Tag: Travel blog

Globetrotters- Lost Not Found

Candiss from Lost Not Found and I have two things in common, probably more things but two for certain, and that is we both love to travel and we both love photography. Her blog is full of wonderful stories and pictures from her adventures and her Instagram account has photographs that share her experiences more than words ever could. It’s a match made in heaven.

The best part of reading other travel blogs is finding new destinations to visit and seeing places you’ve always wanted to visit come to life. I’ve always wanted to go to New Orleans. The music, the buildings, the smells, the sounds and the southern charm. This post from Candiss literally makes me want to book up a flight right now and go get absorbed in the atmosphere that you can see without even being there http://www.lost-not-found.com/french-quarter-festival-2017/ It just looks like SOOO much fun! I love that you can be an armchair traveller just by reading someone else’s words and seeing the world through their eyes.

You need to check out Candiss’s blog but you also need to make sure you check out her portfolio tab as the photographs are STUNNING. I am a huge sucker for beautiful photographs and these are next level. I’ve included all links to Candiss’s blog and social channels so you keep up to date with her stories, tips and some serious travel inspo.

Handing over to Candiss…


Hi, I am a native Californian and ex-fashion industry professional, I decided a year ago to ditch the high-stress life I was living for 6 1/2 years in NYC and return home to focus on photography and travel my two true loves. I have been to 21 countries in the 5 years I have seriously been travelling (most of those while still working full time) and I hope to add plenty more in this new chapter of my life.

What do you enjoy most about travelling?

I enjoy experiencing cultures that are different than mine and growing and learning about our world and myself through these experiences. I also enjoy catching up with my lovely friends that are scattered around the world as well 🙂

Why do you think travelling is important?

I think travel is important because it takes you out of your comfort zone and forces you to reconsider your preconceived notions. The more people you meet and listen to the more you realise how similar we all are throughout this wide world of ours.

What is your favourite photograph from your travels?

My current favourite is one of the first shots I took in Cuba. It is from the inside of a restaurant and all you can really see is through the window with the pale coloured walls on the opposing side of the street and a blur of an old American car driving by.

Which is your favourite type of travel/holiday- sun, snow, sea, city, mountains, country?

My favourite type of travel isn’t so much type of place as experience when there. I love travelling anywhere where I am privy to a local perspective of the place.

Who do you usually travel with?

I have generally travel by myself between destinations but meet up with friends along the way as I am lucky to know people all over or have friends that want to meet up! More and more though I am travelling purely solo and enjoying that perspective as well.

If you were to give one piece of travel advice what would it be?

Just go, there will always be reasons that now is not the best time but just do it because you never know what life may throw at you in the future.

Tell us the funniest story or a mishap from one of your adventures?

Oh, there are quite a few haha, but one of the most annoying mishaps was in Morocco. I let my friend buy our return train tickets from Tangier to Marrakech for what I thought was the right day but it turned out they were purchased for the wrong day. Instead of riding the overnight train in a relatively comfortable sleeper car we were stuck in an 8 seat compartment. After much confusion with where our seats actually were, there was thankfully only us and one other girl but it was an uncomfortable ride, to say the least!

Where is your favourite place that you’ve been to?

This is a hard one but it would have to be the island of Kyushu of Japan. I went to a few different cities and the countryside and everything about it was magical. It doesn’t hurt that almost everything I ate on that trip was AMAZING!!

Where was one place that didn’t live up to the hype?

For me, this will always be Paris. Maybe my first experience there being a really really stressful work experience spoiled the whole place but I’ve been back 3 times since and I still just don’t get the attraction to it. Sure it’s pretty but Paris just has never had a hold on me…

 Tell us one place/experience on your bucket list?

There are so many! The ultimate would probably be visiting Bhutan but the next one I plan on checking off the list is a month in Vietnam (hopefully in October!)

What is the one thing you wouldn’t travel without.

My camera equipment! As a photographer, I would forgo most things to make sure my gear is with me to document my travels.

What can readers find on your blog?

Lost Not Found is a focused on telling stories of travel through narrative essays, high-quality imagery, and practical destination guides.

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Weekend Adventures- The Elizabethan Gem, Montacute House

I’m just going to put this out there- I love National Trust properties.  Yes, I am well aware this is probably going to ruin my street cred (ha as if I have street cred)  but I really do love nothing more on a weekend than going and exploring a stately home, manicured garden and some pretty quintessentially English landscapes. In Australia, we don’t have many of these historic buildings. We have a completely different history.  So maybe this is where my fascination with these properties comes from I’m just not used to them.  We read about mansions and castles in books but never got to actually see any or walk around them.

