Today I'm joined by one of the funniest women in British comedy, Maisie Adam. Since winning the prestigious So You Think You're Funny competition at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017, she's become a familiar face on shows including Mock the Week, Taskmaster and Last One Laughing, as well as selling out her own stand-up tours across the UK and beyond.

Born and raised in North Yorkshire, Maisie's career has taken her all over the world, and as you'll discover, she's an incredibly enthusiastic traveller. Today, we're heading from her childhood holidays in Blackpool and Tenerife to the cobbled streets of Prague, a solo interrailing adventure through Italy, her love affair with New Orleans, and a rather unfortunate case of mistaken identity in Norway.

I loved this conversation, and I hope you will too.

Destination Recap

• Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Lake Bled, Slovenia
• Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
• Blackpool, Lancashire, England
• Bettys Café Tea Rooms, Harrogate, England
• Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire, England
• Cow and Calf Rocks, Ilkley, England
• Bolton Abbey, North Yorkshire, England
• Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire, England
• Goathland, North Yorkshire, England
• Whitby, North Yorkshire, England
• Humble Pie 'n' Mash, Whitby, England
• Whitby Abbey, Whitby, England
• Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire, England
• Berlin, Germany
• Prague, Czech Republic
• Milan, Italy
• Venice, Italy
• Pisa, Italy
• Florence, Italy
• Naples, Italy
• Sorrento, Italy
• Amalfi Coast, Italy
• New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
• Bourbon Street, New Orleans, USA
• Frenchmen Street, New Orleans, USA
• Preservation Hall, New Orleans, USA
• Garden District, New Orleans, USA
• Kristiansand, Norway
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Brazil

If you'd like to see Maisie live, she's currently touring the UK with her brand-new stand-up show, Whatsherface, with dates running through to March 2027. You can find all the dates and book tickets at maisieadam.com.

With thanks to...

Visit Isle of Wight - from breathtaking coastal scenery and beautiful beaches to charming villages, exceptional local food and unforgettable experiences, all just a short journey from the mainland. Start planning your island escape at visitisleofwight.co.uk.

SANI - Discover what’s new at Sani Resort for 2027, including stunning new family suites and exclusive early booking offers, with savings of up to 15%. Explore the offers here.

UNA - Discover your next Italian short break with UNA Italian Hospitality at unaitalianhospitality.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 a new episode of Unpacked with Travel & Leisure Editor, Jacqui Gifford.

If you've enjoyed today's episode, please do subscribe to The Travel Diaries and leave us a rating or review. It really does make such a difference in helping other people discover the podcast.

And if you'd like to find out who's joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok. I'm @hollyrubenstein on both, and I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks so much for listening, and I'll see you then.

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Hello and welcome back to The Travel Diaries Unpacked, your weekly weekend dose of wanderlust.

Joining me this week is Isabella Craddock, she’s the founder and editor of Near+Far magazine, former editor at Condé Nast Traveller Middle East and the Middle East Academy Chair for The World’s 50 Best Hotels. Raised between Cape Town and the UK, and now based in Dubai, Isabella comes from a family of hoteliers, so you could say that a love of travel and beautiful hotels is quite literally in her blood.

Today, we’re heading north to the Arctic Circle, as Isabella takes us to Tromsø in Norway and shares the extraordinary experience of witnessing the midnight sun.

For my Hotel of the Week, we're swapping Norway for Paris, as I share the details of a very special stay at the iconic Hôtel de Crillon.

We’re also discovering a completely different side of Dubai, as Isabella takes us to the rugged mountains of Hatta and a brand-new luxury glamping retreat.

And we have our listener Q&A.

Destination Recap:

• Tromsø, Norway
• Sommerøy, Norway
• Alta, Norway
• Svalbard, Norway
• Hôtel de Crillon, Paris, France
• Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, France
• Bar Les Ambassadeurs, Paris, France
• Bar Hemingway at The Ritz, Paris, France
• Hatta, Dubai, UAE
• Caravan by Habitas, Hatta, UAE
• The Red Sea, Saudi Arabia
• Kyoto, Japan
• Vienna, Austria
• Schloss Fuschl, Salzburg, Austria
• Moar Gut, Grossarl, Austria
• AKI Family Resort PLOSE, South Tyrol, Italy

Make sure you check out Near+Far, for lots more inspiration, particularly if you're planning a trip to the Middle East.

With thanks to...

