Crissy Field
Crissy Field, a former military airfield located south of the Golden Gate Bridge in the Presidio, was restored in 2001 and offers wide, fully-accessible walking and cycling trails between the Marina Green and Fort Point. Offering stunning views of the bridge, Crissy Field offers picnic areas and a small beachfront popular among families. Along Crissy Field, visitors can stop for lunch at the Warming Hut near Fort Point, the Beach Hut Cafe near the Marina Green, or check out the House of Air, a trampoline center in one of the repurposed buildings.
Distance from Golden Gate Bridge: 2.4 miles from the Marina Green

Fort Point
For an up-close view of the bridge, visit Fort Point, a Civil War-era brick fort accessible via the Marine Drive lot at Crissy Field. Although Fort Point never had any military action, the Golden Gate Bridge’s chief engineer Joseph Strauss redesigned the bridge to preserve the fortress as a “fine example of the mason’s art.”
Distance from Golden Gate Bridge: 1.2 miles

Baker Beach
Stretching a half mile below the rugged cliffs along the Presidio’s western shoreline, Baker Beach offers spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Accessible by public transportation (Muni 29-line), the beach offers a picnic area with tables and grills, lots of parking and restroom facilities. Note: the northernmost end of Baker Beach is frequented by clothing-optional sunbathers.
Distance from Golden Gate Bridge: 1.2 miles

The Golden Gate Bridge

China Beach
Located in the Seacliff neighborhood, China Beach is a tiny, sheltered pocket of sand with a picnic area, a sunbathing deck, restrooms, cold showers and unobstructed views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Note: the beach is only accessible by a steep, paved drive or natural stairway of approximately 100 steps.
Distance from Golden Gate Bridge: 2.0 miles

Lands End
The Eagle’s Point trailhead of Lands End near Lincoln Park offers jaw-dropping views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Near the popular hiking trail, which is also a short walking distance to the Legion of Honor, visitors can walk along a paved sidewalk near the 17th hole of the Lincoln Park Municipal Golf Course. Here, there are several benches and photo opportunities to reflect and capture the beauty of the bridge.
Distance from Golden Gate Bridge: 3.0 miles

The Golden Gate Bridge by night

Glimpses of the Golden Gate Bridge
For slightly obstructed, but nonetheless dramatic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, visitors can enjoy views from several, unexpected vantage points.

Lover’s Lane, the Presidio
As the oldest foot trail in the Presidio, Lover’s Lane ,a half-mile, pedestrian friendly, paved trail, begins at the Presidio Gate at the corner of Presidio and Pacific Avenues in Presidio Heights. As you stroll down the trail, protected by majestic eucalyptus groves, you’ll get a Hollywood-esque glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge which will eventually disappear as you continue down the trail toward the Presidio’s Main Post. Map
Distance from the Golden Gate Bridge: 2.2 miles

De Young Museum, Golden Gate Park
Located in the east end of Golden Gate Park, the Hamon Education Tower Observation Deck at the de Young Museum offers dramatic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as spectacular panoramic views of the city and Pacific Ocean. Touring the museum requires admission, but visiting the observation deck, open daily until 4:30 p.m., is free and open to the public.
Distance from Golden Gate Bridge: 2.9 miles

Library at the University California, San Francisco – Inner Sunset
Keep quiet here. Located at 530 Parnassus Avenue in the Inner Sunset, the library at the University of California, San Francisco, offers stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge from its main reading room.
Distance from Golden Gate Bridge: 4.1 miles

Coit Tower, Telegraph Hill
Coit Tower, a slender white concrete column rising from the top of Telegraph Hill, provides 360-degree views of the city and bay, including the Golden Gate Bridge. The most-spectacular views can be seen from the observation deck, which is reached by elevator and requires tickets ($7). Map
Distance from Golden Gate Bridge: 4.9 miles

Golden Gate Bridge through the Waldo Tunnel
As San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge are hidden from the northern approach of U.S. Route 101 by the Marin Headlands, drivers going through the Waldo tunnel, the unofficial name of the tunnel on U.S. Route 101 between the Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito, can enjoy the first view of the city and the bridge upon exiting the tunnel’s southbound bore. This view may be one of the most dramatic views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Map
Distance from Golden Gate Bridge: 3.1 miles

What to see and do
Clearly you must start with the Golden Gate Bridge whose orange towers are arguably San Francisco’s best loved symbols. Driving or bicycling across “the bridge that couldn’t be built” affords unrivalled views of the Marin headlands.

The Golden Gate Bridge

Classical sightseeing should continue at Alcatraz – you can’t come to the west coast’s cultural capital and not take a boat over to the infamous Alcatraz prison, aka the rock. Ferries for Alcatraz (www.alcatrazcruises.com), whose A list criminals included Al ‘Scarface’ Capone, George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly and Robert ‘The Birdman’ Stroud, depart from behind the Pier 33 ticket booth. The self guided audio tours are excellent: not only do you get a close look at the prison cells, but you’ll hear the voices of former prisoners and guards recall what life on Alcatraz was really like.

Away from Alcatraz, first time visitors to SF will be enthralled by the cable cars. Designed by Scottish born Andrew Hallidie, the cable car revolutionised transportation in San Francisco when it was introduced in 1873. Usage has dwindled today (there are now just 10 miles of track, compared to 110 miles at the start of the 20th century) but a ride on a cable car remains the best way of beating San Fran’s legendary breakneck slopes.

