EP 93 Moving to Italy for summer; Mother's Day gift guide & do people really care about giving back when they travel?

Have you ever thought about packing everything up, renting or selling the house and moving to Italy? Well, that’s just what our guest this week did. 

Award-winning freelance food, travel and lifestyle journalist Natascha Mirosch has swapped the sunny shores of Brisbane to move temporarily to a tiny village south of Rome. We chat about why she did it, what there is to see and do in the region where she’s now living and how you could do it too.

We also have a last-minute Mother’s Day guide for the travel-loving mum in your family (or yourself) and do people really care about giving back when they travel?  We give you the feedback from some of the experts including Booking.com's 2025 Sustainable Travel report. 

Chapters

• 3:05 Do travellers actually care about giving back?
• 11:37 Moving to an Italian village; with Natasha Mirosch
• 37:30 Mother's Day gifts for travelling mums

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Welcome to The World Awaits. Travel tales to inspire your wanderlust. Welcome back to The World Awaits. How are you all?

SPEAKER_00: 0:12

Hi everyone. How are you, Belle?

SPEAKER_01: 0:14

It's been an interesting week. I have been slogging away over a story about the best new architecture openings in 2025 for the Sydney Morning Herald. And I also saw a preview of the movie The Salt Pass this week. This is a film adaptation of Rain or Wind's best-selling memoir, which is coming out in Australian cinemas from May 15. It was sponsored by U-Trax because they offer a number of self-guided walking tours along the long-distance southwest coast path, which at more than 1,000 kilometres is England's longest national trail. So if you like lacing up the hiking boots, which we both do, get in to see the movie, read the book, maybe make a plan to hike this part of the southern English coastline. So that's what I've got up to this week. What about you? Oh,

SPEAKER_00: 0:59

that's exciting. I feel like I'm still catching up from these two Fridays that we lost. Oh, man. But I did also have a birthday, so I was a bit spoiled with some vouchers and a really nice family dinner out. And I even got a cake, although I had to ask for it. And some... I never get cakes. I love getting a cake. I just find everyone else cakes in the family and I never get one. So I put the word out there and I did get a lovely cake. And I also got some beautiful flowers from a friend of mine. And yeah, so I hate getting a year older, but the gifts are always nice.

SPEAKER_01: 1:31

Happy birthday. And I've got to say, I didn't get you anything. Those flowers were not from me. I actually had a birthday a few weeks before you. I'm Aries, Kirsty's Gemini. Oh, no, you're not. You're Taurus, aren't you? You have to do something. Taurus, just in case anybody's asking. I actually spent my birthday getting the on two flights with Qatar Airways to Tunisia. And can I say, no, I did not get a business class upgrade for my special day. Indeed, Qatar, if you're listening, I can fly next 13th of April. When we got back, I got a few little prezzies from the family. One of them we've been having a big discussion about was actually a Vacuum cleaner? Not just any vacuum cleaner. It was one of those automated ones. But here's the clincher, right? Because I was like, oh my gosh, I'm getting cleaning products for my birthday. Kirsty was like, what? My husband wouldn't be game to do that. But it is one of those automated ones. And it mops as well as vacuum. So I've actually mopped, vacuumed and mopped the floors. And I've got two big dogs. So there's a lot of vacuuming and a lot of mopping going on in my life. I'm liking it. I'm coming around to it. At first I was like, are you perverse? You bought me a vacuum cleaner for my porch? Far out, mate. But I did just set it and go while I was writing this morning. Okay, all right. I'm coming around.

SPEAKER_00: 2:45

Look, I like the idea of being bought a vacuum cleaner and a mop, but not for my birthday. I know. But look, anyway, you're right. Having something just automated... And doing the job for you is very nice. Although, yeah, I make my husband do vacuuming and mopping, so there you go. Anyway, moving on to other things. So interestingly, a heap of studies have been coming out lately showing that travelers are increasingly concerned about making an impact when they travel. Bella and I actually often talk about this, don't we? Because we talk about it between ourselves and about whether people are actually consciously traveling. booking travel based on this. So we often talk about, do people actually really go into a travel advisor or when they're looking to book, are they actively looking, oh, hey, where can I make a difference in the world? And you would think that given the number of companies who are investing in travel that gives back to communities, that actually it must be the case because there are a lot of organizations that are doing amazing things like G Adventures and Adventure Intrepid and Adventure World.

