Podcast Archives - Books And Travel

Traveling Light With Katherine Leamy, The 5 Kilo Traveller

How can you travel light even on an extended trip? How can traveling light be an attitude to life as well as a practical way to pack your gear? Katherine Leamy talks about these questions and more in this episode.

Katherine Leamy is The 5 Kilo Traveller, a freelance travel writer, and blogger based in New Zealand.

Show notes

Why traveling light is useful
Ideas for the ideal type of backpack
Advantages of different types of clothing
How to manage toiletries and the weight of liquid vs solid as well as brand tips
Is traveling light an attitude?
Tips for women traveling solo
Recommended travel books

You can find Katherine Leamy at the5KiloTraveller.com

Extending Your Comfort Zone. Antarctica With Karen Espley

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The challenges of travel can help us expand our comfort zone enough to drive change in our lives. In this episode, Karen Espley talks about how a trip to Antarctica helped her change direction.

Karen Espley is an author, speaker, and businesswoman. Her latest book is The Impulsive Explorer: One Businesswoman’s Accidental Journey of Self-discovery on an Expedition to the Antarctic.

Show notes

What is it about corporate life that makes us want to escape?
The challenges of getting to Antarctica and difficulties living in close quarters
Finding perspective on life
The breathing space that travel affords one to consider life choices
Changing your mindset by changing the scenery
The importance of pushing our comfort zones back out since pandemic life has shrunken them so much
Recommended travel books

You can find Karen Espley at KarenEspley.com

London. A Personal History With Jo Frances Penn

Podcast, Travel Memoir

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“It is difficult to speak adequately or justly of London. It is not a pleasant place; it is not agreeable, or cheerful, or easy, or exempt from reproach. It is only magnificent.” Henry James

London can never be contained or defined in one way. Everyone has a different perspective and experience that changes over time, and my relationship with the city has certainly evolved over the years.

My Brooke and Daniel crime thrillers are set there, and my love for the city resonates within those pages through the eyes of Jamie Brooke, but it certainly wasn’t always that way.

In this episode, I’ll talk a bit about the history and highlights of the city and how it’s played a part in my life. I can’t possibly cover it all, but I can give you a glimpse.

1997-2000 Cool Britannia. London in my early twenties
2011-2015 Literary London. A new career in my mid-thirties
2015 onwards. City of inspiration in my forties
Visiting London — places to visit and tips on making the most of it
Recommended walks and books

JFPenn at the Royal College of Surgeons, London. The inspiration for Desecration.

The History Of England Written In Stone. Literary Canterbury With Anna Sayburn Lane

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Some places are so dense with history that stories emerge from every stone. Canterbury in Kent, England, is rich with literary and religious history and you can walk in the footsteps of pilgrims who have visited the city for almost a thousand years.

Anna Sayburn Lane is an award-winning short story writer, novelist, and journalist inspired by the history and contemporary life of London. Her latest book is The Crimson Thread, a mystery set in Canterbury, England.

Show notes

Literary history of Canterbury
How Canterbury Cathedral has the history of England written in its stone
Unusual and beautiful aspects of the cathedral
Other interesting places in Kent, particularly for book research
William Blake and his uncompromising artistic passions
Creating an amateur sleuth who is a walking tour guide and an academic
Recommended travel books

You can find Anna Sayburn Lane at AnnaSayburnLane.com

An Ocean-Gazing People. A Gentle Country. Portugal With Louise Ross

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Sometimes we find home in a place where we don’t even speak the language. Louise Ross talks about discovering Portugal, a gentle country with ocean-gazing people, and recommends places to visit, as well as an attitude to self-reinvention.

Louise Ross is the author of Women Who Walk and The Winding Road to Portugal. She’s an Australian currently living in Portugal where she explores the immigrant and expatriate journey through her writing and her podcast, Women Who Walk.

Show notes

The similarities between Australia and Portugal as ‘ocean gazing’ cultures
Cultural differences between Portugal, Australia, and the US
Portuguese food and wine as an undiscovered gem
Historical, cultural, and religious places to visit in Portugal
Natural sites around Lisbon
Finding community as an expat
Making a space away from home feel like home
Movement and walking as a metaphor for reinvention
Recommended travel books about or set in Portugal

You can find Louise Ross at LouiseRoss.com

Open Road: A Midlife Journey Through The US National Parks With Toby Neal

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How can travel help us as we search for a new direction in mid-life? Why does nature offer us insight into ourselves and experiences that go far beyond the physical? Toby Neal talks about her experience of the US National Parks.

Toby Neal is an award-winning USA Today best-selling author of mysteries, thrillers, and romance, as well as travel memoir under T. W. Neal. She’s also a mental health therapist and the author of Open Road: A Midlife Memoir of Travel Through the National Parks of the USA.

Show notes

Why mid-life is a time to reassess what you want to do with your life — and how travel can be a catalyst for change
Some of the beautiful places in the US National Parks
Spiritual aspects of being in nature when the veil is thin
The physical and mental challenges of travel — and dealing with fear and anxiety along the way
The comfort of the familiar when traveling
Recommended travel books

You can find Toby Neal at TobyNeal.net and on Instagram @authortobyneal

You can also listen to our discussion about Wild and Beautiful Hawaii in episode 11.

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