Alcatraz

Next spend an afternoon ambling around Chinatown – home to one of the largest Chinese communities outside Asia – whose pagoda topped alleyways hum with activity 24/7. Finally there’s Fisherman’s Wharf. Forget the overpriced restaurants and tacky souvenir shops and seek out the sea lion colony that can usually be found between Piers 39 and 41. Close by on Pier 46, visitors can explore a WW11 submarine that survived six tours of duty.

City Lights Bookstore

Top shops
Union Square – aka the city’s heart – is home to upscale hotels, theatres and the largest concentration of shops such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Anthropologie, Abercrombie and Fitch and Bloomingdales. But if you prefer boutiques and quirky one off shops, make for the mural adorned Mission District – a haven for vintage and thrift store shoppers.
Meanwhile bookworms will want to flock to Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s City Lights Bookstore (www.citylights.com).The first paperback bookstore in the US, City Lights achieved overnight notoriety when charges of obscenity were levelled at Allen Ginsberg’s epic poem Howl.

Best bites

The Farmer's market at the Ferry Building

I hope you’re hungry… food is without a doubt San Francisco’s favourite pastime. The city is home to everything from fine dining restaurants to food trucks and farmers markets – the best of which can found at the Ferry Building. Situated at the foot of Market Street, the former transport hub (with its 240ft trademark clock tower) boasts an airy gourmet market place selling artisan cheese, chocolate, wine country olive oil, organic veggies, fresh Marin oysters and other treats. For a sustainable supper, check out Roots (www.therootsrestaurant.com) at the Orchard Garden Hotel (SF’s first eco friendly hotel). Named San Francisco’s best organic restaurant, the emphasis on seasonal, locally grown produce. For further food recommendations, visit: http://sf.eater.com/

After dark
Vesuvio (www.vesuvio.com) – next door to City Lights bookstore in North Beach – is where Jack Kerouac and Dylan Thomas used to drink. While you’re in the Italian enclave (as North Beach has become known), have a cappuccino at Caffe Trieste (www.caffetrieste.com). Legend has it that Francis Ford Coppola wrote The Godfather here while Beat poet (and founder of City Lights Bookstore) Lawrence Ferlinghetti still frequents the Vallejo Street joint. Opera blares from the jukebox during the week while there are live concerts on Saturday afternoons.

Excursions
Stylish Napa Valley aka the centre of the American wine industry, lies an hour north of San Fran. There’s a myriad of wineries to visit but I can vouch for Robert Mondavi (www.robertmondavi.com) and Paraduxx (www.paraduxx.com) – tours and tastings from US$25. Consumed too much cabernet sauvignon (the fruity red wine that Napa is famed for)? Soak up some of the alcohol in Yountville. There are more Michelin star restaurants here than anywhere else in America, but do book ahead for celeb chef Thomas Keller’s French Laundry or Bouchon (Keller’s French brasserie) as tables go like hotcakes. For a meal that doesn’t require you to remortgage your house, the Oxbow Public Market (www.oxbowpublicmarket.com) is where it’s at. Comfort cooking is the order of the day at Todd Humphries’ Kitchen Door (www.kitchendoornapa.com) – mains from US$13.

Napa Valley

Alternatively if sipping wine in a sun dappled valley isn’t for you (maybe you’re from Mars or something), venture to the blue collar city of Oakland (www.visitoakland.org) to see why The New York Times ranked the the birthplace of poet Gertrude Stein as number five on its list of 45 Places to visit in 2012.

Getting around
Exploring San Francisco is easy – at just 48 hilly square miles, the city is surprisingly compact. San Fran is also that rare thing: a US city where owning/hiring a car is not necessary, thanks to the fabulous (and affordable) public transportation system, Muni (encompassing street cars, cable cars and buses). The City Pass (www.citypass.com) gives you free MUNI rides plus generous discounts complimentary entry into scores of other attractions. However if you’ve got strong legs, you can easily cover much of San Fran on foot, in a day.

Cable car

Sleepover
Accommodation in San Francisco gets booked up very quickly so reserve well in advance, where possible. I stayed in Japantown at Kabuki Hotel (www.jdvhotels.com/kabuki/) which, with its shoji screens and Japanese soaking tubs, possesses more character than most. Rooms can be noisy but the neighbourhood is a delight with sensational sushi restaurants and the fabulous Fillmore venue (Zeppelin, Janis and Hendrix all played here) only a stone’s throw away. Found a fab hotel in San Fran? Let us know by posting a comment below!

For more San Francisco suggestions, visit www.sanfrancisco.travel

Name: Kayla Peterson
Age: 23
Occupation: Office manager of the Casablanca Inn and Bistro

Kayla Peterson

Are you a local girl?
I wasn’t born and bred in Santa Cruz but my family has had a vacation house in the mountains here for as long as I can remember, so I’ve been visiting the area my whole life. I’ve been resident since graduating from college in 2010 and can’t get enough of the local scene, vibe, culture and, of course, food!

What’s it like to live in Santa Cruz?
Santa Cruz is a completely unique place to live! It’s definitely a quintessential beach town, with its amazing ocean views and cliffs, old beach buggies lugging around big surfboards and adorable beach bungalows. But SC is unique in the sense that it’s in the middle of a forest, so there’s also amazing hiking, nature and wildlife opportunities. Santa Cruz has an extremely laid back atmosphere: everyone is so friendly because we’re enjoying the sunshine – maybe It’s all the vitamin D!

Santa Cruz Boardwalk

What is your favourite thing about SC?
I love the awareness of the Santa Cruz community: everyone is so politically, socially, nutritionally and recreationally active. Locals are aware of the things they consume and where those things come from – there’s a big effort to view things from a larger perspective. An air of camaraderie prevails – we’re all out to support each other, which is great for everyone in the long run! That means great local food, events and goods! All the restaurants around town are very vegetarian friendly and recycling and compost bins are a must!

