Steven at the Latin American travel blog Travelojos has nominated me to share three travel secrets in the Trip Base blog tag. I like the idea of highlighting obscure places.
1. Dougga, Tunisia
Dougga in Tunisia gives Ephesus in Turkey a run for its money when it comes to impressive Roman ruins. It is not quite as grand but it’s also not nearly as crowded with tourists. Since it is inland – away from any conceivable cruise ship route – it will probably remain that way. When we went there in January 2007, we encountered maybe a dozen other tourists and we could wander about the crumbling ruins and immerse ourselves totally in the magic of the place. Here is a piece I wrote for Rough Guides: Make the Most of Your Time on Earth.
2. City hiking in Sydney – Spit Bridge to Manly trail
Sydney might be a big city of over 4 million but it’s also one with pockets of national park bushland throughout the city and around the harbour foreshore. On a sunny day, one of my favourite things to do is to go to the Spit Bridge and walk around to Manly via the bushland trail. You can stop for a refreshing swim in one of the little sandy coves along the way and grab an ice cream in Manly. From there, you can either take the bus back to your parked car, or if you caught the bus in the first place, you can take the Manly Ferry back to the centre of the city.
3. Japanese okonomoyaki in London
If you think that London doesn’t have good food, you’re right – as long as you are talking about the London of 25 years ago. Modern London has some of the best restaurants in the world. But if you can’t afford to eat somewhere like Gordon Ramsay’s, there are plenty of more accessible options too. One of my favourite haunts is Abeno, a Japanese okonomoyaki restaurant in Bloomsbury. It’s right near the British Museum so it’s a perfect destination for after you’ve checked out the Parthenon Sculptures. They have other things on the menu too but I really recommend the okonomoyaki, which they cook for you at your table. I especially like the Tokyo Mix (pork, squid and prawn) and the vegetarian Kiso Mix (mushrooms, lotus root and cheese). Here’s my blog post on Abeno.
I’m nominating these 5 bloggers to share their top 3 travel secrets on their blog:
Kristin at Camels and Chocolate, Pam of Nerd’s Eye View, Cate at The Caffeinated Traveller, Jessica of FushMush and the inimitable Anny Chih.
Edited to add: Since Kristin and Cate have already been nominated, I also tag Kim from Wild About Travel + Writing and Kimba at Artist at Large. Here is a list of who has been tagged so far.
The final list of Top Bloggers’ Best Kept Travel Secrets will be published in a special blog post on the Tripbase blog and shared across the internet.
Great secrets, thanks for sharing!
Especially like the sound of that Japanese restaurant.. yum!
Hi Katie, I guess I don’t need to email you the link to my post – you found it on your own! – Caitlin.
I used to indulge in okonomyaki in the suburb of Abeno in Osaka, sounds like the dish is just as tasty in London as it is in Japan.
Good to see your site back up and running again.
.-= Cate´s last blog ..My three best kept secrets – Thorndon, Wellington =-.
Hiking to Manly – what a great idea. Next time we’re in Sydney! How long a route is it? Not too long for an 8-year-old?
Not at all. It took us a couple of hours but we spent most of that time swimming and taking photographs of the views. I did much longer walks when I was eight so I’d go for it! – Caitlin.
Twitter : )
.-= Katie, Tripbase´s last blog ..10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Picking a Travel Partner =-.
I figured.
– Caitlin.