SPEAKER_01: 3:52

That is true. I reckon, though, I reckon that we unconsciously undertake a lot of those travel for good initiatives because if we're searching for authentic travel experiences, then it just becomes part of the parcel, like staying in small family-run hotels as opposed to the big chains or eating at local restaurants instead of a multinational fast food outlet. As you mentioned, Intrepid, which I've worked a lot with over many years on their guided tours, they incorporate at least one meal in a family home on its tour. In the past, like I was in Turkey about 18 months ago with them, we had lunch with a woman and her daughter in Istanbul and then again in Cappadocia down in southern Turkey. It's a massive tourist hub because everybody goes there for that perfect ballooning experience over the cave cities and stuff. But when we went in to have lunch or dinner with this family, The mother who'd cooked everything, prepared for about 10 of us, said she'd actually put her two girls through university. And they were things like engineers and doctors. And she paid for that out of the money that she earned from cooking for Intrepid. And this is in a country that only 30% of women have any participation in the paid workforce. Traditionally, traditional values, you stay at home and stuff like that. But not everybody has. a husband there to earn for them. And so it's quite interesting. Sometimes you think, you don't even think that you're doing travel for good, but when you're choosing those sorts of experiences, you are getting a more local feel to the tour rather than just being hoarding tourist traps and big gold shiny stars for you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 5:25

And if you scoot on back to episode 86, actually, we spoke to Abercrombie& Kent Philanthropy, which Keith Rowell, who actually runs the whole philanthropy arm there. And he was talking about some incredible initiatives they're doing. There's women who they set up bike shops for and they have sold more than 8,000 bikes in their local communities. And then as a tourist, you can go along to these bike shops and see what these incredible entrepreneurial women are doing, which is sustaining their livelihood and being able to send their kids to school. And it's all across Africa and the Middle East. And also they, by going along and actually visiting them and you can go out and with ANK on actually they've got 55 philanthropy projects across 24 countries but you can go out and actually by going and doing that even just because you happen to be staying in one of their properties or the properties associated with them that they offer you are giving back to the community and This is the thing that makes such a big difference. We also spoke to Bruce Prentip about this because he's the founder of G Adventures and a massive advocate, obviously, for giving back to community as well. And if you've gone back to the Sun Series 4, way back in our early days, yeah, he has some incredible projects he talks about too. But it's also about this whole topic. It's such a broad topic. And it's also about going to places where they're investing back into the environment. So There's an amazing example of this, and I'm going here in July to Cambodia. There's a property called Songsa, which is founded by a woman called Melita Kulmandis. Now, she was in Cambodia with her boyfriend at the time, and she went to this island and subsequently was offered the island and bought it for 15,000 US, which she took back in a brown paper bag across from the mainland back to the island to pay for this island. And at the time the island was decimated, there were like 50 fishing boats parking out, just completely decimating the marine population. And her efforts in collaboration with local chiefs actually formed Cambodia's first protected marine park. That just blows my mind. And as a traveler, you might just go there because it's such an exceptional property and outstanding property. And like you said, Belle, without even really, not actively even probably realising it, it's just the authenticity of the destination. But by participating and actually going there and going snorkelling and paying to go snorkelling, your funds are going back to preserving that environment that she's now created, which is now a marine park, which was, like I said, just decimated. So it's really remarkable how the extent of what we can do as travellers.

SPEAKER_01: 8:03

Yeah, absolutely. That's a phenomenal point. I think it's absolutely phenomenal. And that's one person doing that. Some of the research around this has been undertaken by Booking.com, which released its sustainable travel research recently, finding that there's a growing awareness of both the social and cultural impacts of travel. So this is actually the 10th edition where they've explored consumer attitudes and intentions about the social and ecological impacts of travel. travel and they surveyed 32,000 travellers in 34 countries, which included 1,000 people from Australia.

SPEAKER_00: 8:37

Yeah, and when they did one back in 2016, this is quite interesting, 40% of Aussies said believes that they did travel sustainably, but by 2025, that was up to 91%. And who said that they wanted to make more sustainable choices? We obviously are more conscious about it and wanting to do it. And I certainly know I am. It's absolutely something I do think about before I travel or when I make my travel arrangements. But yeah, whether or not the majority do, that was always debatable. But all of these stats are showing that there is a massive shift and awareness and preferences and priorities when it comes to actually wanting to make a more positive impact when you travel.

