Well, it’s been a very quiet week for us here at Romance HQ. So quiet in fact that we haven’t really done anything worth putting on Instagram even!
But don’t worry, this is definitely the calm before the storm. You see next week we’re off to explore part of Borneo, so brace yourself for an Instagram onslaught!
I think this is probably why we’ve been quite quiet all round recently; we’re preparing ourselves for this next trip. And there’s been a lot of travel in our lives recently. late last week Mrs Romance and I were at a speaking event in the city called Tourism Upgrade.
Hosted by the fascinating Holly Galbraith, who runs a great podcast by the same name, this Tourism Upgrade session was all about tourism brands working with bloggers and social media experts, and building strong working relationships.
It was so interesting and the speakers – Sophie Baker from Wanderlust Union, the amazing Jayne Gorman from Girl Tweets World and – one of the fastest speakers I’ve ever met – Ange Thompson from TravelMedia Australia – vocalised so much of what both bloggers and travel firms are thinking.
Make sure you check out Holly’s podcast channel here.
So other than that, we’ve just been working away to bring you our latest travel stories. If you haven’t already, make sure you check out our food recommendations from our recent trip to Byron Bay – here are our top 7 food spots and what we ate.
Also, don’t miss our latest hotel review – this one’s a doozy from Thailand. The beautiful Aleenta Phuket Resort and Spa was so amazing we even did a video walk-through of some of the villas.
So no more stalling – we’re going straight to our travel catch-up pics that we’ve published on Instagram over the past week.
This week’s travel recap
Each week we go back in time over some of our favourite travel destinations using never-before-seen photos of our travels. Here’s where we’ve been looking back on this week.
One of my all-time favourite parts of Paris – even when it’s crowded – is the Notre Dame. This building right in the midst of the Seine is so beautiful. We must have seen this gothic cathedral so many times yet it still amazes me every time I look at it.
As you might imagine, Mrs Romance and I are quite big fans of Paris, and we’ve written a fair bit about this amazing city. Here are some of the things we’ve published about the City of Romance.
The hilltop town of Perugia – the capital of the Italian region of Umbria – is not only ancient, it’s also absolutely stunning. We hadn’t planned on stopping here on our first roadtrip through Italy, but we did, and we’re so glad of that.
We ended up spending the night in the Brufani Palace Hotel near the edge of town. It proved to be one of the most beautiful places we stayed on our trip. Here’s our review of the hotel – check out the pool – it’s built over the top of ancient Etruscan ruins. Amazing!
Mrs Romance and her obsession with photographing doorways hits a high note every time we go to Tuscany. It’s like her obsession’s spiritual home. Every building – from the grand mansion to the crumbiest tenement – seems to be issued with a beautiful door.
Here are some more doors Mrs Romance has spotted in Tuscany and also some excellent photography tips for creating a series of your travel photos.
The little harbour town of St Tropez on the French Riviera is absolutely stunning. At sunset, the old sandstone buildings seem to glow with this golden light, and the water of the harbour amplifies everything! Although famous for its yacht club community, St Tropez has still retained its original spirit and old world beauty.
From our Postcards series, here’s our Postcards from St Tropez post and our recommendations on what to do while you’re in this stunning coastal town.
Walking around Rome is like exploring the world’s biggest museum. Everywhere you go you find something else of ancient historical relevance. A hint at this country’s amazing culture and heritage.
You also find little places like this old antiques shop right in the heart of one of Rome’s oldest parts called Ponte near the famous River Tiber. Talk about Instagram heaven!
Exploring the walled towns of Tuscany is a must for anyone who enjoys European travel. This is part of the fascinating town of Volterra – last made famous for its cameo on that vampire saga Twilight. Please don’t ask me how I know that. It’s too embarrassing.
Volterra is an odd town though, and has a very different feel to it than a lot of these ancient hilltop cities in Tuscany. Perhaps it’s the fact that you can have dinner inside the high-security prison here – cooked and served by inmates! And you have to book quite a long time ahead too.
It seems like a lifetime ago that we were in Greece last. It was a while ago, but perhaps it’s because visiting the Greek islands is so other-worldly. This is from Zakynthos Harbour – or Zante as it’s also known. The town itself doesn’t have that many old buildings or architecture you see in a lot of Greek towns because the island was all but destroyed by a huge earthquake in the ’50s.
Still, it’s a stunning town to visit and so full of the Greek culture. Here’s what we got up to while we were in Zante.
Of all the cities in all the world, this must be the greatest. New York City has our hearts, our souls and our imagination in the palm of its crazy, bustling, overwhelming, fascinating hand. We can’t wait to get back there, which might not be so far into the future… but we’ll leave that just hanging there!
This view from the top of the Empire State Building is absolutely unbeatable… though the Rockefeller Center is also pretty amazing.
So how’s your week and weekend been? Have you had a quiet one too, or have you had a 7-day crazy? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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