I nearly cancelled the whole thing, I really did. Mid-2022 and I'd booked a trip in September to France and Italy and it was causing me high anxiety.

The world is in turmoil. The Covid crisis seems to be easing, but is it? Will I get stuck away from home like so many others? What about the war in Ukraine? What about work, how can I be away that long?

But I went and found the world still a beautiful place and that I still loved to travel.

Join me for this episode of ExtraVirgin Food and Travel, where I tell you a little about my recent trip.

And keep an eye out for an upcoming newsletter about places to stay, where to eat, and what to do in all of the places I visited. You can subscribe via the website: www.extravirginfoodandtravel.com

Laura Thayer is living a life most of us could only dream of.

An American by birth, Laura is a travel writer based on Italy's Amalfi Coast. In this postcard, Laura shows us around her Amalfi, a place that won her heart in 2007. She shares everything from her favourite beach, to where to buy the best pastries, how to get around to avoid the traffic and some surprising history about Amalfi. As you'd expect from a guidebook writer, this postcard is rich with expert tips, so if you're planning a trip to this beautiful part of Italy, you'll definitely want to listen to this first. A few of the places Laura mentions are: Aceto family lemon farm Pasticceria Pansa Ristorante Marina Grande Lido Azzurro: Arsenale and Museum: Paper Museum: And go to the show notes on the ExtraVirgin Food & Travel webpage for info on how you can follow Laura.

Italy. Art, culture, history. They're some of the topics Natascha Mirosch discusses with Dr Kathleen Olive, cultural historian, university lecturer and tour leader.

They discuss her first trip to Florence as a young PHD student, the best places to visit in Italy for art and culture lovers, how she'd spend 10 days in Italy and much more,

If you love Italy, art, history and culture, this is the episode for you.

This ExtraVirgin Food & Travel Postcard wings its way to us from one of the world's most multicultural cities, Toronto, Canada.

Our guest is lifestyle journalist Maryam Saddiqi who shares everything she loves about her city; from its lively art scene, to heritage districts and green spaces, its residents' love of sports, the live music scene, and of course, with the city about to get its own Michelin Guide, the fantastic food scene.

Maryam recommends everything from a local wine you should try, to a farmers' market to visit, tells us why you should jump on a ferry to explore Toronto's islands and the best spot for a sunset view of the city.

We also learn a few fascinating facts - Toronto's Young Street is the longest street in the world. And if you want to pass as a local, you'll drop the second 't' in 'Toronto' and pronounce it "Tor-on-o."

Here are just a few of the places Maryam mentions - listen for the comprehensive guide full of her insider tips.

Bar Pompette https://www.pompette.ca/barpompette

Evergreen Brick Works https://www.evergreen.ca/evergreen-brick-works/

Bang Bang https://bang-bang-ice-cream-bakery.square.site/

Good Behaviour https://goodbehaviourto.ca/

Ba Noi https://ba-noi.myshopify.com/

Alo https://alofoodgroup.com/

Terroni https://www.terroni.com/

Patois https://www.patoistoronto.com/

Distillery District https://www.thedistillerydistrict.com/

Her classes sell out within minutes of being open for bookings; she is a regular guest chef on Masterchef and she has her own television programme, The Chocolate Queen.

In this episode of ExtraVirgin Food & Travel, Natascha Mirosch talks with "The Chocolate Queen" herself, renowned patissiere, owner of Savour Cooking School and international pastry judge, Kirsten Tibballs.

Kirsten talks about how she started at business at the tender age of 12, how she established her cooking school, now celebrating its 20th year and shares some very useful tips for wannabe bakers- from a breakdown of different chocolate types to her favourite cream; common mistakes cooks make and what equipment you need in your home kitchen to be a better baker.

So, cut yourself a nice big slice of chocolate cake, grab a a coffee and have a listen.

Travel writer Ute Junker travels all over the world, but it's Sydney, Australia she comes home to.

In this ExtraVirgin Food & Travel "Postcard," Ute generously shares her insider knowledge of one of the world's most beautiful cities; from its architecture to the culture, history, and of course, Sydney's fantastic food and drink scene. You'll hear about:

• The best coastal and bush walks, right in the city
• Where you'll find a revamped historic precinct packed with great bars and restaurants
• Sydney's coastal swimming pools
• Where to find a former reservoir turned into a garden
• The city's rich cultural life
• Eating and drinking: from catching a seaplane to lunch, to fish and chips by the sea
• Where to find deserted beaches and a secret garden

And so much more.

Ute's genuine love for her city is evident in every word and we reckon wherever you are in the world, you'll be looking up fares to Sydney by the end of this episode.

Are you a planner or do you prefer to wing it when you travel?

ExtraVirgin host Natascha Mirosch is definitely one of the former and in this episode of ExtraVirgin Food & Travel Podcast, she tells us why she prefers to leave nothing to chance.

Natascha also shares her tips and tricks; from getting the best out of frequent flyer points, to how to increase your chances of getting an empty seat next to you on the plane. She tells us about the sites she uses when planning her trips and shares a couple of distasters that saw her carefully laid plans go pear-shaped.

Nicole Brewer is from Detroit, Michigan, but now lives in the small town of Nizwa, just over an hour from the Oman capital, Muscat where she's a university teacher of English and a published author.

Famous for its souks and its silver as well as traditional wooden sailing boats, called dhow, its deserts and beautiful beaches, as well as its warm, friendly people, Oman is a pearl that tourists are just now starting to discover, Nicole says.

In this "Postcard," we learn a little bit about life in Oman and in Nicole's adopted hometown of Nizwa; from the Friday goat market to touring the nearby mountains by 4-wheel drive, taking in a show at the opera house, shopping, or sampling the local cuisine.

If you're a keen traveller, it's a good bet that you have a Frommer's Guide or two on your bookshelf.

The highly respected guidebooks have been around since 1957 and the company is still family- owned.

In this podcast, Natascha Mirosch talks with New Yorker Pauline Frommer, co-president of Frommer's Media, award winning-travel writer and editorial director of of Frommer's guidebooks, podcast host and daughter of Arthur Frommer who published that first guide, the seminal "Europe on $5 a day."

They discuss those early days and what prompted Arthur, a lawyer by trade, to go into the publishing business and what place guidebooks have into today's world and into the future.

This is a really fun and informative episode if you've ever wondered about the life of a travel writer (spoiler alert – there's not a lot of sitting around hotel pools sipping cocktails.) Pauline shares what it's like to have to write fast and fearlessly, to stay at a different hotel every night, haunt nightclubs until 3 in the morning and sometimes eat 2 dinners in a single night.

There's also some fantastic insider intel about her home city, New York – from where to stay, to her favourite café plus what you can safely exclude from your NYC bucket list.

Our guest on this episode of ExtraVirgin Postcard lives an enviable life in La Paz on the Bay of California in Mexico.

Travel writer Kristen Gill fell in love with the town on a work trip and made it her mission to move there. Now, as she tells us, she rides her bike along The Malecón, goes down to the seafront of a morning to watch the fishermen return with their catch, hikes in the desert and explores secluded islands with crystal clear water. All in a place where it only rains for 5 days of the year.

And of course, there is the seafood - from fish tacos to local shellfish, marlin and tuna, washed down with a 'Ballena' - a beer named for the region's most famous visitors - its whales.

If you've visited La Paz, you'll enjoy reminiscing while listening to Kristen. If you haven't been, you'll be packing your bags by the end of the episode.