Welcome to The Travel Diaries: Unpacked, your weekend dose of wanderlust. I’m Holly Rubenstein, and today I’m joined by travel and design editor Amira Hashish, founder of creative studio Rapport, who spent 12 years at the Evening Standard, where she was executive editor. From antiques hunting in Nice to finding the quieter side of Capri, we’re exploring some of her favourite escapes, with a little Florence inspiration and insider tips for making the most of three days in LA. Plus, I’m sharing my family-friendly Hotel of the Week.

Destination Recap:

• Nice, France
• Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
• Hudson, New York, USA
• Joshua Tree, California, USA
• Florence, Italy
• Milan, Italy
• Mexico City, Mexico
• Arrowtown, South Island, New Zealand
• Silverton, Colorado, USA
• Capri, Italy
• Naples, Italy
• Marina Grande, Capri
• Anacapri, Capri
• The Grove, Hertfordshire, England
• Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire, England
• Rome, Italy
• Los Angeles, California, USA
• West Hollywood, Los Angeles
• Silver Lake, Los Angeles
• La Brea, Los Angeles
• Larchmont, Los Angeles
• Malibu, California
• Santa Monica, California
• Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice, Los Angeles
• Venice, Los Angeles
• Downtown Los Angeles
• Griffith Park and Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles
• Pasadena, California
• Palm Springs, California
• Santa Barbara, California
• Montecito, California
• Brooklyn, New York, USA
• Copacabana Palace, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Splendido, Portofino, Italy

A huge thank you to Amira for joining me, and leaving us with quite the travel wish list! Find out more about Amira's work at Club Rapport.

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/host

I’ll be back on Tuesday.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 recap

• Middleton-on-Sea, West Sussex, England
• Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
• Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
• Delhi, India
• Melbourne, Australia
• Sydney, Australia
• Los Angeles, California, USA
• Washington, D.C., USA
• Toronto, Canada
• Singapore
• Paris, France
• Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, France
• Nice, France
• Hôtel Negresco, Nice, France
• Villeneuve-Loubet, France
• Menton, France
• Monte Carlo, Monaco
• Isle of Wight, England
• Southampton, England
• Queen Mary 2, Cunard, Southampton to New York
• New York City, USA
• Coast-to-coast railway journey, USA
• San Luis Obispo, California, USA
• Los Angeles, California, USA
• Ice hotel, Norway
• Japan
• China

The 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.

Today I’m joined by the brilliant Suzannah Ramsdale, Lifestyle Director at The Standard, whose job involves knowing exactly where’s worth going and what’s worth your precious time off.

And there’s so much inspiration in this conversation. If you’re already dreading the clocks going back, Suzannah has some very tempting ideas for extending your summer, with a little help from her Spanish family connections. There’s the seaside spot she returns to again and again, and a food-filled Italian escape that had me mentally checking flights before we’d finished talking.

We also hear how a rather adventurous first meeting led to some extraordinary dates around the world, including a trip to New Orleans, which ties in beautifully with this week’s Louisiana Destination Special.

And my Hotel of the Week is a Greek island favourite that promises to solve a few of those familiar family holiday dilemmas. Having finally been myself, I’ve got plenty to tell you.

Destination Recap:

• New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
• Inns of Aurora, Aurora, USA
• The Peligoni Club, Zakynthos, Greece
• Villa Kallista, Zakynthos, Greece
• Nobelos Bio Restaurant, Zakynthos, Greece
• Eliamos, Kefalonia, Greece
• Piazza Maggiore, Bologna, Italy
• Cremeria Santo Stefano, Bologna, Italy
• Cremeria La Vecchia Stalla, Bologna, Italy
• Cremeria Cavour, Bologna, Italy
• Palacio Bucarelli, Seville, Spain
• Cristine Bedfor, Seville, Spain
• Royal Alcázar, Seville, Spain
• Seville Cathedral, Seville, Spain
• Plaza de España, Seville, Spain
• María Luisa Park, Seville, Spain
• Triana, Seville, Spain
• La Viña, Cádiz, Spain
• Casa Manteca, Cádiz, Spain
• La Caleta, Cádiz, Spain
• Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
• Seoul, South Korea

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/host

I’ll be back on Tuesday.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.