SPEAKER_01: 9:16

Yeah, and the research also found that for the first time, more than half the Australians surveyed are conscious of travel's impact on communities as well as the environment. So think about the conversations we've had about whether or not to cruise into Venice and 67% now said they want to leave places better than when they arrived. talk about things like protecting Antarctica or not influencing a community with all of your negatives, bringing sugary treats into remote communities, that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_00: 9:46

And there was actually more research as well. So another recent study by Virtuoso, which is a leading global network of 20,000 travel advisors, that found that 68% of travellers say recent global events have inspired them to want to travel more responsibly. And it also found 62% of luxury travellers surveyed said that sustainable travel does enhance their travel experience. And that's back to what we were saying about that being hand in hand with an authentic experience and feeling like you're really immersing yourself in the community and giving back and all of that. So that was a rise on 44% from last year and 59% remain willing to spend more on responsible travel. So they're looking at actually happy to fork out a bit more.

SPEAKER_01: 10:29

If they know where those funds, if they know those funds are being used for responsible travel. So when asked what actions they would potentially take to curb over tourism, 32% they're willing to travel to alternative, less explored destinations. So we're thinking instead of Santorini, going to Paros or somewhere like that, or one of the less known Greek isles. And 26% would visit a popular destination off-peak, such as giving Europe a miss in high summer. Destination for expert guidance on sustainable travel is also growing. So 25% of travellers say they're more likely to travel responsibly with support from a trusted advisor up from 16% last year.

