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Elliott Confidential Podcast

Elliott Confidential Podcast
Author: Christopher Elliott
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© Christopher Elliott
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Straight talk about consumer news and travel. It's the podcast the travel industry doesn't want you to hear.
www.elliottconfidential.com
www.elliottconfidential.com
116 Episodes
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Goddag from Denmark!We’re on a whirlwind tour through this nordic country, and we have a lot to talk about today.Before we get to that, here’s this week’s question: What’s the most you’ve ever spent on food while you’ve traveled? (Denmark’s food prices have left us with sticker shock, but we love the bread here.)Here’s the inside of Frederik's Church in Copenhagen, and 18th-century Lutheran church with the largest dome in Scandinavia. We’ll talk more about this remarkable building in the podcast.The Wadden Sea National Park is remarkable on so many levels. It’s a stopover for migrating birds on their way from Southern Africa to Siberia. It’s one of the few places you can walk to the other islands at low tide. And there’s lots of sea life, like this crab Iden is holding. We definitely want to come back soon. Here’s the roof garden at the Salling department store in Aarhus. It’s beautiful this time of year, but if you have vertigo, don’t look down!We’ll have much more in this week’s podcast. Don’t forget to answer our question: What’s the most you’ve ever spent on food while you’ve traveled? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Hello from Paris. We just spent more than two weeks here trying to do the opposite of what most visitors do. We avoided the touristy areas. We walked in lesser-known neighborhoods. In short, we behaved like locals. (Well, kinda.)Before I go into detail, here’s this week’s question: Have you ever gone on a trip and done nothing? We’d love to hear about it. As always, we’ll read your comments in our next podcast, which should be very interesting.OK, so here’s why we didn’t want to do the tourist thing. This boat looks like it’s about to sink into the Seine. If you want to avoid the crowds, don’t come to Paris in August!The reason we came to Paris, of course, is the bread. The boys and I toured many boulangeries while we were in town. (The whole-grain baguette in the podcast came from a place called Pain & Beurre, about a block from our apartment in the Latin Quarter.)The first Sunday of every month is free museum day, but don’t forget to check to see if the museum is open. Iden wanted to go to the Centre Pompidou, but it’s closed for the next five years. Oh well!We have much more about Paris in our podcast de rien, which I promise will be a lot of fun. Of course we’re turning it into a food podcast, so don’t forget to wait until the end to see what we have in store!Once again, our question of the week: Have you ever gone on a trip and done nothing? Sometimes the best trips aren’t about seeing more, but about doing less. Has that ever happened to you? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Bonjour from the Loire Valley in France! We have an exciting podcast for you today, including a river tour, a visit to a mushroom farm and lots of delicious food.Before we go there, here’s this week’s question: What’s the most clichéd thing you’ve ever done in your travels? (Like, I don’t know, visiting Paris?) We admit, we’ve done it! We’ll read your responses in our next podcast.This is the Château de Candes, a wellness and art resort along the Loire. It’s about two hours by train from Paris. We stayed in the tower and when you open the window, you can smell fresh lavender from the garden. It’s so calming. Here’s the co-owner, Monique Pignet, showing us the absolutely stunning view of the river from the castle’s master bedroom. Monique and her family had a way of making us feel right at home.We took a brief tour of the Loire on this authentic fishing boat. Check out the podcast for some video of the adventure.A lot of the action happens underground. Here’s Iden sampling the oyster mushrooms at La Champignonnière du Saut Aux Loups. We’ll explain why he was sniffing the mushrooms in the podcast.And last but not least, our remarkable lunch with Chef Kazaaa from Take a Chef, a platform that connects people with private chefs. We had a simple but very tasty meal of roasted cauliflower with black garlic, ravioli filled with spinach and cashew ricotta, and silky chocolate mousse. Mmmm.Don’t forget this week’s question: What’s the most clichéd thing you’ve ever done in your travels? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Greece is a hot but beautiful place in August, and today we’re going to tell you what happened to us when we visited.Before we do, this week’s question: Where’s the must unusual place you’ve gone swimming in your travels? We saw people swimming in the Seine this week. Insane! I remember when I was growing up, no one would go near the Seine because it was so polluted. Now, it’s not (we’ll have more on the Seine and Paris next week.)Athens was really crowded, but I managed to get a shot of the boys in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation when everyone was out for lunch. We stayed in the suburbs and took the Metro into town a few times. The Athens suburbs are not at all like other suburbs. They’re like mini-cities, with plenty of cafes, restaurants, and grocery stores. Note: The grocery stores are all closed on Sunday.This! Is! Sparta! (Ok, I just had to say that.) We were in town for a family reunion because that’s where my grandfather emigrated from. This is a statue of Spartan king Leonidas I. You know, the guy from the movie 300. It was great to see our family and explore Sparta, which had almost no tourists this time of year. Hot tip: If you want to experience authentic Greek culture without all the crowds, this is the place to visit.Yep, there’s even a beach. We drove over the mountain to Kalamata, which is famous for its olives. This part of Greece is so scenic and the food is delicious. We have an entire section in the podcast dedicated to Greek food. Actually, we can’t stop talking about Greek food. We are still talking about it.Don’t forget to answer this week’s query: Where’s the strangest place you’ve gone swimming in your travels? As always, we’ll read your comments in our next podcast. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Hello from Paris. In today’s long-awaited podcast, we’ll tell you about our adventures in eastern Germany. But first, this week’s question: What’s the buggiest destination you’ve ever visited? We ask because there’s no air conditioning in our apartment, and we opened the windows last night, and … well, you’ll have to see the rest.Our tour took us from Frankfurt all the way to the Germany’s Baltic coast. We lived in a houseboat. We hiked through the marshland. We saw medieval castles. We even walked to Poland. The border is only a kilometer or two from where we stayed in Ahlbeck on the island of Usedom. Americans rarely visit these places, so we can’t wait to show them to you! Here’s our houseboat. I’ve never lived in a houseboat, so this was a real treat. The ripples rock you to sleep at night.There’s so much more. I hope you’ll tune in to the full podcast. Just scroll up and click the play button.Don’t forget to answer our question: What’s the buggiest destination you’ve ever visited? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Hello from Lenzen, Germany. We’re halfway between Berlin and Hamburg in a small town along the Elbe. Did you miss us?It’s been weeks since our last podcast, so we have a lot to talk about. But first, our question of the week: Have you ever traveled to a place to do something that you thought you would like, but ended up not liking?(We have. We’ll tell you about it in the podcast.)Okinawa is one of our favorite places in Japan, and we’ll tell you why in this podcast. From Blue Zone menus to our favorite burrito place in American Village, we’ll show you what we found. It is also stunningly beautiful and it feels half a world away from the frenetic pace of Tokyo. (Above is a picture of one of the hotels we saw, Hoshino’s Okinawa property.)Next stop: Seoul, South Korea. It was our second trip and this time we didn’t waste any time getting to know this fascinating city. We found the best bakeries and coffee shops, where they specialize in extra-strong cafe Americanos. Mmmm. Here’s a picture of Aren at Gyeongbokgung, the former royal palace in Seoul. Please don’t make me pronounce that in the podcast.It’s great to be back in Germany. We’ve been hiking through a lot of forests, paddling through canals, and exploring wetlands on this trip. I can’t wait to tell you more about it. We’ll have a full report on Germany in our next podcast.In the meantime, I’d love to get your thoughts on this week’s question: Have you ever traveled to a place to do something that you thought you would like, but ended up not liking? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Lí hó from Taipei! It’s been two weeks since our last Elliott Confidential podcast, and we have been on the move. We’ll do a lightning round on hotels, and we also have a hotel-related question of the week: In all of your travels, what’s been your favorite hotel experience?The Grand Hotel in Taipei. This is a landmark in the Taiwanese capital and well worth a visit just to see the lobby.Our hotel this weekend: The Kimpton Da-An in Taipei. Close to everything.We didn’t stay in the presidential suite at the Mandarin Oriental, but we got a tour. Iden looks like he’s right at home, doesn’t he? The MO has a legendary customer service culture.The Grand Hyatt near Taipei 101, the famous skyscraper. They made us feel really welcome here.The helipad at the Grand Hyatt with Taipei 101 across the street. Aren was trying to get the shot in a heavy downpour.The teas in Taiwan are truly incredible. Our favorite is the Alishan Jinxuan Oolong, which tastes like flowers. The high-altitude tea (grown above 2,000 meters) is the best.Don’t forget this week’s question: What’s your favorite hotel experience? Our answer is in this week’s podcast. We’ll read your responses in our next episode. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Hello from Hong Kong!We’ve been exploring this fascinating city and hiking around town for the past few days. We’ve also taken a side trip to Phuket, Thailand, and we’ll share details in this podcast.But first, this week’s question. Last week, we asked where you’ve felt the healthiest in your travels. This week, we want to know where you’ve felt the most unwell.This is Tai Kwun, the old Central Police Station in Hong Kong. It’s now a shopping and entertainment complex with a museum. We had lunch at LockCha Hong Kong, a tea house and restaurant. Yummy dim sum!Today we went hiking with our friend Gabi from Dragon’s Back to Big Wave Bay, a local beach. It’s not the kind of experience you would expect from Hong Kong — lots of lush vegetation and birds and a white sand beach. The Anantara Layan Phuket Resort’s new Layan Life medical spa. If you’ve got a problem, they will fix it. I had a bad shoulder and they got it back to almost 100 percent.Here’s Aren with their physiotherapist, Pat. She showed us a few exercises to keep us in shape while we’re on the road.Don’t forget to answer this week’s question: Tell us about the most unwell you’ve ever felt in your travels. We’ll read your responses in our next podcast. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Sabaidi from Luang Prabang, Laos!We’re coming to you today from Phuket, Thailand, but we just got back from Laos and we have a lot to share with you.Before we get there, here’s this week’s question: In all of your travels, where have you felt the healthiest? (I’m working on a series of stories about wellness, so I will have more on this topic soon.)One of the highlights of our visit was the Kuang Si Falls, which are some of the most beautiful waterfalls we’ve ever seen. We’ll have more about the falls in our podcast.The National Museum in Luang Prabang contains artifacts from the old royal capital. It’s a must-see stop on your tour of the city. Although Laos is a communist country, they’re not preachy about it. People here love tourists and they are extra friendly.Everyone gets around on mopeds in Luang Prabang. If you want to fit in, all you need to do is rent one. We recommend helmets.Although Luang Prabang has lots of hostels, but also a few high-end hotels like the Avani. We were lucky enough to stay here a few nights. We’ll have details in the podcast.Hey, don’t forget to answer this week’s question: In all of your travels, where have you felt the healthiest? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Hello from Yokohama, Japan!We’re in Japan’s second-largest city today at the Westin Yokohama. I’m researching a series of stories on wellness (I’ll have more on that soon). In the meantime, we’re just checking out the place.Our question of the week: Since it’s Golden Week here in Japan, we thought we’d ask — what’s the one holiday you’d never travel on? (Golden Week is four national holidays rolled into one, so it’s got our vote.)Yokohama is more spread out than Tokyo. There’s space to walk around. We’ll tell you more in the podcast.Here’s our room at the Westin Yokohama. Maybe you’ve heard of the Heavenly Bed 2.0. This is the first property in Japan to have all-new Heavenly Beds. I wrote about the Bed Wars many years ago, which were actually started by Westin. We had a chance to try the 2.0 bed, and it was very comfortable.Ginza is nothing like Yokohama. It’s a frenetic shopping district in Tokyo with crowds of tourists. We stayed at the Yotel Ginza, a hotel for a younger crowd that emphasized efficiency (much like Japan).Here’s Iden checking into the Yotel. It’s all automated, so you don’t have to talk to anyone if you’d rather not. Iden is a people person, so he also struck up a conversation with the hotel employees. Such a friendly guy!Don’t forget our question of the week: What’s the one holiday you’d never travel on? We’ll read your comments in the next podcast. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Hello again from Tokyo! This week we’re going local with trips to a Japanese grocery store, a park with lots of Americans (and one with almost none) and we have more funny signs.Before I get to that, here’s this week’s question: Since this is a holiday weekend in the U.S., we wanted to know — what’s your favorite holiday to travel? This is Mejiro, our neighborhood. We live on the 16th floor of a high-rise apartment (here’s a view from our balcony). But behind us there are homes and a much more residential feel. It’s perfect for walking.Shopping for groceries is an adventure. There’s a three-step checkout process — the cash register, payment and bagging. It’s very efficient, but it takes a little getting used to.We discovered two vast green spaces in Tokyo, and they couldn’t be any more different. Meiji Park, with its beautiful temples, is where you go to meet other Americans. Yoyogi Park is where all the tomin go to ride their bikes or hike. We liked them both, but Meiji was a little crowded. (In this photo, Iden and I are marveling at all the tourists in Meiji. Honesty, I felt like I was back in the States.) We’ll have more on the parks and Tokyo’s urban spaces in the podcast.Don’t forget this week’s question: What’s your favorite holiday to travel? We’ll read your comments in the next podcast. