Travel Tales: Julie Tyers, journalist, mother and domestic goddess
Age: 42
Occupation: Journalist, mother and domestic goddess
Favourite travel destination? Why?: Close call between Koh Samui and NYC – but I reckon Thailand wins as it never fails to relax and nourish me on many levels.
Worst travel experience?: Last June we flew to the UK with our two kids. On the advice of a naturopath, I gave the eldest (then aged 3) a homeopathic teething tincture in order to relax him and make him sleep on the plane. But oh my lordie – the only thing it relaxed was his bowel. He pooed all the way from Sydney to Singapore. I think it got to a point where we were getting a round of applause every time we emerged from the toilet.
Best tips for beating jetlag?: Set your watch to your destination time as soon as you take off and try to get into a routine of that time zone.
What is the one thing you don’t leave home without?: Elizabeth Arden’s 8 Hour Cream.
Do you stay in touch with people while you’re travelling?: I email and text but can I take this opportunity to champion the revival of the aerogramme? Come on – there must still be a need for flimsy sheets of baking paper with un-navigatable, self-adhesive folds. A return to Old Meeja, I say!
Best meal you’ve ever had while travelling?: I had my very first seafood chowder overlooking the Pacific Ocean in San Francisco. The dish was gorgeous and served piping hot in a big sourdough bread cob. It was my very first trip to the US, I was 19, backpacking and felt very cosmopolitan and as if I knew everyhting about everything. Good times.
Best kiss?: The one from my dad as I arrive into Newcastle Airport, UK.
Best/scariest/funniest drive?: I drove from Cairns to Ayers Rock in an ancient Volvo that would overheat if you went over 40kms. I was travelling with my then boyfriend who I’d decided I hated. We only had one cassette (yeah, it was 1994) to listen to – U2’s Joshua Tree. It was a long, long journey, Ivan Milat was still at large and ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ took on a great new meaning.
What has been the big WOW moment of your travelling life?: Another tough one – but it has to be seeing Ground Zero within a few days after 9/11. However, if you need something more upbeat – doing the boat trip (with requisite blue ponchos) under Niagra Falls. It was then that I realised the true power of the natural world.
What is your number one travel tip?: Vacuum bags.
Loved this. I hope amongst your essential items next time you fly an air freshener for the plane toilet and the U2 on your ipod.
Hilarious, Julie 🙂
That drive sounds like a true nightmare… and I’m with you on the aerogrammes. Let’s do it!
Hey ya Ju, “Don’t tell me ma I’m on the pill” moments still to be written about chookie. Travel loads before the third kid, I say. Getting rooms for five is a nightmare unless you are One Direction!