SPEAKER_00: 11:08

Yeah. And again, that just all proves the power of talking to a travel advisor you trust because they know how to guide you best to make sure that you can have an experience that You know, that certainly gives back to the communities and also to the environment. And clearly, from what we've said, that seems to be what everyone wants. So we'll put a link in the show notes for some great tips, too, of ways that you can travel for good. This week, I'm chatting to award-winning freelance food travel and lifestyle journalist Natasha Mirosh, who has swapped the sunny shores of Brisbane to move temporarily to a tiny village south of Rome. We chat about why she did it, what there is to see and do in the region where she's living now, and how you can do it too. Welcome to the show, Natasha. Thank you for having me. It's so great to have you on The World Awakes. Tell us, we'll just start by telling us a little bit about how you got into the travel industry and what you're doing now. Look, I was in my 20s and I'd been living in London for about four years at that stage. I'd been back to Australia for a couple of months after the sort of the typical two years, but I just couldn't settle. So I'd come back. I'd always really loved writing. And so I started doing a night course in journalism at a local college in London with the idea of going on eventually to uni to study journalism. And I received a letter from a friend who'd returned home. It was kind of a long essay really about the joy of coming back to Australia after living in Europe for a couple of years. And it was really good. I really enjoyed reading it. I suggested he turned it into a travel article and that I'd submit it to a travel publication in London that was aimed specifically at Australian travellers. So he did. He wrote it. And I wrote a sort of contrasting version about how difficult I'd found it to settle in. You know, I wasn't ready to go back to Australia at that stage. And there were things that I found really strange. And I sent them both off, faxed them actually at that stage, that shows you how old I am, to the publication. And a couple of weeks later, to my great surprise, I picked up, it was a free publication that you would get from the train stations. And I picked it up and there was my article published in it. Not his, just mine. And a couple of days later, I got a check in the post for 45 pounds. And so I was just like, my God, you can make money doing this. So I started doing temporary admin jobs. And between those temping jobs, I would travel and then I'd write about it and submit it to different publications. And I picked up a couple of regular columns in newspapers and magazines. And that was it really. It was, that was it really. It was 10 years before I restarted and actually finished that degree. and got a staff job on a newspaper. So I kind of did it all backwards to the way most people do it. I started freelancing and then got a staff job rather than the way people do it usually, which is the other way around. So that was it. Absolutely. It is normally the other way around. And here you are still doing it and highly successfully. And because it's such a remote role, you're able to do it from anywhere. And so you tell us, you have to tell us what made you want to pack up And moved to Italy. Well, the long version is I've always been drawn to Italy ever since I was a child. It was kind of the first foreign culture that I'd been exposed to because my mother's twin sister had married a Florentine. And every couple of years, she and my uncle and my cousins would come to Australia to visit us. And I just thought they were the most glamorous beings ever. You know, they were just so, they just came in with this European feel about them and I loved the sound of the language. So when I was 21, I went to Florence to stay with my aunt and my cousins and I did a month of language school there. And I stayed for a few months doing nannying and I really, really loved it. Later though, when I moved to London, I met an Italian who, he didn't speak much English at that time. And we got together and we moved in together and we frequently visited Italy, either seeing his family or mine. After we broke up, after five years or so, I came back to Australia, but I still loved Italy and I continued visiting regularly, including in time with my husband, who also fell in love with Italy. Then late last year, one of my brother's old girlfriends from, you know, 30 years ago reconnected with me and we started to hang out a bit. And it turns out that she had married and divorced an Italian and had an apartment in a village in Italy. She doesn't rent it out to people. She only lets people, friends and family stay in it. They're all kind of regulations about if you rent it out to a local person, basically you can never get rid of them. They're there for life. So she doesn't do that. She comes and stays for a couple of months every year and the rest of the time she just lets people she knows stay here. And she offered it to us. And of course, I accepted. My husband was fortunately had quite a lot of long service leave. So he took a couple of months long service leave. And coincidentally, happily, I'm currently doing my master's dissertation on an Italian food subject. So it seemed like everything just came together and it was the perfect time to immerse myself in Italian culture. Amazing. So you didn't have any other responsibilities at home that you had to deal with? animals and no no sadly our dog was very elderly had lived a lovely life had passed on and my son has now moved out of home so we actually got got a friend's daughter to come and house sit for us so she's enjoying that she's at uni and so yeah we had we had no reason to not do it Oh my gosh, I just cannot wait to get to that stage where my children have moved out of home and I can do it too. So tell us a bit first of all about the region of exactly where you are and a bit about what you've been doing and what there is to do there. Yeah, I'm in Lazio, which is Rome, of course, is the capital of that region. We're living in a very small, very old village that was, it's very historic. It was once enclosed by walls and there's the remains of a castle at the top. The apartment we're in, it's at the highest point. It's a pedestrian only area. So you have to leave your car sort of halfway down. Not that we have a car, but yeah, you can't drive here. It's very typical with cobblestone lanes and it's very pretty, but it's, you know, it's a typical village. People live here. It's not a tourist village. It's very close to the coast. So I'm sitting out on the terrace at the moment and I can look out over the plain and there's a lake. in front of us. And beyond that, there is the sea. It's just about an hour by train to both Rome and Naples. So we're between both. So we do day trips there. Rome is a bit crazy at the moment, as you can imagine. So we've been avoiding that, but we had a great day trip to Naples where we did a food tour recently, which was just fabulous. There's not so much to do in the village itself. It's very quiet. But there are lots of interesting little towns that are just a bus or a train ride away. We went to one the other day, full of ancient ruins and, you know, this incredible temple that we just wandered around completely on our own. It's just incredible. But that's what you want, right? If you were staying, like if you were going to, if I was going to go and stay, I want to find a remote little village where I can sort of integrate with the local culture and just, yeah, live like a local. I mean, that's such a remarkable experience. That's exactly what it is. And it's, you know, there are negatives to that as well. But, you know, generally, if you want that authentic experience, and I hate the word authentic, but you know what I mean, that's what you need to do rather than staying in those tourist areas. We just spent a long weekend on the most beautiful island called Ponza, which we can actually see from here. It's just off the coast. And it's a place where really only Neapolitan and Roman families go. I mean, we didn't hear... any English at all. In fact, we have not heard any English since we've been here apart from when we visited Rome, you know. And around the village itself, there are plenty of walks. We've got mountains behind us and there's one of Europe's last remaining cork forests, which is not very far away. Yeah. And apart from Rome, this region really doesn't get a lot of attention from tourists. So as I said, we haven't met any English speakers at all, really. Remarkable. So what have you been doing about, you know, how have you been integrating