Why should we visit Santa Cruz?
The better question would be why wouldn’t you visit Santa Cruz? For outdoor lovers, you have your choice of hitting the beach for some of Northern California’s most prized surf spots or heading up to the Santa Cruz mountains for hiking and biking trails, nature tours, and zip line courses. If you’re here with the family, the Boardwalk is where you want to be for roller coasters and arcade entertainment. If you’re with friends or a significant other, there are several breweries and even more vineyards pocketed throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains offering tours and tasting. This one of a kind town has everything that anyone could ever want and all within close proximity!

Capitola Village

How long do we, ideally, need?
To truly experience Santa Cruz, a visitor should spend between three and five days here. You’ve got to reserve a day for the Beach and Boardwalk (spend the day basking in the sun and hitting up the Beach Boardwalk at night for rides, games and quintessential Santa Cruz treats). Spend your second day hiking in the redwoods, exploring some of the towns deep in the mountains and zip lining if you dare!! Reserve a day to see the town sights, visit downtown Santa Cruz and the wharf, head over to Capitola Village for the quaintest beach town you’ve ever seen! Time permitting, take a day trip down the coast and visit nearby spots such as Monterey (home to the most amazing aquarium), the picturesque Point Reyes and the boutique town of Carmel.

How can you tell locals from our readers?
I think that Santa Cruz is one of the few places where the locals actually love to wear their own town’s apparel. Cars, sweatshirts, hats and skateboards are adorned with Santa Cruz logos. Locals have earned a reputation for being a bit…eccentric. There is a huge youth population here; our town is crawling with skaters, surfers and hippies. Santa Cruz attire is very casual – let’s just say shirts and shoes are not a requirement and a hefty percentage of the population, rock dreadlocks and/or a beanie. Santa Cruz natives are definitely known for being the original hippies: one of our mottos is “keep Santa Cruz weird.”

Best sights?
Well the Boardwalk and Wharf are Santa Cruz staples, but the West Cliff walking trail is also a must see! It’s a three mile sprawl on the cliff’s edge that ends at a beautiful beach, called Natural Bridges. You’ll pass Steamer Lane (one of the NorCal’s most famous surf breaks) along the way, as well as the Santa Cruz Surf Museum. You must visit some of our Redwood Forests and Henry Cowell Redwood State Park - 15 miles of walking and riding trails. Also, you’re basically guaranteed a free live music show downtown, on Pacific Avenue: on any given day, you’ll musicians staging an impromptu show. Stick around long enough and you’re sure to find act you’ll love!

Best bites?
For casual dining and cheap eats, Saturn Café is a delight – and it has a vegetarian/vegan friendly menu too. Charlie Hong Kong offers organic ‘Chinese street food’, served in customisable rice bowls. The Casablanca boasts a gourmet bistro and bar that specialises in creative, fresh and local dishes with a Mediterranean twist. The downstairs bar has an outdoor patio that over looks the Santa Cruz Main Beach, while the upstairs Bistro affords panoramic views of the Monterey Bay. Finally if all you want is a good old American burger, check out Betty’s Burger: they’ve got locations all around town.

Penny Ice Creamery

Top shops?
Where to start… SC has seriously good, local shops – the majority of which are located downtown on Pacific Avenue. Marini’s Candies has been in SC since 1915 and are famous for their salt water taffy and chocolate covered bacon. The Penny Ice Creamery uses local ingredients to make incredible (and seasonal) ice cream flavors – think black liquorice, strawberry pink peppercorn, cardamom pistachio, olive oil et al). The Original O’Neil surf shop is located in Capitola, and Bookshop Santa Cruz is still going strong – even in this crazy digital age! Santa Cruz also has awesome farmers markets – you’ll find them all over town, throughout the week, peddling local produce and live music. Definitely don’t miss out on visiting a farmer’s market aka Santa Cruz culture at it’s finest.

Casablanca Inn and Bistro

Where should we stay?
Well I’m definitely a little bit biased, because I’d say that Casablanca Inn and Bistro is the best hotel in Santa Cruz! We’re located right across the street from the main Santa Cruz beach, between the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and the Wharf. Casablanca is a historic Santa Cruz landmark – the original building was built in the early 1900s so it has adorable old world charm plus we have a wide variety of rooms (30 have ocean views) and suites, a gourmet restaurant and buzzy bar on the property!

Natural Bridges beach

Any insider tips for our readers?
If you don’t fancy sharing the sand with tonnes of other tourists, avoid Main beach (by the Boardwalk) which can get crowded and seek out Sea Bright or Natural Bridges – both of which ares less than 5 minutes away. Also, refrain from visiting chain restaurants and corporate shops where possible. Santa Cruz prides itself on its great local businesses: take a chance on a local place and you won’t be disappointed.

Anything else that you’d like to add?
Santa Cruz locals are super friendly! People on the street will just randomly start a conversation with you. So if you happen to be in town and have any questions, ask away!

The mysterious Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall – whose 200 acres include a lush sub-tropical jungle, ancient woodlands and a fascinating wildlife project, came out on top according to reviews posted on Qype.co.uk over the last six months. “This place is amazing. Jurassic Park meets modern day gardens. Great for the whole family,” wrote one reviewer.

The Mysterious Lost Gardens of Heligan

The list also features established favourites such as Kew Gardens and Kensington Gardens in London. However they were beaten to second and third place respectively by the less well-known Horniman Museum & Gardens in Forest Hill and Edinburgh’s world-renowned Royal Botanic Garden.