I love the history, the stories, the artwork, the secret gardens if all just makes you feel like stepping back in time (or often for me like I am a royal queen) and seeing how different life was in the past. I think the national trust has done a tremendous job restoring and maintaining these properties. To think they are still standing and still intact after 100s of years is amazing.

We’ve been to see quite a few places over the years and some of which has been blogged about previously (and many still to be blogged about) but over the Easter weekend this year we ventured to the Elizabethan Gem Montacute House.

Located just outside of Yeovil in Somerset this commanding house was built by Sir Edward Phelips in 1598. He was obviously a wealthy and powerful in those days and he was most commonly known for his role in the prosecution in the trial against Guy Fawkes. He was also on very good terms with King James who donated a portrait of himself which is still on display in the house to this very day.


The building is made from the local Ham Stone which gives the building a lovely honey tint. Walking up to the gate you get a lovely view of the house and can see why it’s been used in so many films and Tv programs. The gardens are well manicured and full of colour, especially with the brightly coloured tulips. My personal favourite was the wibbly wobbly hedge that looks like a big green cloud. My other half loved the orangery so much he is now planning to try and build one for us.

After strolling around the gardens we then headed into the house and found signs of the past in all rooms. We even saw a historic version of an ensuite. The most impressive inside the house was the Long Gallery. This is apparently the longest of its kind in the country and houses over 60 portraits. They are spectacular and yes you can feel all theirs eyes watching you. The portraits are on loan from the National Portrait Gallery and well worth seeing. Seeing all the faces, the fashion and different techniques just add more insight into the past. I liked seeing the lesser known portraits just as much as seeing ones of Queen Elizabeth the First and Henry VIII.

When we finished exploring through the house and gardens we then also went to out to explore the village that shares its name with the house. The ham stone is present throughout the village and it couldn’t have been more British if it tried. Two sweet pubs and a very creepy looking museum. It was a lovely little village.


To visit the property is £12.60 per adult from March to October. Outside of these times, you can only visit the garden and there is a discounted rate for those months.  We actually opted to sign up for a year membership to the NT on our visit. I’ve never felt so middle aged in my whole life. But you know what I don’t care I’m just going to keep looking through my book to see where we can have our next weekend adventure.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/montacute-house

A few more photos to show you this beautiful place

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Weekend Adventures- The Jurassic Coast

What surprises me most about southern England is the coastlines you can find. From the sandy beaches in Cornwall, the muddy estuaries in Somerset, pebbles beaches of Devon and Dorset and then the most stunning rugged coastlines of the Jurassic Coast.

The other half and I ventured down to the little village of Lulworth to experience this beautiful area.

All of last summer I wanted to come and visit however I’m almost glad I didn’t go in the summer and in fact went on a windy, chilly early Spring day. I think it added to the romance of the landscape also it was a little less busy.

Our first stop was at Durdle Door. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The ‘door’ and the coastline that surrounded it. The walk down to the beach is relatively easy but the walk back- jeez it was like a little gym work out. Sturdy footwear is a must. There is lots of Coast walks around the area as well that we didn’t get to do as we were only there for a day.

Durdle Door is a stunning rock formation which separates the beach and also Man O’ War Bay. The water in this area is a beautiful shade of blue and when the weather is good the swimming, snorkelling and kayaking would get you even closer to experiencing these dramatic coastlines.

Also, note for others don’t ask your partner to take a photo of you and then accidentally put your handbag by his feet. He’ll trip and almost fall off the cliff.  Not one of my finest moments.


After Exploring Durdle Door we headed down into the town and cove area to the lovely typical British seaside village of Lulworth.  It is world famous due to the unique geology of the area. The water was a little cold (bloody freezing) so no swimming or rock pooling for us but I can imagine in the summer it would be lovely. You can also take The coastal path from Lulworth cove to Durdle Door for even more views. One thing to note is the car parking pay and display covers you got both Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door so make sure you buy enough time for both.


Before heading back we stopped off at Lulworth castle. The castle is closed on weekends due to it being a very popular wedding venue. Getting married in a castle would be amazing #disneyprincess

Even though we could see inside the castle the grounds, church and exterior of the castle were spectacular. As it was slightly out of season it was really quiet but I can imagine there would be lots of picnics on the grounds and further exploring in the huge park. I even heard there were peacocks but sadly didn’t see any only spring lambs

The castle is from the 17th Century and was initially a hunting lodge for the aristocracy. It’s experienced fires and being seized by the Roundheads but is still standing and still showing so much history.

I can thoroughly recommend this area and look forward to heading back to see what other treasures the Jurassic Coast has to offer.

For more information on these areas see the following links

www.jurassiccoast.org

https://www.lulworth.com/


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