into the local community and tell us a bit about some of the local people and, you know, have you met the local characters? We have, and I was very lucky that my friend who owns the apartment has given us a written load of some of the villagers. though we were prepared. She pointed out the hierarchy. For example, there's a group of matriarchs here and we need to be particularly diplomatic with who we speak to and what we tell them and, you know, what kind of respect we give to which people. You do see the same faces a lot and we don't know everybody's names, but now they greet us. They've seen us around and they know that we're the Australiani. There's a group of old men who do a walk around the perimeter of the village every afternoon who we usually chat to because we try to do the same. There's the church bells just gone. Then there's Daniele who owns the only bar in the old town. It's just almost just below us, which is very dangerous because they do excellent cornetti, which are like a croissant filled with cream or pistachio cream, which they do for breakfast. I've joined the local library and I'm on a WhatsApp group of the local fruiter, fruiter a farmer, who sends daily messages and photos of what he's got in fresh, which is very cool. And a couple of days ago on the little community bus, an old guy tried to sell me a bag of chigoria, which is like a bitter herb that he'd foraged in the hills. It was like he was doing a drug deal with me, but I actually can't stand this stuff, so I didn't buy it. That's hilarious. So tell us a bit about what have been some of the biggest challenges of making, you know, making this move. Honestly, it's been pretty easy. The biggest challenge is the stairs. There are just so many stairs here. And pretty much anywhere around this area. We don't have a car, so we have to walk down to the plane, to the flat, to the supermarket, or if we want to go to the train station to get anywhere. There is a little community bus that comes up and down, but it's very erratic and seems to have a very long lunch break, like many things in Italy. So you can't always rely on it. The other challenge is that for an introvert like me, we have to make the first move really in creating relationships. So everyone's like super friendly, but when they realize, especially when they realize that we can speak Italian, but they don't tend to approach us first or ask us questions. So we have to make the first move. And then there's been a couple of lingual difficulties, not too many, but there was a very long and very complex conversation that I had about the rubbish collection which with the senora who lives downstairs because the rubbish collection here is very complicated it's six days a week and on each day is a different different type of rubbish and there is one particular rubbish bin that we didn't realize was only for one specific reason and it has a barcode and this is all the rubbish that you that doesn't go in the recycling so you've got plastics you've got glasses on glass on one day you've got metal on another day paper on another day and then you've got this one which is called indiferenza which is everything else that can't be recycled and it has a barcode on the side and apparently the rubbish man scans that barcode because you only get a certain number of those collections included and then you have to pay for them after then so everybody's very protective over their indiferenza bin and we were just pity of the bin so that took quite a bit for me to understand So unlike at home here where we just all run out and load up the neighbour's bins whenever we, whenever on rubbish day we're running down the street trying to fill up the neighbour's bins, you wouldn't be doing that then. And what about, what have been some of the nicest surprises since you've been there? Look, I think the biggest surprise has been how easy it's been to adapt. It already feels like home. It's, you know, it's so different to the short visits that we've done in the past. And I think part of that is not just the length of time that we're here, but where we are. You know, we're really off the beaten track here. Like most people that I've met outside of the village, if I tell them where we're living, have no idea where it is. Italians I'm talking about. So, you know, it's not a well-known place. So we're really having to really immerse ourselves in the day-to-day life of, you know, Italians without all the helpful information. that you normally get as a tourist. So it's much more complex to navigate, but a lot more fun. And if someone was going to visit there, like as a traveller, rather than completely moving there, would you, I mean, and they wanted to stay in somewhere like where you are, which would give them a really true, like we hate, I also hate the word authentic, but a really genuine sort of immersion into the local culture. Are there places that you can stay or would you be hiring a house or doing an Airbnb or something? I think you'd probably be doing an Airbnb, you know, unless you're, I'm so fortunate to have somebody. But, you know, there are lots of little Airbnbs and places in these towns that aren't necessarily on the tourist track that are not horrendously expensive. So there is plenty of opportunity. But what I would say is that if you're going to do this, that you should hit the Duolingo maybe. I already spoke some Italian, but my husband did Duolingo lessons online for months before we came here. And he says that it's given him such a different experience from our other trips because people just open up to you so much when you speak their language. You know, when we go up to somebody and introduce ourselves, for example, you know, they immediately smile and they just start talking to us, you know, like we're Italians and, you know, they're very, very friendly. I think it would be quite difficult to navigate without any Italian, though, of course, it's much easier these days with Google Translate and other apps like that. And what are some of the other tips for people who actually did want to do exactly what you're doing, like me? And, you know, and what would be some tips for what, you know, how do you do it? I mean, if you don't have, like you say, if you don't have unfortunate enough to know someone to get a house or, and just generally, what were some of the things that you wish you'd known before you did it? Well, I would say that One thing that you can do is to do a house swap with somebody. And often those house swaps tend to be in regions like this. I have a friend who manages the Australian kind of branch of a house swapping association, and she spends months every year in different places swapping houses. And I said to her once, you know, really, do people want to come and stay in suburban Brisbane? I love my city, but, you know, it's not exactly a touristy kind of place. And she said, yeah, absolutely. So there is always that option to join a reputable house swapping. But there are also lots of groups that you can join, Facebook groups, you know, for, I absolutely love the word expats, but, you know, that can help you find somewhere to stay. Doing a course like I did when I first came to Italy all those years ago is always a good option. There are lots of language courses and it just gives you that introduction to not just the language, but to meet other people and to make those connections locally, I guess. And so on a day-to-day basis, I mean, are you going to be doing a lot more sort of trips out or is it mostly day trips and what are you both doing on a day-to-day basis? I'm still working so I'm writing travel stories. I have some trips planned so we're going to Austria and we're going to Slovakia. My husband and I worked out that we've been to every region in Italy apart from Calabria so we are meeting some English friends and going to Calabria. in June for a couple of days, which will be fun. We're actually going to hire a car that time and drive down the coast and back up the coast again. On a day-to-day basis, we try to do a couple of day trips every day. So I'm here to work. I'm working on my dissertation and I'm working on my travel stories. So I put aside a bit of time every day to do that. Sometimes I'll go to the library. Sometimes I'll just sit out on the terrace in the sun and do my work. My husband's been making little excursions by himself, so jumping on the train. Like yesterday, he went to Formia, which is a coastal town not far from here. And the rest of the time, we're just kind of living like we would at home, you know, doing our washing and hanging out the laundry and, you know, doing home chores and going to the supermarket and cooking our meals.

