The Travel Diaries

Today I’m joined by the iconic Celia Imrie. Celia is, of course, one of Britain’s best-loved actresses, with an extraordinary career spanning more than five decades. From her unforgettable collaborations with Victoria Wood, to Bridget Jones’s Diary, Calendar Girls, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and, more recently, The Thursday Murder Club. She's one of those performers who has been part of our lives for as long as I can remember.But what you might not know about Celia is that she is a completely insatiable traveller. She's happiest when she's on the move, whether that's aboard a glamorous ocean liner, travelling across America by train or setting off on an adventure somewhere entirely unexpected - because as you’ll soon discover, Celia doesn’t fly, so this makes for a particularly interesting episode.Her lifelong love of travel is at the heart of her new book, The Elegant Hustler: Adventures from a Life on the Move, which is out now, a collection of stories from a life spent exploring the world.Destination recapMiddleton-on-Sea, West Sussex, EnglandUdaipur, Rajasthan, IndiaJaipur, Rajasthan, IndiaDelhi, IndiaMelbourne, AustraliaSydney, AustraliaLos Angeles, California, USAWashington, D.C., USAToronto, CanadaSingaporeParis, FranceSainte-Chapelle, Paris, FranceNice, FranceHôtel Negresco, Nice, FranceVilleneuve-Loubet, FranceMenton, FranceMonte Carlo, MonacoIsle of Wight, EnglandSouthampton, EnglandQueen Mary 2, Cunard, Southampton to New YorkNew York City, USACoast-to-coast railway journey, USASan Luis Obispo, California, USALos Angeles, California, USAIce hotel, NorwayJapanChinaThe Elegant Hustler: Adventures from a Life on the Move, which is now.If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok. I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you.I’ll be back on Sunday with another episode of Unpacked, this time with Design & Travel Editor, Amira Hashish, With thanks to...Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk/host. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the jazz clubs and Mardi Gras parades of New Orleans to the swamps, dance halls and small towns of Acadiana, this Destination Special explores a side of Louisiana, USA that many visitors never get to see.We travel west along Interstate 10 into the heart of Cajun and Creole country, a region shaped by its French language, distinctive music, extraordinary food and deep connection to the surrounding bayous.Louisiana travel and culture writer Herman Fuselier shares the traditions behind Jazz Fest and Mardi Gras, introduces the sounds of Cajun and Zydeco music, and explains why the true heart of Cajun country lies beyond New Orleans.Cajun French musician Jourdan Thibodeaux joins me from his home on Cypress Island, overlooking the Atchafalaya Basin. We discuss language, identity, life in the swamp and the importance of experiencing South Louisiana authentically.Finally, Lori Johnson Walls of Johnson’s Boucanière in Lafayette introduces the dishes every first-time visitor should try, from crawfish étouffée and po’boys to beignets and a proper Louisiana boudin.Destination RecapCities, towns and regionsNew Orleans, USABaton Rouge, USAAcadiana, USAAtchafalaya Basin, USALafayette, USABreaux Bridge, USAOpelousas, USAEunice, USANew Iberia, USALake Charles, USASunset, USAArnaudville, USAWashington, USACypress Island, USAHenderson, USAMamou, USAAvery Island, USAVacherie, USAPlaces mentionedNew Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, New Orleans, USAFrench Quarter, New Orleans, USACafé du Monde, New Orleans, USAEunice Cajun Mardi Gras, Eunice, USALa Poussière Cajun Dancehall, Breaux Bridge, USABreaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, Breaux Bridge, USAEl Sido’s Zydeco & Blues Club, Lafayette, USAFestivals Acadiens et Créoles, Lafayette, USAJohnson’s Boucanière, Lafayette, USADwyer’s Café, Lafayette, USAPoor Boy’s Riverside Inn, Lafayette, USAOlde Tyme Grocery, Lafayette, USABorden’s Ice Cream Shoppe, Lafayette, USAOriginal Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival, Opelousas, USADezMeaux’s Boudin, Opelousas, USASteamboat Warehouse Restaurant, Washington, USAHotel Klaus, Washington, USAFred’s Lounge, Mamou, USACypress Cove Landing Houseboats, Henderson, USATABASCO Factory and Avery Island, Avery Island, USALaura Plantation, Vacherie, USATo find out more about visiting Louisiana, go to ExploreLouisiana.com.If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok. I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you.I’ll be back on Sunday with another episode of Unpacked, this time with Suzannah Ramsdale, Lifestyle Director for The Standard.With thanks to...Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk/host. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is returning to the podcast after 5 years! TV presenter, adventurer and explorer Steve Backshall is one of the most travelled people in the world, and one of the best story tellers - so he is the ultimate Travel Diaries guest. Just listening back to his first episode in preparation for today was a reminder of what an amazing episode that was - if you haven’t listened to that scroll back and listen to that first, because his life is so interesting, and then come back and listen to this one!It was so lovely to meet him in person this time, just last week. We filmed this in London, and it was really good fun putting some of your new travel diaries chapters to him - his answers were sensational. When somebody has been to this many places it's hard to know where to start, but I think that you're going to be absolutely captivated by Steve's stories, as I was.So from Suriname to the Scilly Isles, Jerusalem to Alaska, and so much more, here’s Steve.**Listeners - there's a strange video with the loading of Apple Podcasts' video today, so I'm reuploading this as an audio only file until it resolves.