“It’s fantastic to see the Lost Gardens of Heligan recognised by Qype reviewers. It is one of the most interesting, original gardens in the UK and their conservation projects have clearly made a big impression with their visitors,” commented Richard Dennys, Qype’s chief marketing officer.

Qype’s Top 10 UK Gardens

1) The Lost Gardens of Heligan, St. Austell, Cornwall

2) Horniman Museum & Gardens, Forest Hill, London

3) Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh

4) Kew Gardens, Kew, London

5) Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, London

6) Belfast Botanic Gardens, Belfast

7) St Ann’s Well Gardens, Hove

Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston, Birmingham

9) RHS Garden Wisley, Woking

10) Bodnant Garden, Colwyn Bay

Continued from yesterday…

The Red Centre
The next stage of the adventure took them on a flight south to Alice Springs in the Red Centre,  the hub of Australia’s gold and gem mining in the 1900s. These days Alice Springs is better known as a base from which to explore the vast desert of the Red Centre, from 4×4 tours and camping under the stars to tackling the Larapinta Trail – a challenging 223km trek running along the spine of the West MacDonnell mountain range.

Jarvis and clan picked up another campervan and drove 310km west from Alice Springs to Watarrka national park and Kings Canyon, a colossal chasm in the George Gill mountains. Sheer cliff faces of rust-red sandstone tower 100 metres above the canyon floor, giving vital shade to plants and animals, and hiding water pools and a sheltered valley known as the Garden of Eden.

Alice Springs

To appreciate the canyon’s scale, most visitors do one of two hikes: a 2.6km gentle walk along the gorge’s floor, or a more demanding 6km climb up to the rim of the canyon. Even Sophia tackled the longer walk, which, says Gill, “is well worth it for the unforgettable views.”

Visitors to the canyon generally stay, like the Smiths, at Kings Canyon Resort, which has camping and a budget lodge as well as a hotel. Some of the hotel rooms have spa baths with floor-to-ceiling glass looking out into the canyon. “From my bath I could watch scores of green parrots in the tree directly outside my window,” recalls Gill.

A trip to the nearby Lilla community, to visit sacred sites and hear about bush foods and medicine, is a new way to learn about Watarrka’s heritage. Almost a quarter of the Territory’s population are Aboriginal people and, since ancestral land was returned to its indigenous owners in 1976, around half of the Territory is Aboriginal-owned. To help visitors find authentic Aboriginal experiences, the tourist board has created hubs in both the Red Centre and Top End to promote and support small indigenous operators.

Uluru

One of the most significant Aboriginal sites is Uluru (Ayers Rock), a sandstone mass 348 metres high, with a circumference of 9km. It’s a controversial site and Jarvis was surprised that some visitors ignore the local Anangu people’s request not to climb this sacred landmark and the government is reluctant to enforce a ban. At Uluru, as at other sites of Aboriginal significance, visitors are asked not to go into restricted areas, not to pick fruit or flowers, and to ask indigenous people before taking photos of them.

On a morning walk around the rock’s base, the Smiths heard stories, and saw paintings depicting how the rock was created and sacred points where Aboriginal women still sit to encourage fertility. The most striking time to see Uluru and the 32 dome-shaped rocks of nearby Kata Tjuta is at sunrise or sunset, when dust in the air filters out the blue of the sun’s rays, turning the sky a spectrum of colours. Watching the magical sunset together, from their campground at Voyages Ayers Rock Resort, was a moment the family say they will never forget.
Hamilton Island, Queensland
After one final Uluru sunrise, Jarvis and his tribe left the Northern Territory for the conclusion of their odyssey by flying to Hamilton Island off Queensland’s coast.

Hamilton Island

The island, at the centre of the Whitsunday archipelago, marks the southern gateway to the 2,600km string of coral known as the Great Barrier Reef. At 5km by 3.5km, Hamilton is one of the largest of the 74 Whitsundays, and has a huge choice of hotels and facilities – and an activity that appealed to each member of the party. Jarvis made the most of Hamilton’s 740 hectares (1,829 acres) by following walking trails around its protected bushland, while animal-mad Sophia enjoyed the koalas in the wildlife park.

An Aboriginal-inspired massage at Spa Wumurdaylin was booked for Annette as a birthday surprise, and Gill looked after Sophia while Jarvis and the sisters explored the coast by sea-kayak, spotting dolphins, turtles and huge shoals of tropical reef fish.

Hamilton Island is within the largest marine protected area in the world and huge efforts are made to run it as sustainably as possible. Electric buggies are provided for guests on the car-free island (the few remaining petrol-powered buggies are being phased out), and a glass-recycling plant has been constructed which crushes glass to be used in garden beds instead of shipping it to the mainland.

On the group’s final day in Australia, they took a catamaran out to Fantasea Reefworld, a floating pontoon on the reef. Jarvis, Livia, Millie and Annette donned ‘stinger suits’ to protect them from jellyfish as they snorkelled, and they came face-to-face with one of the reef’s most inquisitive residents: a three-metre long Queensland grouper called George. While lunching on the pontoon they also spotted humpback whales making the annual migration north, a particularly memorable moment for Livia: “They were so close to the pontoon they gave me a fright when they suddenly shot water out of their blowholes.” The pontoon has equipment for scuba diving and an underwater viewing chamber so even non-swimmers can see the bright corals teeming with fish up close.

Fantasea Reefworld is one of three operators in the Whitsundays that has Eco-tourism Australia accreditation; its marine biologists try to educate visitors about reef ecology and the threats the reef faces. The Smith family learnt to identify some of the reef’s 1,600 species of fish, 133 sharks and rays, and 30 kinds of whale and dolphin. They also heard about the work carried out by the Fantasea Foundation, which funds monitoring of the effects of coral bleaching and climate change on the reef.

