TRAVEL TALK

Favourite holiday destination?

Sydney. Love the harbour, the botanic gardens, the Opera House (the best place in the world to watch New Year’s eve fireworks), Fairy Bower beach at Manly, the shops and cafes of Newtown and the view from Taronga Zoo.

Favourite place in WA to take a short break?

Margaret River. Good friends with a gorgeous house surrounded by vineyards and a dairy farm.

What has been your biggest travel disaster and what did you learn from it?

Losing luggage is always a big problem. What can you learn from it but patience and always pack a toothbrush, moisturiser and lipstick.

Pet hates when travelling on planes?

People who sit next to you and talk non-stop.

What destination do you never tire of?

Perth beaches. I grew up at City Beach just a short walk across West Coast Highway to Floreat Beach. I never grow tired of visiting those beaches.

Favourite city in the world and why?

Paris. In my 20s I worked in a restaurant near the Place de Bastilles. I have very happy memories of my 18 months there, even though I lived in a small bedsit with only the barest amount of money.

What’s always in your carry-on luggage?

Water, lipstick, toothbrush, moisturiser, a book to read, mobile phone, pen, and my diary.

Where have you always wanted to travel/holiday but haven’t managed to yet?

New York. Now that my two sons have finally left the ‘nest’, a holiday in New York is top of my savings plan list.

You wish Perth could be more like ...

Having returned to live in Perth after an absence of many years, I am shocked at how dry the land is. So I wish Perth could be more like a city that has regular rain.