Sharon, thank you so much for having me on your blog – it’s a real pleasure to be here and I had such a lot of fun deciding on my top five dream destinations!
Sydney, Australia. This is absolute top of my list is. Pre-children I was a travel journalist and wrote a guidebook to the city – ever since then I’ve been badgering my husband to move out there but he’s resolute in his refusal. I’m a sucker for cities next to the sea. How civilised to live at the beach and commute to work by ferry! Last time I was there I did the climb over Sydney Harbour Bridge and am planning to do it with my son this year. Let’s hope I haven’t become less brave in the intervening 15 years. I love all the author quotes around Circular Quay. My favourite is the one by Jack London:
Corsica. The thing that I love so much about this island is the Mediterranean perfume of the maquis, the wild gorse and herbs, which grow everywhere. In springtime, the whole island is covered with wildflowers – lavender, poppies and daisies. I’ve never been anywhere where the sea is so clear. It’s the perfect place for romance (which is why I chose it as the setting for The Island Escape). There are so many little coves dotting the coastline, you really can get away from it all. Just give the Corsican speciality of casgiu merzu a wide berth – goat’s cheese with live maggots!
San Sebastian. This cosmopolitan city in northern Spain is such a vibrant place to visit. It’s by the sea, built around a spectacular shell-shaped bay. My favourite thing to do here is to wander through the old part of town. The tradition is to go from bar to bar tasting pintxos – the Basque equivalent of tapas. So you might have a few spicy mussels in one bar, some calamari in another, stuffed mushrooms in the next, then a piece of potato tortilla, all washed down with a great Rioja. Perfect.
Florence. I could sit in the majestic Piazza della Signoria at one of the café terraces all day. There’s no better place to get a ringside seat to see Florentine life unfold. There’s a copy of Michelangelo’s David and lots of open air sculpture to admire, the comings and goings at the beautiful Palazzo Vecchio (town hall) to watch plus the challenge of trying to work out just how the Florentines manage to look quite so chic. All accompanied by wonderful coffee or a Prosecco or two…
Wells, Norfolk. I accept that it’s not an exotic choice but in my mind, nothing can compete with a blustery walk on the beach at Wells. Big open skies, the beach stretching for miles, the sound of the seagulls, those colourful beach huts, each with its own story of a life contained within. Shells to collect, beach treasure to find. It’s impossible not to relax.
Thank you for having me!
It’s time to get back to where it all began…
Octavia Sheldon thought she’d have a different life. One where she travelled the world with an exotic husband and free-spirited children in tow. But things didn’t turn out quite like that. Married to safe, reliable Jonathan, her life now consists of packed lunches, school runs and more loads of dirty washing than she ever thought possible. She’s not unhappy. It’s just that she can barely recognise herself any longer.
So as Octavia watches her best friend’s marriage break up, it starts her thinking. What if life could be different? What if she could escape and get back to the person she used to be? Escape back to the island where she spent her summers? And what if the man she used to love was there waiting for her…?
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