UNKNOWN: 29:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 29:38

Are you pleased that you made the move? Like, is it something that you think, you know, are you pleased that you did it? I'm so happy I did it. I mean, it's like sort of going back in time for me to my 20s when I did it the first time. And strangely enough, it was the same period of time that I did it back then in my 20s, the same months. We arrived at a great time because it was just before Easter. And so, and they have a very traditional Easter procession here, which was fantastic. We turned up at the church and all of the villages were dressed up either in ancient Roman gladiator type costumes, soldier costumes, or they were dressed up as, you know, in headscarves and robes, et cetera, and smoking outside the church. while waiting for the procession to come up from the road below along the alleyways and into the church where they did this big sort of, I guess it's the passion play. I'm not Catholic or even vaguely religious, so I'm not really sure. But it was a lot of fun and all of the villagers seemed to get involved. They were all dressed up. And then we've had, yesterday was a May Day holiday here. We've had, what else have we had here? Oh, the... The village sausage festival was on a week or so after we got here, which was lots of fun. It's a very traditional sausage that they make here with, I think with fennel seeds. And then they serve it with this herb that they call broccoli, but it's actually like a wild broccoli leaves and they stuck it into a crunchy baguette type. bum. And so they're all kind of stalls set up and fireworks. And yeah, it was really fun. So we've arrived at such a great time. And of course, it's spring and there are just all around us are just verges with flowers growing wild everywhere. The weather is just perfect. It's been about 18 to 20 everyday blue skies, sunshine, I'm already ridiculously brown just from sitting out on the terrace doing my work because we don't burn like we do in Australia. So, yeah, I'm really very happy that I did it. And in fact, I get a bit of a sinking feeling in my stomach when I think about going home. Oh, that's so nice. And yes, I can imagine I would feel the same. What an incredible experience. And to be so somewhere that is, you know, not too far from the main cities, but still so quiet and a little, you know, village where you could really immerse yourself amongst that culture must just be such an incredible experience.

