LET'S GET JET SET PET
1)Favourite UK city to visit and why
Mancunians proclaim that on the seventh day, God created Manchester, and although some may scoff, I don’t think the Mancs are far wrong. Manchester has shrugged off its reputation as a grimy industrial town to become the undisputable capital of the North. Although its city centre might not be as beautiful as Newcastle and it might not have the ‘Capital of Culture’ moniker like neighbour, Liverpool, Manchester is the essence of English Cool. With more shops than you can shake a credit card at and a thriving local music scene, it’s far from being grim up North.
2) Favourite abroad destination and why
Nestled on Italian border, Lake Lugano is one of Switzerland’s best kept secrets. With snow crested mountains surrounding magnificent lakes it’s a photographer’s paradise, every single view is a certified Kodak moment. But if breathtaking scenery isn’t your bag, just nip across the Italian border to taste the finest ice cream known to man and with Milan only an hour’s train ride away you can be sure to get your fashion fix.
3) Two things you can't travel without (aside from passport!)
There’s always space in my backpack for a well thumbed paperback novel, essential for relieving boredom on long flights or as a faithful sunbathing companion. I also can’t leave home without a vat of sun cream. After years of warnings by over-protective parents about the dangers of the sun, I always make sure I come back home as pale as when I left thanks to my trusty factor 3,000.
4) What you miss the most when away from UK
Without sounding like a true Brit on holiday, I miss my comfort foods like properly cooked chips, cheese on toast and my mum’s roast dinners. Although I’m not afraid to try new foods (as my ordering of a dish simply called ‘mixed meat’ will testify) nothing beats simple home cooked meals.
5) Funniest travel anecdote
Last year my boyfriend and I took part in the Morocco Hitch, hitch hiking our way down through France and Spain. We found ourselves stranded in Malaga for about five hours, hopelessly trying to flag down hitches in the rain. In a flash of inspiration, we decided to try a different spot to bag ourselves a lift. A 20 minute walk across an industrial estate later we find ourselves, laden with backpacks, in the middle of a vice den swarming with prostitutes. Picking our way through condom wrappers and rusty mattresses, we tried to explain to a gaggle of bored Spanish prostitutes that we weren’t looking for a threesome.
6) Where would you like to travel to and why
Having grown up against the back drop of American sit-coms, I’ve always felt a great affinity with the great US of A. The cliqued New York minutes of Sex and the City made me long for East side shopping sprees and the sprawling city-scapes of the West made me long for romance, ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ style. I’d love to do a Thelma and Louise, hiring a car to do the mother of all road trips; except maybe without the ensuing dramatic police chase.
