It was the biggest surprise when an email from @vlasis_kostouros landed in my inbox a few weeks ago, the subject being “Interview Invitation for K Magazine” 🤍. Vlasis went on to say that he would love to “organise an interview for K magazine, the prestigious magazine of the Kathimerini newspaper. We would like to feature you in an interview about your life, your work, your travels, your beautiful Instagram account and of course your love for Greece”. I was very much shocked/humbled/delighted to receive this invitation. We sat down and discussed all things It’s Beautiful Here, plus much more, and Vlasis went on to expertly weave his magic in condensing my very long-winded answers (!) into a more concise interview that appeared in @kapamagazine on Sunday. The interview is in Greek - and while I can now read Greek, I still don’t know all the vocab - so I hope it reads ok! In any case, it was a huge privilege to be considered for this interview and featured in the magazine, and I’m very grateful for this opportunity. If interested (if you read Greek!), the link is in the bio. Thank you, dear @vlasis_kostouros . And thank you to the extraordinary @blackbirdtales for this photo (for the @2plus1equals2 ‘Muses’ project). #greecemylove #itsbeautifulhere
Australia, I am breathless without you 🤍🤍.
I’m currently working on a number of tailor-made Aussie trips for clients from the US and Europe who will be heading down under later this year. Highly-curated based on each client’s travel style and preference, each trip is taking in a different pocket of our extraordinary country. I’ve been lucky enough to explore most of Australia’s corners over the years - from the deepest depths of the south, in Tasmania, to way up north in some of the most unbelievably remote places as well (the Tiwi Islands, Arnhem Land etc), and even out to Lord Howe Island (half-way between Australia and NZ, once described by Sir David Attenborough as “so extraordinary it is almost unbelievable”), and everything in between. I love sharing my off-the-beaten track secret spots with clients, testing out how much adventure they are willing to take on. Australia needs time. I always recommend a min of 3 weeks if you are planning your first trip. And I promise that the horrendously long flight (especially from Europe), is always worth it. It’s very beautiful there.
#australia #seeaustralia #itsbeautifulhere
Thank you @russhmagazine ❤️
It’s almost impossible to narrow down a list of just 10 favourite places to eat/drink/see/do/sleep/and people to meet while here in Athens, but @russhmagazine challenged me to do just that. In this ‘Postcards from Athens’ feature you will find 10 of my top picks, many of which (and whom) I fell in love with the minute I arrived here three years ago.
Head on over to russh.com for the full feature*
#athens #greecemylove #itsbeautifulhere
Photos by= @storiesbysomeone
*Side note: there are obviously 100s of other places I would have loved to include : ) 🫶🫶🫶
Summer starts now. 💛💛💛
Empty beaches, quiet streets, and that subtle feeling of anticipation as the season slowly stirs back to life. May and June, and then again in September and October- always the most precious time on the islands. Grateful for these past few paradise days on Antiparos with people I love.
#greecemylove #greece #cyclades #itsbeautifulhere
Life on the longest river in the world 💛. A day on the Nile’s Bassaw Island with Sayeed and his beautiful family.
@nile.canopus@egypt_beyond
#egypt #itsbeautifulhere
Of all the travel experiences, of all the places I’ve been lucky enough to encounter so far… nothing compares to this one ✨.
Four nights sailing the Nile from Luxor to Aswan aboard a 55-metre traditional dahabeya- alongside the calm rhythm of river life. The kindest crew and the loveliest fellow travellers. An experience so special, it feels impossible to put into words.
Thank you (ﺷﻜﺮﺍﹰ) @nile.canopus@egypt_beyond . I’ll be carrying this feeling with me for a very long time.
#egypt #nilecanopus #luxor #aswan #itsbeautifulhere
@moudira_hotel had been on the top of my travel wish list for the longest time, so arriving last week felt especially lucky 💛. On Luxor’s quieter West Bank, where the Nile meets farmland and then the Theban hills, it sits like a dreamlike private palace surrounded by palm groves, gardens, and birdsong. Peaceful and calm, you’re just minutes from the UNESCO World Heritage site of ancient Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, as well as the temples of Karnak and Luxor, yet completely removed from the bustle of the east bank.
