Dunston, London and around, Podcast, Terry Carter, United Kingdom

6. Weekend in London at the Mandarin Oriental - Podcast

February 13, 2010 by admin
Filed under Accommodation, Eating and drinking, Gardens, Hotels, Leisure, London and around, Museums, Podcasts, Shopping, Sightseeing, United Kingdom, featured

4 Comments

In Podcast Episode 6 I’m in London for a winter weekend meeting up with friends and staying at the fabulous Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park Hotel in Knightsbridge. As I travelled with my teenage daughter you’ll hear some recommendations from friends who live in London on the things that children will enjoy, as well as suggestions from the Concierge at the Mandarin Oriental on London attractions that his guests enjoy close to the hotel.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Hyde Park in London

I’ll be telling you about our Asian style dinner at the Park restaurant, the luxurious suite in which we stayed overlooking the park and our experiences shopping with teenagers in London. If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe to my podcast series on I-tunes to be updated with new podcasts. If you are a subscriber to the blog you’ll already receive podcast updates as well as all my other articles.

To download the Weekend in London at the Mandarin Oriental podcast, right click here 35 min [mp3]

To subscribe to all my podcasts in ITunes click here

Dinner in the Park Restaurant

Orangery at Kensington Palace

Show Notes

In the podcast today you’ll hear;

Recommendations from Daisy (aged 10) and Lola (aged who live in London on things that children will enjoy. They love the Tate Modern gallery , The Sea-life Aquarium on the South Bank , The Science Museum in South Kensington, Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, the Princess Diana Memorial Playground in Hyde Park and seeing shows like Sister Act, War Horse, Hairspray, Billy Elliott and Mary Poppins.
About our Prince of Wales suite in the Mandarin Oriental which was extremely luxurious in classical English style, overlooking Hyde Park.
Shopping for teenagers in the huge fashion store, Top Shop, at Oxford Circus.
Admiring the hampers at the food emporium Fortnum and Masons, with a hamper for every occasion from a gift of English produce to Graduation hampers to tuck boxes to send to your children at boarding school.
Eating in the Park Restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, where they serve top class Asian food and I ate Crab Cakes and Thai Green Curry and finished with African Amber tea.
A chat with Senior Concierge, Mike Selcuk at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park Hotel, about the things that he recommends for his international guests from the Middle East, US and the UK. He suggests the following activities;
In Hyde Park behind the hotel you can find many activities for families, such as boating on the Serpentine lake, horseriding, feeding the ducks and the Princess Diana Memorial Playground and the Memorial Fountain.
Across the park you’ll find Kensington Palace where some of Princess Diana’s dresses are on display and you can take tea in the Orangery.
For shopping there’s Harrods and Harvey Nichols and further on are the three museums of South Kensington, as well as the Royal Albert Hall where you can have a tour or attend a concert.
In the other direction is Buckingham Palace which is open in the summer when the Queen is on holiday, and where the Changing of the Guards takes place daily in summer.
Families may enjoy the London Eye, the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London and Madame Tussauds and taking the hop on hop off bus around the sights of London.
There is a Duck Tour which is a combination of bus and boat that goes on the river that you can take by the river near Waterloo Station and the Cabinet War rooms used by Winston Churchill in the war.
Miko also often makes reservations for his quests to see popular shows like Oliver, Lion King, Mama Mia, Billy Elliot and the new show Legally Blonde as well as getting reservations to the top London restaurants.
The music on the podcast today was Venus as a girl by Andy McKee and Travelogue by George Wood on MusicAlley.com
I received a complimentary stay at the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park Hotel, in order to write an article for Kiwi Collection.com - read my review of the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park, London here.

Listen to other recent Podcasts

05 An Autumn weekend in Lisbon
04 Visiting the Munich Christmas Markets
03 Ecuador and the Amazon Rainforest
02 My Istria Travel Diary
01 Family Travel with Hospitality Club

Tags: blogsherpa, Europe, London and around, Mandarin Oriental, Podcast, Shopping, Sightseeing

Visiting the Munich Christmas Markets - Podcast Episode 4

December 20, 2009 by admin
Filed under Eating and drinking, Europe, Germany, Leisure, Munich, Podcasts, Shopping, Sightseeing

18 Comments

In my latest Podcast I’m taking you to the Christmas Markets in Munich getting into the festive spirit, with snow on the ground, German carol singers and the smell of gingerbread in the air. You’ll hear about my visit to the Residenz Palace, the market we found in it’s courtyards, the ethnic, alternative Tollwood Winter Festival and all the Bavarian food and drinking specialities we tried while we were there.

To download the Munich Christmas Markets podcast, right click here 18 min [mp3]

To subscribe to all my podcasts in ITunes click here

The Christmas Market in the Residenz Courtyard in Munich

This was a weekend visit that I took with my parents and our visit was ideal to get us into the Christmas spirit, but all too short to really explore the city of Munich. I’d love to return in the summer when the air won’t be so chilly and I could see something of the parks and lakes near Munich and the alpine scenery of Bavaria. I hope you enjoy the slideshow of photos from the trip which is designed to accompany the podcast.