UNKNOWN: 32:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 32:26

Yeah, look, it really is. And it's interesting that, you know, a lot of these villages are dying out in Italy. You know, young people are moving away. But this village seems to be particularly dynamic. And I think it's because of this group of matriarchs that, you know, keep it so like this. It's decorated all the time. So they have at the moment, it's all decorated in spring, spring colors. And there's paper flowers hanging from things all over the alleyways. And People have got buckets of flowers out and paintings on their walls. And then come summer, that will change. And then during the Christmas period, again, it's all decorated, lights and everything. So they're very dynamic. And it's great to see that there are a few young children in the village as well. There are a lot of old people, a lot of old people. And I watch them, some of them with walking sticks and think, wow, how do you cope with this? village with all these stairs, slippery surfaces, etc. But, you know, they love it and they don't want to move anywhere else. And it's a really great vibe living here. And it's a lot of the reason why, you know, everyone talks about the blue zones. And when we were in Sardinia last year, they were saying a lot of the reason a lot of these people are living so long and such healthy lives is because Yeah, they are doing, they're out, they're out, they are out and about. They have no option but to be. So that certainly helped with longevity. Oh, look, it just sounds like a remarkable experience. And yeah, I'm sure that there would be lots of people wanting to follow in your footsteps and who will be listening, just wishing that it was them that were doing it. So if someone was going to just come and visit, what's one thing to that very area? What's one thing that you think they should definitely make sure they do? Look, I would say to visit the Ponteen Islands. They are very, very undervisited by tourists. I've been twice and they're just absolutely idyllic, unspoiled. Imagine Capri, but without any of the pretension or prices. And, you know, there are very, very few tourists there. It's just the color of the water, the geology of these volcanic islands, the peace and quiet where we were staying, you know, the We would be woken up in the morning either by the church bells or, oh, there's one going right now in our village, or roosters. You know, it was just so, it's just so peaceful. And, you know, going out on a boat and being able to jump into this water that's just so clear or swim through caves, it's incredible. So don't miss the Fontaine Islands. Amazing what great advice oh look it's been so great chatting with you and I could talk about it for hours but we are running out of time so I'm going to ask you the question that we ask all of our interviewees our last question which is what's the most bizarre thing that's ever happened to you on your travels? Well it's not a bizarre experience but it's certainly a life-changing one. I was on an assignment on a Greek island and after I finished doing that particular assignment, I decided to extend my stay. And I went and I found somewhere on the beach, it was like this Taverna Apartments to stay at. The owner's son and I were doing a little bit of heavy flirting while I was there, but nothing happened. And we said goodbye on the day that I was due to leave. And his dad dropped me at the airport, which is a very small military airport that has a flight to Athens once a week. So I sat there waiting for my flight and then this announcement came saying that because of the weather, the flight was cancelled and basically come back next week. So I had to go back to the village and back to the taverna. I caught a lift with somebody at the airport and turned up again and said, here I am. Do you mind if I stay another week? So I stayed there for another week. And during that week, Theo and I had a romantic liaison. And despite that, proportions, I got pregnant and my son is now 25 years old. So that was probably the best souvenir I ever brought back with me on a trip. I love that. It's been so great chatting with you and thank you so much for your time. And we will put a link to your, you know, your Instagram and people can follow you and watch the amazing things that you were doing.

SPEAKER_01: 36:57

Thanks for having me. Oh, how insanely jealous we are. And there's some great tips there too from Natasha about how you can follow in her footsteps. And you can follow her on Instagram at Natasha Mirosh. And we'll put a link in the show notes as well. And we'll spell her name N-A-T-A-S-C-H-A Mirosh, M-I-R-O-S-C-H. Mother's Day is just days away and our tip this week is about what to do for your travel-loving mum. That's me, so I'm hoping my family listens. Or if you just want to spoil yourself this Mother's Day, starting with a new concept, I love it so much, created by IHG Hotels and Resorts called, wait for the acronym, NOMO, which stands for Night On My Own. And you know how I do love a good acronym, Kirsty.

SPEAKER_00: 37:54

Yes, you do. I love it. Awesome. I love it. Yeah, so basically IHG has revealed some new research showing that 61% of us, I thought it might even be higher than that, crave alone time. So that means we don't want any kids, partner pets, and no housemates.