**Destination recapWest Cornwall, EnglandLand’s End, EnglandSouth AfricaSurinameAlaska, USAJuneau, USAThe Azores, PortugalDominicaColombiaPapua New GuineaNew Britain, Papua New GuineaNew Ireland, Papua New GuineaNew CaledoniaYucatán, MexicoCancún, MexicoTulum, MexicoBimini, The BahamasThe Isles of Scilly, EnglandSt Martin’s, Isles of ScillyJerusalemTel Aviv, IsraelThe Negev Desert, IsraelKyrgyzstanNortheast Greenland, GreenlandSteve’s Deadly Live tour begins in October. Find out more here.If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you.I’ll be back on Sunday with another episode of Unpacked, this time with Conde Nast Traveller’s Digital Director, Sarah Allard.With thanks to...Kimpton Los Monteros - a five-star hotel for discovering the best of Marbella.Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk/host Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is one of the most influential figures in British food. Ruthie Rogers is the chef and co-founder of The River Cafe, the legendary Michelin-starred Italian restaurant in Hammersmith, which she opened with Rose Gray in 1987. Over nearly four decades, The River Cafe has completely transformed the way we eat and think about Italian food in this country, and its kitchens have helped launch the careers of some of Britain’s best-known chefs, including Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Theo Randall and April Bloomfield.But Ruthie’s influence extends far beyond the restaurant. She’s the author of numerous much-loved cookbooks and the host of the hugely successful podcast Ruthie’s Table 4, where an extraordinary guest list, from Paul McCartney and Elton John to David Beckham, Tony Blair and Nancy Pelosi, share the food memories that have shaped their lives. The podcast has now inspired her beautiful new book, Table 4 at The River Cafe: Conversations about Food and Life.And it turns out that food memories and travel memories have a great deal in common. Both can transport us instantly back to a particular person, place or moment in our lives. I joined Ruthie at The River Cafe on a gloriously sunny summers day. Her travel diaries today take us from Cuba and Mexico to Maine and Marrakech, as well as her beloved Italy and the beautiful rhythm of family life she created with her late husband, the architect Richard Rogers, with summers in Tuscany, winters exploring the world and an almost constant desire to plan the next adventure.Destination Recap:Havana, CubaHotel Lungarno, Florence, ItalyCamino Real, Mexico City, MexicoContramar, Mexico City, MexicoNiddo, Mexico City, MexicoOaxaca, MexicoPuerto Escondido, MexicoHuatulco, MexicoChichén Itzá, Yucatán, MexicoUxmal, Yucatán, MexicoMonte Albán, Oaxaca, MexicoPalermo, Sicily, ItalyNaples, ItalyLo Scoglio, Marina del Cantone, ItalyAmalfi Coast, ItalyRavello, ItalyCapri, ItalyVernazza, Cinque Terre, ItalyTrattoria Gianni Franzi, Vernazza, ItalySanta Margherita Ligure, ItalyPortofino, ItalyBelmond Hotel Cipriani, Venice, ItalyYork, Maine, USAMarrakech, MoroccoTaroudant, MoroccoTafraoute, MoroccoEssaouira, MoroccoFez, MoroccoThe Shinmonzen, Kyoto, JapanYou can listen to Ruthie’s Table 4, wherever you get your podcasts.Her new book, Table 4 at The River Cafe: Conversations about Food and Life is available now.I’ll be back on Sunday with another episode of The Travel Diaries: Unpacked.If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. With thanks to...Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk/hostCitalia - Discover the real Italy with Citalia, the UK’s leading Italian holiday specialists. Let the Italy Experts craft the perfect holiday for you and experience Italy like a Citalian. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is one of Britain’s funniest, most distinctive and most beloved writers, Caitlin Moran.Caitlin began writing her first book at just 13, was published at 16, and became an award-winning Times columnist and the bestselling author of books including How to Be a Woman, More Than a Woman and What About Men?Her brilliant new book is called How to Be Hopeful, and it begins with a feeling I think many of us will recognise: that the world has become overwhelming and the only reasonable solution might be to run away and start an entirely new life somewhere else. In Caitlin’s case, that meant fantasising about a self-sufficient farmhouse in the Welsh mountains, until she discovered quite how expensive Welsh farmhouses actually are. So what happens next? From her wonderfully feral childhood summers she spent living with her seven siblings in a tiny caravan in Wales to a romantic road trip through the Scottish Highlands; the lavish trip to Antigua that taught her luxury travel wasn’t necessarily for her; and why Corfu remains the island she returns to again and again, and much much more, here are the Travel Diaries of Caitlin Moran.Destination Recap:Tregaron, WalesStrata Florida Abbey, WalesYnyslas, WalesUllapool, ScotlandRannoch Moor, ScotlandCornwall, EnglandAntigua and BarbudaTenby, WalesKassiopi, Corfu, GreecePaxos, GreeceAntipaxos, GreeceIcelandJapanese Alps, JapanTokyo, JapanAbergavenny, WalesBannau Brycheiniog, WalesFlorida, USAAustriaScandinaviaThanks so much for listening today. If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. I’ll be back on Sunday with The Travel Diaries: Unpacked and our guest, World’s 50 Best Hotels European chair, and travel journalist, Lauren Ho.If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. With thanks to...Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk/hostHotels with History podcast - Hotels with History is a podcast hosted by actor Richard E. Grant and travel & hospitality expert Jules Perowne, uncovering the scandals, legends and surprising stories behind the world's most legendary hotels. Search Hotels with History wherever you get your podcasts  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.