“We didn’t just have a fun day out; we learnt why it’s so important to protect the reef,” says Jarvis. “The biologists’ passion for the reef was contagious.” All the family were beguiled by Hamilton Island’s natural charm and, says Jarvis, this is being carefully preserved, “because the height of all new buildings is restricted and 70% of the island will be retained as bush and rainforest”.

Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Islands

Back in Surrey, there was consensus amongst the family that Australia had been the perfect destination for their adventure to celebrate a collective 130 years of birthdays. “Apart from some of the more challenging treks, there was very little that Sophia couldn’t manage,” says Livia. While each has a personal highlight of the trip, they agree that it was sharing it with their closest family that made it so extraordinary. “Eight days in a campervan is a lot,” says Jarvis, “but the shared experiences en route made every minute worthwhile.”

Fast forward to today and few would agree with Gertrude. Indeed The New York Times no less, ranked Oakland as number five on its 45 places to go in 2012 list ahead of big name North American locations like New York, San Francisco and Chicago.

The Times sung the praises of the city’s “sophisticated restaurants” and “upscale cocktail bars” which, it claimed, have helped turn “once gritty Oakland into an increasingly appealing place to be after dark.”

We asked Lindsay Wright, PR & Communications manager at Visit Oakland, for the lowdown on five dining destinations – from $5 food trucks to Michelin-Star restaurants  – that have helped put Oakland on the map

Oakland city centre

Brown Sugar
Head to Brown Sugar Kitchen in West Oakland, a neighborhood that is home to industrial arts studios and shipping ports, for some authentic southern cuisine. Chef Tanya Holland is somewhat of a celebrity chef here in Oakland, recognised for her buttermilk fried chicken and cornmeal waffle combo.  http://brownsugarkitchen.com/

Commis
Chef James Syhabout was named Best New Chef in 2010 by Food and Wine Magazine, largely due to his Michelin star restaurant, Commis, on Piedmont Avenue. This upscale eatery serves only five-course, prix fixe dinners. Just this year, Syhabout opened Hawker Fare, a more casual Asian eatery and a welcome addition to the Uptown neighbourhood
http://www.commisrestaurant.com; http://www.hawkerfare.com/.

Flora
Uptown Oakland has become a destination for entertainment and the arts in the Bay Area, but a number of culinary hot spots have also contributed to the popularity of the district. Try Flora for an experience reminiscent of the Prohibition Era. The Art Deco building is a fantastic option for creative cocktails and house-made charcuterie  http://floraoakland.com/.

Pizzaiolo and Boot & Shoe Service
Oakland restaurants and locals take pride in utilising sustainable ingredients, even for cuisine as simple as a pizza. Pizzaiolo and Boot & Shoe Service, two sister restaurants in Oakland, specialise in eclectic, wood-fired pizzas with toppings that may include rapini, nettles, spring onions and capers. http://bootandshoeservice.com/; http://www.pizzaiolooakland.com/.

Wineries
Many visitors to Oakland may also be surprised to find that there are a number of urban wineries here. Head to JC Cellars or Urban Legend Cellars to get a taste of the local wines produced right here in Oakland: http://www.jccellars.com/; http://www.ulcellars.com/. You can also tour all of the wineries by bike with East Bay Winery Bike Tours, who offer urban wine tasting on two wheels: http://eastbaywinerybiketours.com/.

Thanks Lindsay! For more on what to do in up and coming Oakland, check out www.visitoakland.org

Three milestone birthdays seemed a good enough reason for three generations of one British family to make a long-awaited antipodean journey together.

With his mother Annette turning 60 just a week before his own 40th birthday, and his partner Livia about to hit 30, musician and publisher Jarvis Smith planned a multi-generational, three-week tour of the Northern Territory and Queensland. Also joining the party was four-year-old daughter Sophia, her maternal grandmother Gill, and Livia’s sister Millie.

Admitting that the trip was ambitious and mindful of its environmental impact, Jarvis explains: “Because of the long-haul flights, we were keen to see as much as possible. Above all it was the Aboriginal significance of the Northern Territory and the ecological importance of the Great Barrier Reef that excited us. There could be no more memorable way to mark our birthdays than by sharing these experiences.”

The Top End
The first leg of Jarvis’s family odyssey was a flight from London via Singapore to Darwin, capital of the Northern Territory. This is only half the size of neighbouring Western Australia, yet is still so vast that Spain, Italy and France would all fit comfortably inside it.

Two very different regions, the tropical Top End and the arid Red Centre, encompass some of Australia’s greatest biodiversity, much of which is well looked after within the territory’s 24 national parks and 73 nature reserves.

Historic Darwin was the perfect starting point to explore the Top End, including the forests and wetlands of Kakadu and Arnhem Land, and the gorges and rivers of the Katherine region. With a population of just 120,000 and a laid-back, multicultural atmosphere, the Smith party found Darwin the ideal place to unwind after a long flight.

The city’s natural harbour is even larger than Sydney’s, edged with marinas and bays where the family enjoyed freshly caught barramundi and soft-shell mud crab at Jarvis’s 40th and Annette’s 60th joint birthday lunch. “I tried the succulent Moreton bay bugs, which tasted rather like lobster. It was the best seafood I’ve ever had,” enthuses Livia.
Darwin’s beaches are off-limits for swimming due to saltwater crocodiles and jellyfish, but regeneration of a former industrial site has created a man-made lagoon and wave pool where the family could swim. A big hit with Sophia was Aquascene in Doctors Gully, where for a few dollars visitors can hand-feed hundreds of milkfish, catfish and bream at high tide.

