Christmas is probably the best time of the year for a highlights reel. So here’s our best-of list for 2018 with 15 of your favourite stories of the year.

The best of 2018 – 15 of your favourite travel, food and romance stories

1. How to order a coffee in Australia – and what you should expect

The most popular post we’ve published this year! I’m guessing it’s a combination of locals wondering if they’ve got it right and visitors trying to get by that this is the most read story we’ve given you in 2018.

But if you want to know the difference between an espresso and a ristretto or what a piccolo is, check out our Aussie coffee rundown here.

2. 11 reasons why everyone wants to visit Puglia, Italy

Out on the spur of south-eastern Italy – the stiletto heel of the boot – the region of Puglia is becoming very popular for travellers.

From our recent trip there, we can certainly see why.

3. Insider’s guide to Sydney Airport

We’re regulars of Sydney Airport and have flown so frequently from Australia’s biggest and busiest travel hub we’ve learnt quite a lot about it.

Here’s our guide to getting the most out of Sydney Airport and some secret tips not many people know about.

4. My mother’s never-fail pavlova recipe

Christina’s mum makes the most amazing pavlova I’ve ever eaten. It’s amazing. She even tried a Donna Hays pavlova recipe once. My sister-in-law got so angry because it wasn’t as good as her usual one, Jeanette vowed never to use anything but her own recipe ever again!

It’s simple, it’s fail-safe and most importantly it’s delicious.

5. Your easiest stress-free date night

Spending time with your significant other should really be the best part of your day, right? You chose each other for a reason.

So going out on date nights or just being together shouldn’t be stressful. The trouble is life gets in the way of our best intentions and can ruin the best laid plans. But here are our tips for making the most of the romantic time you have with your partner.

6. And Englishman, a Scotsman and an Australian walk into a distillery…

It sounds like the start of a bad joke (it’s actually a very good one as it turns out) but this actually happened.

Three men from different countries all walked into a whisky distillery in the NSW Riverina one day. Two of them were distillers themselves. The third was me.

Here’s what happened and what that distillery’s like. And I hope you enjoy the joke!

7. How to travel light, pack smart and stay stylish

We pride ourselves on being able to pack effectively and efficiently after all the practice we’ve had this year. We’ve spent almost 6 months away from home in 2018 and only with 20kgs each.

Here’s how to do it without compromising on your wardrobe (too much).

8. 17 tips for tacking long-haul flights like a pro

A lot about travelling is in fact waiting. We wait at the airport, we wait at the bus station, we wait for our train… and most of all, we wait on the plane as we fly across the planet.

Long-haul flights can sometimes frighten people into not travelling at all, which is a tragedy. There are lots of ways to deal with this necessary evil. Here are our pro tips.

9. Where to take the best photos in Brussels, Belgium – our 7 top tips

On our travels through Europe, we unexpectedly found ourselves in Brussels – the capital of Belgium. We didn’t have time to research much about this amazing, young city, but we found it to be very photogenic.

Here are our 7 favourite places in Brussels to take photos. This is part of a series we’ve written on photography guides to different cities.

10. Where to take the best photos in Rotterdam

Similar to our guide to photographing Brussels, our top tips on taking photos of Rotterdam in the Netherlands shows you the most photogenic spots in this fascinating city.

Rotterdam is so interesting because it’s been built from the ground up since it was devastated in WWII bombings.

11. 5 quick hacks for how to search for cheap flights online

When you live in Australia, flying is par for the course if you want to travel. And long-haul flights can really cut into your budget. This is why knowing how to get the best deals is essential.

Here are our best tips for searching and finding the cheapest flights you can get online.

12. 5 ways Cuba has changed since Obama – our return to Havana

We were so excited to be back in Cuba after all the recent changes. We were there in 2014 – just before President Obama visited Havana. Cuba’s political landscape has changed completely since then – and not just with both Castro brothers leaving the leadership.

Here are our observations comparing how much Havana has changed. And how it hasn’t.

13. 3 super romantic Sydney hotel restaurants

The usual model for hotel restaurants is sparse, utilitarian and a bit boring. But recently we’ve noticed a few top hotels in Sydney really putting pressure on regular restaurants with their menus and décor.

These three in particular don’t feel like hotel restaurants at all. They’re romantic, cool and very enjoyable.

14. 15 incredible bucket list hotel pools

One of the main drawcards for hotels is their pool. Instagram is full of people bobbing around in the most incredible places – and whether or not it inspires you to travel, you can’t deny wishing you were there a little bit.

Welcome to the very best of armchair travel!

15. Where to eat in the South of France – Le Beauséjour, Gorbio

Right on the border of Italy and Monaco, the little French town of Gorbio is a hidden delight. And even better than that, Restaurant Beauséjour – a place that’s been in the same family for many generations – is quintessentially French in its décor, candour and food.

Here’s where you should eat. It’s also where you’ll wish you lived!

UPDATE: don’t miss the top 5 posts from 2017

The funny thing about these lists – and we’ve been doing this every Christmas for a few years now – is that by the middle of the following year, they’re all wrong!

Because the newer posts that we’ve published in the second half of that year haven’t had much time on the internet, they’re forgotten. But they’re often some of our best work.

We thought we’d rewrite the top of last year’s best-of list in case you missed something.

11 unusual things to do in Okinawa, Japan*

*Ironically, this was the most popular post at the end of 2017 and is in fact the 4th most popular post on Mr & Mrs Romance of all time.

Where to eat in Bari, Italy – 3 top tips to make your mouth water

What to do with 24 hours in Brussels

Is your cigar mouldy and can you smoke it?

How to get from Milan to Venice by train – the easiest road to romance you’ll find