When I say “I’m going to Yunnan”, even super well-travelled people look quizzical. “Where’s that?” they ask, and fair enough too. After all, when people think of China their minds instantly click to the Greatest Sino Hits… adorable pandas, the Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, The Bund, the Summer Palace, Forbidden City and maybe even…

Yes Auschwitz, yes the Salt Mines, and yes Zakopane, the quaint town in the Tatra mountains that’s a popular side-trip. These iconic places might already be on your must-see list if you’re bound for Kraków, but this city, an architectural and cultural gem that effortlessly balances medieval history with dynamic, youthful energy, offers so much that you might run short of time for optional jaunts…

After years abroad, Tiffany Low returned to New Zealand and is now the co-owner of Tempero, a pan-Latin restaurant and bar on Auckland’s K’ Road. A huge fan of Barcelona and its cuisine, she recently sat down with LSC to share her love for this iconic Spanish city.

For the China-wary, Hangzhou, a mere 45-minute fast train ride from Shanghai, is the perfect place to go – it’s clean, spacious, and within cooee of pretty green spaces. It’s been a tourist attraction since the Tang dynasty (618–907), although arguably, with a population now of over 9 million, it’s not quite as peaceful as it was in Marco Polo’s day. Nestled on the gorgeous West Lake (西湖) and surrounded by bucolic hills, lush forests, and tea plantations, Hangzhou really is dreamy…

Here’s the second part of my recent journey to Prague—a city I loved so much, I’m already planning my next visit. If you’re at all keen on exploring the city of Mucha, Pilsner, classic cafés, and a million golden buchty, you might find a few travel ideas here. (By the way, I can't recommend Richard Fidler’s brilliant book The Golden Maze enough…

Prague is a place I’d wanted to visit for the longest time, but knowing it’s so touristy always put me off. Ever the chirpy optimist (not really!), I took a punt that there would still be real magic in the quieter streets, lesser-known sights, and local’s favourite spots, despite the 7.5 million (or so) annual visitors. I’ve written a day-by-day rundown of how I tried to dodge the crowds…

Budapest is a city of many layers. And not just the kind you spot in its Baroque, Neo-Gothic, and Art Nouveau facades (although, wow), but the kind that blend a palpable sense of history with a busy, modern charm. Yellow trams rattle down streets and traffic zips by at a fearsome pace (this is no place to jaywalk) – except on famous, pedestrianised Váci Utca in the heart of touristy downtown, that is…

Rebecca (Becs) Caughey spent 15 years in the music industry as a band manager and publicist, spending over a decade managing top Kiwi artists Ladi6 and Shapeshifter. After having her second child, she changed careers and co-founded Cook & Nelson with her husband Nick, marketing and distributing innovative food and beverage brands from across the globe, including…

Nicky Pellegrino is an award-winning journalist, writing about health, science and lifestyle – she also tops the New Zealand best-seller charts with her popular novels. Raised in the UK, she now lives in Auckland...

Leanne Kitchen, co-founder of the LSC and a seasoned food and travel writer, has ventured far and wide across Asia, Turkey and the Middle East. Currently she’s fixated on the flavours and old-world charm of Europe...

Antony Suvalko is half of the team that started the wildly successful community and website, Lazy Susan. With a background in professional cooking and a keen instinct for content creation, the digi and publishing world is his playground...

You’re in HCMC (Sài Gòn) and the first thing you want to eat is probably a fragrant bowl of phở. Absolutely fair enough. But famous phở is just one soup noodle dish you can expect in Ho Chi Minh City – there are plenty more. When you get there, as alluring as endless bowls of the superlative phở are, leave time and stomach capacity to explore the complex world of HCMC's other soup noodle offerings...

If you’ve been keeping up you’ll note we recently delved into Seville, giving just a few reasons to love this luscious Andalusian city. Dripping with history, oozing charm and marinated in up-beat, tapas-fuelled vibes, it’s the kind of place that gets right under your skin, with a single visit barely scratching its alluring surface. Never mind the day trips! Here are a few more reasons to dream of visiting lovely old Seville…

Is it our imagination, or are All The Lucky Bastards travelling at the moment? No matter where we look on social media, our feeds are flooded with Tuscany this, the Greek Islands that and Maldives, regional France and Prague the other. Not that we’re jellie or anything. Nah, not us. Never…

Itching to get to Morocco? You’re not alone. According to the Trading Economics website, the Kingdom is expecting as many as 12 million tourist arrivals in 2024. Last year I was one of them, lured by the promise of ancient medinas, gorgeous architecture and gallons of mint tea, and with snippets of Paula Wolfert’s iconic food prose rattling around my head…

Barcelona gets all the buzz, but most Spain cliches actually belong to Andalusia, the country’s second largest comunidad autónoma (region). Bordering the expansive southern coast, the capital is Seville and it’s a seductive place, famous for flamboyant holy week processions, a gob smacking cathedral…

Itching to get to Morocco? You’re not alone. According to the Trading Economics website, the Kingdom is expecting as many as 12 million tourist arrivals in 2024. Last year I was one of them, lured by the promise of ancient medinas, gorgeous architecture and gallons of mint tea, and with snippets of Paula Wolfert’s iconic food prose rattling around my head…

Missing Singapore? Yeah, us too. For all its spit and polish, its Gardens by the Bay, its posh high teas and those eye-popping luxury chattels on Orchard Road, it’s to the humble hawker centres we high-tail when we’re there. So do the locals, despite all those shiny…

What do Spaniards love more than a tomato? Not much. Per www.statista.com, in 2021 tomatoes were Spain’s most eaten vegetable (OK, so technically they’re a fruit, but go with this). Spanish-grown tomatoes make up 35 percent of European tomato consumption, making them a vital export crop too…

With Christmas rolling around, you can bet your bottom dollar that every Spaniard is fixated on the exact same thing - ham. Actually, when don’t they think about it? Jamón (ham) is nothing short of a national obsession and once you’ve tasted Spanish ham, no other will do. Sorry, prosciutto…