Djilpin art dancer, Darwin Festival

The Smiths were fortunate to be in town for the annual August Darwin Festival, 18 days of art, music and comedy. Another highlight was Mindil beach sunset market (every Thursday and Sunday between April and October), where they joined hundreds lured to the beach by entertainers and delicious food stalls.

From Darwin, the family set off to find the wilder side of the Top End, driving 250km east to tropical Kakadu national park in a six-berth Maui camper van. With five adults and a small child in one van, Annette admits they had to be super tidy and considerate during their four nights on the road: “We grandmothers had to top and tail to make more space in our bed, but it was great fun.”

Jarvis advises hiring from Maui or sister company Britz, both of which take their environmental responsibilities seriously. They encourage customers to volunteer on an environmental project during their holiday, and Maui claims to have the most fuel-efficient fleet on the road. Customers are asked to stay only five nights in any one place; to leave areas as clean, or cleaner, than they found them; and to dispose of all rubbish and drainage liquids appropriately. Jarvis chose eco-certified campgrounds listed on the Northern Territory tourist board website where possible: “Many used solar power and had very advanced recycling facilities to minimise their impact.”

The family was frequently joined at dinner by the wallabies and wallaroos that bound around the national park. They went bushwalking and on a billabong cruise to try to spot some of the other 66 mammals, 120 reptiles and 290 birds that make Kakadu their home.

Nourlangie Rock Kakadu

The Northern Territory is ‘Crocodile Dundee country’: it has around 150,000 saltwater crocs and 100,000 freshwater ones, making a ratio of almost one crocodile to every human. It was on a cruise on Yellow Water billabong in Kakadu that Sophia saw the freshwater version of her favourite animal up close: “A really, really big crocodile, he had very rough skin and I watched him eat his lunch.”

At sites such as Nanguluwur and Nourlangie they marvelled at Aboriginal rock paintings depicting creation stories dating back as far as 20,000 years; at Bowali cultural centre and Warradjan Aboriginal cultural centre they learnt more about the indigenous people who have lived in Kakadu for 50,000 years.

A short drive south from Kakadu to Nitmiluk national park brought the group to the spectacular Katherine gorge, formed from not one but 13 gorges, carved into the sandstone by the Katherine river over a billion years. The family joined a breakfast cruise to explore the rockpools, waterfalls and sandy beaches hidden in the gorge’s shadow, with a guide pointing out the canyon’s flora and fauna along the way. “The wildlife was incredible. I saw five different species of kingfisher in one morning,” says Jarvis. “Before the tour, I wouldn’t have been able to distinguish one from another.”

To read more about the Jarvis’s Australian adventure, be sure to log onto CD-Traveller this Thursday (May 17)!

Provenance is the latest buzzword to hit the London food scene and chefs all over the city are not only keen to source produce locally and seasonally, but from the very best possible supplier for each individual item. “In Britain we have some of the best ingredients around and London’s greatest chefs are really capitalising on this,” Lee Streeton, executive chef of HIX Albermale at Browns (London’s oldest hotel), tells me.

HIX at The Albemarle restaurant

Stretton changes his menu every two weeks and speaks to his suppliers daily. This is to make the best use of local and seasonal British ingredients – whether gulls eggs one week or St George’s mushrooms the next –  in addition to keeping his customers excited. Foraged food – sea buckthorn berries, ancient herbs and flowers – are also featured. Yet he still does the old fashioned trolley with different cuts of meat: “For me that’s really sexy and the customers love it.”

After decades of being the poor relation of the culinary world, British dining in its highest form is finally being put on the map. We have a wealth of high quality seasonal produce on both land and shore in this country that is finally being given the recognition it deserves – in the UK and not just as an export to continental Europe. It was Gary Rhodes who can be thanked for this phenomena. The spiky haired, squeaky voiced TV chef may not be an obvious choice as a British food ambassador but way back during the nouvelle cuisine 1980s, Rhodes was a torch bearer for classic British dishes.

The role of Rhodes is one that Ricky McMenemy, managing director of Rules (London’s oldest restaurant, established in 1798), is the first to acknowledge. “For many years British food has been under the radar, regarded as old fashioned, fossilised even.” The British public themselves have in tandem had a growing interest, knowledge and appreciation of good food which has encouraged the growth of British Restaurants in this country.

“Look at the success of restaurants such as Canteen, ‘nose to tail’ eating in St John, or Marcus Wareing at the Gilbert Scott, all of which realise the wealth of excellent food we have and should be showcasing to the world.” McMenemy acknowledges that Rules has been fortunate enough through its history to be one of the greatest exponents of game and while it is no longer sourced from their own estate, Rules still sells more game throughout the season than any other single restaurant in Britain.

“I think we now do seasonality and provenance as well, if not better, than any other country in the world”, declares Iqbal Wahhab, founder of Roast restaurant. “We go mad for rhubarb, elderflower, asparagus, gulls eggs, spring lamb when they appear. Around the country restaurants are emerging that celebrate their own region’s produce, which is great to see and even better to taste.”

Roast’s base in Borough Market means that Wahhab’s vision is set – as he puts it – in a delicious context. ‘There is no excuse for us not keeping up with the seasons and finding what is best and when it is available. When you start with the best ingredients, then have a beautiful building in the heart of Britain’s oldest food market, you have a great head start over others.”

Head chef, Marcus Verbene, previously at Brown’s Hotel has – according to Wahhab – added a new level of finesse to the cooking and presentation and brought in more foraged and rare ingredients like chickweed and samphire. And although nobody believes Bangladesh-born Wahhab, it was his chef’s idea and not his to put a curry on the menu. It is, as he says, so quintessentially British after all.