SANI - Discover what’s new at Sani Resort for 2027, including stunning new family suites and exclusive early booking offers, with savings of up to 15%. Explore the offers here.

UNA - Discover your next Italian short break with UNA Italian Hospitality at unaitalianhospitality.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 Tuesday.

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

Today I’m joined by entrepreneur, TV personality and crafting queen, Sara Davies.

Sara founded Crafter’s Companion while she was still at university, turning an idea into an international, multimillion-pound crafting business. She went on to become the youngest-ever female investor on BBC One’s Dragons’ Den, was awarded an MBE for services to the economy, and swapped the boardroom for the ballroom on Strictly Come Dancing.

We recorded this episode a few weeks ago in central London, and Sara was such a lovely person to spend time with, with an infectious enthusiasm for travel.

And her travel diaries are full of adventure. We’re heading from the beaches of the Scottish islands in a campervan built by her dad and trekking on the great wall of china to the northern lights in Norway and the backstreets of Kyoto.

Destination recap:

• Yorkshire Dales, England
• Lake District, England
• Isle of Skye, Scotland
• Fidden Farm Campsite, Isle of Mull, Scotland
• Fairy Pools, Isle of Skye, Scotland
• Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire, England
• Wray Castle, Lake Windermere, England
• Ullswater, Lake District, England
• Pooley Bridge, Cumbria, England
• Park Foot Holiday Park, Ullswater, England
• Ullswater Wake & Surf, Cumbria, England
• Tromsø, Norway
• Sommarøy, Norway
• Bergen, Norway
• Alta, Norway
• Ice Hotel, Alta, Norway
• Oslo, Norway
• Denmark
• Lapland, Finland
• Norwegian Fjords, Norway
• Southampton, England
• P&O Cruises Iona, Norwegian Fjords
• Caribbean
• Tokyo, Japan
• Shinjuku Station, Tokyo, Japan
• Kyoto, Japan
• Tokyo Skytree, Japan
• Okinawa, Japan
• Osaka, Japan
• Japanese Alps, Japan
• Great Wall of China, Beijing, China
• Himalayas, India
• Delhi, India
• Brecon Beacons, Wales
• Greece
• Turkey
• Croatia
• Sicily, Italy
• Peligoni, Zakynthos, Greece
• River Ganges, Varanasi, India
• Delhi, India
• Taj Mahal, Agra, India
• West Coast, USA
• Yosemite National Park, California, USA

Sara's new book Crafting For All Occasions is out now. And don’t forget to check out her podcast, Mind Your Business wherever you get your podcasts.

With thanks to...

SANI - Discover what’s new at Sani Resort for 2027, including stunning new family suites and exclusive early booking offers, with savings of up to 15%. Explore the offers here.

UNA - Discover your next Italian short break with UNA Italian Hospitality at unaitalianhospitality.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 a new episode of Unpacked.

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

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.

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.

• New Orleans, USA
• Baton Rouge, USA
• Acadiana, USA
• Atchafalaya Basin, USA
• Lafayette, USA
• Breaux Bridge, USA
• Opelousas, USA
• Eunice, USA
• New Iberia, USA
• Lake Charles, USA
• Sunset, USA
• Arnaudville, USA
• Washington, USA
• Cypress Island, USA
• Henderson, USA
• Mamou, USA
• Avery Island, USA
• Vacherie, USA

• New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, New Orleans, USA
• French Quarter, New Orleans, USA
• Café du Monde, New Orleans, USA
• Eunice Cajun Mardi Gras, Eunice, USA
• La Poussière Cajun Dancehall, Breaux Bridge, USA
• Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, Breaux Bridge, USA
• El Sido’s Zydeco & Blues Club, Lafayette, USA
• Festivals Acadiens et Créoles, Lafayette, USA
• Johnson’s Boucanière, Lafayette, USA
• Dwyer’s Café, Lafayette, USA
• Poor Boy’s Riverside Inn, Lafayette, USA
• Olde Tyme Grocery, Lafayette, USA
• Borden’s Ice Cream Shoppe, Lafayette, USA
• Original Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival, Opelousas, USA
• DezMeaux’s Boudin, Opelousas, USA
• Steamboat Warehouse Restaurant, Washington, USA
• Hotel Klaus, Washington, USA
• Fred’s Lounge, Mamou, USA
• Cypress Cove Landing Houseboats, Henderson, USA
• TABASCO Factory and Avery Island, Avery Island, USA
• Laura Plantation, Vacherie, USA

To 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.