Architecturally, it’s a labyrinth of courtyards, domes, terracotta walls, and bougainvillea-lined passageways- more Moorish fantasy than hotel. There’s three different restaurants, an organic farm, farm animals, beautiful looking dovecotes, many swimming pools, spaces for yoga and reflection, local artisanal workshops (for bread, textiles, and other things). It’s perfect. Evenings are quiet and candlelit- everything here extremely cinematic. It’s a place as much to experience as to stay in Luxor itself. I think three nights is the sweet spot, though longer wouldn’t feel excessive- I could have stayed a week. This is a true oasis of tranquility.
I’ve been receiving so many messages about this stay - how to get there, which room to opt for, which places to visit, restaurants to book, etc. If you’d like help planning a trip, please get in touch.
It’s beautiful here.
@moudira_hotel@egypt_beyond
#egypt #luxor #itsbeautifulhere
Aegina 💛. My first island trip of the season a couple of weeks ago, for a special project with @pedrogarciashoes .
#aegina #greecemylove #itsbeautifulhere
Photography= @sarah__rainer
Hotel Hana 🌹 @hotelhanaparis
I was back in Paris a few weeks ago working with some special hotels. @hotelhanaparis - a 5-star boutique hotel just seconds from the Opéra and Palais Brongniart, where Paris meets Japan in the most considered way - is, for sure, my new favourite hotel in the city.
Designed by Laura Gonzalez with Olivier Leone, Hana (meaning flower in Japanese) is a perfectly refined and graceful retreat- somewhere between Japanese minimalism and Parisian softness. It’s tiny- with just 26 rooms (including one suite) - and feels intimate and cocooned from the city’s busyness. Layered textures, soft tones, and subtle nods to both Japan and the Belle Époque - every detail has been very thoughtfully considered. I was completely in love with the dark wood, the straw-clad/tatami-style walls, the cutie lamps, the bathroom tiles, the delicate wall sconces… everything. It is also home to an exceptional Japanese restaurant, @hanabi_restaurant .
It’s very beautiful here.
Please get in touch if you would like help booking a room (with extra VIP perks ⭐️), as well as my latest Paris recos. Lots of newies to share.
#paris #itsbeautifulhere
A couple of Sundays ago, we hosted a small group up to the Acropolis of Athens for sunset- the timing was not by chance, it was very intentional. I have been up there at least a dozen times before, but I had never seen this.
There’s a fleeting window (just a few days) each year - in early April and October - when the summer opening hours (until 8pm) begin, yet the sun still sets just before closing. In a few weeks, it will still be broad daylight at that hour- but for those few days, everything aligns.
We watched the Evzones make their way to the top of the hill- something you rarely see, as they usually arrive just as visitors are being asked to leave and ushered out. The flag lowering, the police band playing, the sky shifting through its changing colours. It was special.
All of it perfectly timed and thoughtfully orchestrated by my dear friend and favourite local archaeologist @michael_patmanidis - who knows this place as if it’s his office : ). It kind of is.
Thank you, legend @michael_patmanidis . And thank you to the lovely people who joined us.
#athens #greecemylove #itsbeautifulhere
Selamat Pagi 🍒. I’m working on some very special client trips for Indonesia at the moment. This makes me happy because, while Bali was never my favourite place in the world (unlike a lot of Australians), I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to some pretty random and far-flung places around Indo over the past 20 years- and I have a lot of little secret spots to share.
Some of my favourites include the insanely beautiful archipelago of Raja Ampat in West Papua, and the very remote, very wild island of Sumba. I was lucky enough to be invited to @nihi when they first opened, and experienced the magic of that land, and an introduction to Sumbanese culture. @nihirote opens next month, which is very exciting. I can’t wait to get there. I’m also receiving a lot of interest in the Komodo Islands as well.
To experience the real beauty of Bali, you need to travel much further beyond the touristy spots of Canggu, Seminyak etc. One of the highlights on my last trip was hiking one of Bali’s active volcanoes- Mount Batur. We started around 3am and got to the top in record speed, well in time for sunrise. The best part, though, was being led into a tiny mountain hut at the summit (1,717m), where our guide Eron 💛 whipped out a guitar and started playing music . It was 5am, still dark - we were sipping Balinese tea and listening to covers of Shallow :). It was pretty surreal.
Another highlight was my first visit to Bali’s most holy Hindu temple, Pura Tirta Empul, for a water purification ceremony and blessing.
There is so much to see and do, and the Balinese people are some of the most gentle and kind you will come across. If you would like help planning a very bespoke trip, please get in touch.
It’s beautiful here.
#indonesia #itsbeautifulhere