Parlour Tricks pop up dining

In a flower shop in East London, Olivia Malan de Mérindol is putting the final touches to her pop up restaurant. Olivia is founder of Parlour Tricks which was inspired by twisting lost feasting traditions back into British society, showcasing the finest wild and fresh British ingredients using Michelin trained chefs. Olivia believes it is a real golden age for British restaurants in London, thanks to a national food obsession that has been gathering pace over the last 15 years. A real thrill for her and others like her is that there is not one single dominating force and Britain has finally broken out of the shackles of French ‘feen deening’ that has defined its cuisine for so long.

“Although in London we have long been accustomed to having the best of all cuisines within easy reach, what’s inspirational now is that British food has found it’s own language and has world class ingredients and products,” Phillip Granell, co-founder and chef explains. “Nowhere is this more visible than in London, with many top chefs, Marcus Waring for example, producing an entirely British tasting menu complete with matching English wines.”

Also I think we’re part of a new generation of foodies that have the confidence to cook and create exactly what we want and what we believe in, which happens to be the produce of this land.  In many ways I always think that in England we’re almost culinary orphans in that throughout France, Spain and Germany they have such a rich, uninterrupted tradition that really doesn’t exist for us in England.  And it’s only now that people are having the confidence to investigate our traditions and to believe that it’ll be any good.  And luckily we have the ingredients to do it with.

‘The variety, vibrancy and quality are what makes dining in London so exciting”,  Alexa Perrin, founder of the Experimental Food Society, tells me. The Society showcases some of the most talented and pioneering culinary creatives in the UK: on her books are food magicians, jellymongers, cake sculptors and gastronomic tailors.

These tastemakers of the culinary arts industry have an exciting and challenging act as our experience and understanding of food in Britain is progressing so quickly. As Perrin puts it: “Picking up a fork has never been so stimulating. London has a staggering 55 Michelin stars making its culinary offering one of the strongest in the world.”

From the Remarkable Rocks I see gannets, gulls and terns diving into the ocean. A feeding frenzy intensifies. The spectacle is not confined to the ocean. Behind me stretches the unbroken green expanse of Flinders Chase National Park, and the 450 sqkm of protected forest that lies within it. A New Holland honeyeater, a gorgeous black, white and yellow bird with a long, curved bill, is taking nectar from a flowering tree. There are kangaroos – the local race of the western grey – and rare tammar wallabies. Down the road koalas clamber among the branches of blue gums. It’s a wildlife rock concert.

Remarkable Rocks

I am on Kangaroo Island, a nature haven in South Australia, a couple of hours by road and ferry from the state capital of Adelaide. Australia’s third largest island, but one of its least known, it’s an ecological time capsule: a place where observant travellers can see wild nature more like it was before European colonisation than almost anywhere else on this vast continent.

There are plenty of ways to experience this great place: from volunteering on a science project to unadulterated luxury. Whichever way you do it, Kangaroo Island (KI to locals) is hard to see without wheels.

KI is way south, facing the fierce Southern Ocean with nothing but water for 4,500 km. Heading north, the opposite is true. The state of South Australia encompasses a vast area, with its seemingly endless interior located in the centre of the continent. From KI an ancient geological formation runs for hundreds of kilometres to the north, through the undulating Fleurieu Peninsula and Adelaide Hills and up to the striking Flinders Ranges, the state’s largest mountain range.

Beyond Adelaide’s suburban sprawl and into the Clare Valley, past the famous wine growing region and onwards toward the Outback, the views become huge, and the landscapes humbling. In this arid zone the climate is harsh and the land fragile, but the fauna and flora are nonetheless diverse. Giant river red gums line the creeks that channel the infrequent, but sometimes intense rains. Many of these trees are hundreds of years old, and they look it, with their shining white bark skeletal in some lights. There are several kinds of parrots (gorgeous), kangaroos (bouncy) and emus (primeval). On the broken rocky slopes, along some of the gorges, are rare yellow-footed rock wallabies. They seem to float across hillsides, as they hop from boulder to boulder.

The night sky confirms the Outback to be a remote place. Far from light pollution, the view of the stars here touches a deep place.  There are very few ‘towns’, and they are all small. But while human occupation has always been sparse, history lies all around. At Arkaba Station, an old sheep ranch that is now set up for nature tourism, I saw stone artefacts left by the Aboriginal people who have lived here for so many thousands of years. The history of more recent colonists is also evident, in old homesteads, pastures and surveying points.

Flinders Ranges National Park

Amid this richness is the gem of Flinders Ranges National Park, covering some 950 square kilometres and embracing the vast geological amphitheatre of Wilpena Pound. Carefully managed with excellent trails and camp sites, the park is a focal point for South Australia’s Wildlife and National Parks programme to improve the fortunes of rare native animals. To the north are rugged rock-strewn gorges where the oldest known animal fossils have been found.

A trip to Adelaide complements the wilderness. The city centre retains echoes of its 19th century origins, although town planners have left their mark at the expense of history. Some of the more recent modernisation is positive, evidenced by solar panels (hidden from view) on the historic South Australian Parliament building and a super-green new headquarters for South Australian Water. The near absence of litter speaks of a local culture that leans green. This is in part the result of strong recycling (the best in Australia), a ban on free plastic bags and a deposit scheme on many bottles, cans and cartons. Adelaide has good public transport, with trams and buses free in the centre, and has the world’s first solar-powered bus, recharged from panels on the bus station roof. South Australia has more renewable power than any other state in Australia, with the contribution from both wind and solar growing.