SPEAKER_01: 38:11

Ah, could do without all the rat. And to celebrate the no-mo experience, IHG Hotels and Resorts is launching new packages at more than 30 properties across Australia and New Zealand until the end of June, so June 30th. So

SPEAKER_00: 38:26

in addition to things like breakfast in bed or the glass of bubbles, It's also offering spa credit, unlimited spa treatments, luxurious PJs and bubble bath kits. And yeah, we will actually put a link in the show notes so you can look at some of the ideas for your mum. But for something else, we have got some other ideas too. For something else that's maybe a little less expensive and that still shows a lot of love, I love that sort of personalised gift. So why not go and buy a photo frame and then frame your favourite photo with mum, especially if it's a trip that you did together somewhere special or... you know, that if you've got a photo of yourself, but when you travelled somewhere, maybe mum might like that too.

SPEAKER_01: 39:05

What a photo of you travelling without your mum. Hey, mum, here's you, Barry. Which you never got to because you could... I don't know. What I do is electronic photo frames. I think they're just gorgeous. But to be honest, on those IHG packages, I think the 4pm checkout is the bit that had me jumping for joy, as well as a breakfast in bed, because there is nothing truly more luxurious than having a really good cup of tea in bed that you didn't have to make yourself and walk back up to bed in. Or you could buy something that reflects your mum's favourite place in the world, or cook her a meal from a place she loves, maybe a bit of Italian, or break out the sushi, possibly even a bottle of wine from a place that she has been and adores.

SPEAKER_00: 39:43

Yes, I love that. And I challenged my family to try and find a bottle of the Sardinian wine that I snuck back in the luggage when we came back last year. In fact, I had spread them out, one in the son's luggage, one in mine. And you cannot buy it here. But no, to be honest, I would just be happy with a nice Italian feast with ensuring that the teens actually stayed home and had a nice dinner with us.

SPEAKER_01: 40:09

Yeah, that's very cute. But if you were going on a wine adventure, you could get an immersive exploration at Voyager Estate in the Margaret River. So before you even arrive at the estate, you get a dedicated wine guide who gets your mum in touch to cover wine interests, passions and preferences. And so you've got a completely tailored visit. So it could, to do things like having a hands-on Chardonnay masterclass or a vertical cabaret tasting, a cabaret, I don't want to say cabaret. I was like, yeah, I'm out for the cabaret. Cabaret! Cabernet tasting, right? Cabaret, more Cabernet.

SPEAKER_00: 40:42

Yeah, and imagine getting a phone call by a wine guide before you travel there so they can help you bespoke your experience. How cool would that be? And another idea would be some really nice travel size shampoo and conditioner or lip balm or moisturizer. You can never get too much of that. Actually, you always tell me to get, to take lip balm and I always forget. And then when I, the few times you've told me in a warmer, very warm climate, like especially hiking and even hiking because of wind and stuff. Yeah, it definitely makes a big difference. Also, what about a monogrammed water bottle? I was given one, actually, at an event I went to, and I love it. Like, how nice is that, having your name monogrammed on a water bottle? Or you could get her monogrammed luggage tag. Or how about just buy your mum, and you can use it for yourself or buy one for yourself, a hammock so you can recreate holidays at home.

SPEAKER_01: 41:32

But I only spilled my tea in the hammock, so it's never going to work for me. I like the idea of hammocks. I never have the right place to stick them. But I do travel-sized shampoo. And yes, lip balm with SPF in it is always a given in my bag when I'm traveling. And because we're both book lovers, how about Lonely Planet's newest guide, Women Travel Solo, which is full of travel tips for those who want to travel solo. Another massive trend at the moment. And that brings us back to the nomo, right? The night on my own. So you knew I'd have to put that in there some way, Kirsty.

UNKNOWN: 42:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 42:05

I knew you'd bring her back. I knew you'd bring her back. Yes, I did. If you'd like to help support our production costs, you can buy us a coffee at coffee.com slash theworldawaits. That's ko-fi.com slash theworldawaits so we can continue to bring you inspirational travel interviews with the world's best. If you enjoyed this episode, please give us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Click on our profile, scroll to the bottom to ratings and reviews. And if you're on Spotify, go to our main page and click the three dots underneath our photo or simply drop a a line at hello at theworldawaits.au. We love nothing more than hearing from our listeners. That's a

SPEAKER_01: 42:46

wrap for The World Awaits this week. Click to subscribe anywhere you listen to your favourite pods.

SPEAKER_00: 42:52

Thanks for listening. See you next week.