Adelaide has also become the vibrant hub of Australia’s culinary revolution: greengrocers, wine merchants and butchers source locally and the best are found in the city’s indoor Central Market. The seafood is superb too, especially the creamy Port Lincoln oysters (generally acknowledged as Australia’s finest), and the King George whiting (mostly line caught).

One thing that is not very green is the long haul flight to Australia from the UK. I offer three points on this. First, if you decide to do a trip that involves planes, then offset your flight emissions with a reliable scheme that will actually do something about overall pollution levels. Offsetting is controversial, but once you have avoided as many flights as you can, those you do take will lead to emissions. Second, use air transport sparingly and make such a trip a really memorable journey. Go for as long as you can and experience all you can. Finally, bring back inspiration from being in such raw nature, to be more ecologically connected in all you do. It makes a difference.

For more on South Australia, see www.southaustralia.com

WHERE TO STAY

Southern Ocean Lodge (www.southernoceanlodge.com.au), Kangaroo Island, an acclaimed five-star eco-wilderness lodge.

Exceptional Kangaroo Island (www.exceptionalkangarooisland.com) has top wildlife tours, some in association with Southern Ocean Lodge

Rawnsley Park Station (www.rawnsleypark.com.au), adjacent to Wilpena Pound, has a caravan park, luxury straw bale eco-lodges and excellent restaurant

Arkaba Station (www.arkabastation.com) offers wildlife experiences, plus a historic homestead (only five rooms) in one of Australia’s oldest outback sheep stations

Patricia Schultz (credit: Gabrielle Revere)

Patricia Schultz, author of the newly revised #1 New York Times bestseller 1000 Places to See Before You Die, talks travel

What do you like to do on holiday?
What fills my days is always dictated by the destination. Big cities usually mean great museums, galleries and various attractions from an afternoon river cruise or exploring a cluster of antique stores, to enjoying views from observatory decks. Small towns mean getting lost down back streets and finding a great local place for lunch. A countryside getaway may promise great trekking, scenic drives, tracking down a hidden waterfall or ancient hot springs. And islands, of course, mean glorious (and hopefully empty) beaches and wonderful just-caught seafood dinners at sunset.

Where did you last go?
Within two recent weeks, I squeezed in Mexico City (I had forgotten how beautiful it is and what a great food and cultural scene it has), Rio de Janeiro (certainly there exists no more beautiful urban scene than what unfolds from up at Corcovado, beneath the out-stretched arms of the Christ the Redeemer statue) and Buenos Aires (beautiful people fill the steak houses arriving at 10pm and later - after that it’s time to hit the tango clubs, of which there are too many to count).

Do you know where you’re going this year?
I’m taking the TransCantabrico train across the northern coast of Spain, from the Basque city of San Sebastian west to Santiago de Compostela. I’m hoping to tag on a few days at the beginning in the wonderful port city of Barcelona. In the fall I am re-visiting Slovenia and Croatia – two favorites from when I first visited them as part of Yugoslavia.

Venice, Italy

Of all the places you’ve been to, what was your favourite and why?
Italy shall always be my favorite destination – for unparalleled art (Michelangelo’s David, the Vatican Museums, the Archeological Museum in Naples), natural beauty (the Amalfi Coast, the Dolomite Mountains, the island of Capri), man-made beauty (St. Mark’s Basilica, the Renaissance palaces of Florence, the hill towns of Tuscany, the Greek temples across Sicily and Venice, an other-worldly city built on water), and food (just about everywhere!). Sometimes it’s just enough to sit in an al fresco cafe with a late afternoon aperitivo and people watch.

Which destination do you wish to travel to, but haven’t yet been?
I haven’t been to so very very (very) many places, all jamming my ‘Short List’. If I could get on a plane tomorrow, it would be to go to the Antarctica. I have never heard anyone who returned, speak in anything less than superlatives.

Antarctica

In your own country, what would you recommend tourists see that isn’t in the travel guides?
By now, just about everything has been included in travel guides! The San Juan Islands off the coast of Seattle in the Pacific North West state of Washington are very special, as it the rocky, rugged coastline of Maine up at the northeast border with Canada – you can see it from a historic wooden schooner ship (for a few hours or a few days) that serves fresh lobster dinners (for which these waters are known) under the stars.

How do you plan your holiday?
I love to research, and spend countless hours getting lost online. I often buy at least two guidebooks and sometimes five or six6 (tho only two come with me). Each guidebook gives a different angle and opinion – and it is interesting to see the variety of restaurants and hotels that some authors prefer, and others do not. When I arrive, I’ll have an idea of how most days will be spent, but I purposefully leave afternoons or days open to serendipity – they say it is the best tour guide.

New York

How often do you go away?
That’s hard to say: sometimes a trip is weeks long, other times only 48 hours. But it is safe to say that I am away more than I am  home. But since ‘home’ for me is New York, I am always happy to return. New Yorkers are only half kidding when we call it the centre of the universe!

Who do you travel with?
My significant other is a great travelling companion – he shares my love for every wonder and surprise we stumble upon, and is calmingly patient with complications and flight delays. But I am also happy to travel alone – it is a very different experience and can be even more rewarding.

Where do you see tourism in your country, in 10 years?
I live in a city that has always been a magnet for tourism, and visitors have always come in huge numbers. In general I think the US will see greater numbers of Chinese (and Asians in general), Russians and Brazilians – all of whom are projected to spend more money on travel as their economies continue to flourish – and I think they will start travelling more beyond the usual triangle of New York, San Francisco and Disneyworld. Beyond the big cities is where the heart and soul of America can be found – in our small towns and exceptional national parks.

1,000 Places to See Before You Die (second edition) by Patricia Schultz is out now, published by Workman at £14.99.