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Kon'nichiwa from Tokyo.We’ve been here for more than a week and are adjusting to life in Japan. Early April is the perfect time to be here — the weather is still cool and everything is in bloom.That brings us to this week’s question: What's the longest vacation you've taken?Where did you go — and was it worth it?We thought the cherry blossoms would be gone by now, but they aren’t. You can still walk around Tokyo and see the famous sakura. We’ll tell you more about this famous Japanese spring performance in our podcast.Everything must be kept clean in Tokyo. Sweeping up the cherry blossoms is a full-time job. The moment they’re finished, the sakura resume their fall — it looks like a blizzard — and the process starts all over again.Tokyo is also famous for its camera stores. Here’s Iden with a lens we would never buy (where would we put it?), but it sure takes terrific pictures. The camera retailers carry all the Japanese brands you know — Sony, Fujifilm, Nikon. And the prices are pretty decent, too.And then there are the vending machines. You can buy almost anything from them, but most of them carry a variety of cold beverages. Iden’s favorite is a peach soda. We’ll have more on the vending machine scene in the podcast, of course.Our Tokyo adventure will continue next week.Don’t forget this week’s question: What's the longest vacation you've taken? We’ll read your comments in our next podcast. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Surprise! Iden has joined us after almost two years of traveling abroad and starting a gaming channel. We’re so happy to have him back. Yep, it’s cherry blossom season in Tokyo. You can see them everywhere!Which brings us to this week’s question: Have you ever visited a place that you keep coming back to? For us, it’s Japan. And New Zealand. And Qatar. And … well, the list goes on.We love Ramen. This is from one of our favorite places in Shinjuku called Ippudo.Spring is absolutely spectacular in Tokyo. If you have a chance to come here this time of year, take it! We know it’s special because all the locals were out enjoying the blossoms and taking pictures. (They have the best cameras here.)We’ll have more on cherry blossoms, a full Iden update and all the news from Tokyo in this podcast.Don’t forget this week’s question: Have you ever visited a place that you keep coming back to? We’ll read your comments next week. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Greetings from Singapore. They call this place “instant” Asia because it’s diverse and multicultural. But nothing could have prepared us for what we found.Before I get to that, here’s this week’s question: What’s the safest you’ve ever felt in your travels? It can be a safe destination, like Singapore or Doha, or a safe mode of transportation, like flying on EasyJet. Here’s the view from the pool deck of the Marina Bay Sands. Monsoon season just ended, but it’s still a little rainy here.The hotel is an instant landmark in Singapore. You recognize this building, don’t you?Singapore is incredibly safe and clean. We’ll have some initial impressions in this podcast (we’ve only been here two days, but we’ll have a full review next week). This was the view from our room. Pretty spectacular!We’ll also share our thoughts on the end of our Malaysia tour, including our visit to the Anantara Desaru Coast Resort & Villas on the eastern coast of the Malaysian state of Johor. Here’s Aren learning how to prepare Thai food in the kitchen. The hotel chain’s Spice Spoons program gives you an opportunity to learn to cook with the locals. I just posted a story about the Anantara in Forbes this morning.Have you ever been to Malaysia or Singapore? We’d love to get your thoughts in the comments. Also, don’t forget this week’s question: What’s the safest you’ve ever felt in your travels?Be sure to tune in to next week’s podcast — I have a big surprise for you! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Hello from Borneo!We’re in Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia’s Sabah state. It’s on the northern tip of Borneo. And wow, what an adventure it’s been!Before we get to that, here’s this week’s question: What’s the most remote place you’ve ever visited? Borneo is definitely a contender, but we’ve also been to the Antarctic, and that’s pretty remote.This is the Mari Mari Cultural Village, which features five different indigenous tribes. These guys love to have fun, and we felt like we were at a party. They showed us how they make rice wine, shoot blowdarts and dance. Like I said, it was a party. We’ll have more in the podcast.The long-tailed macaque didn’t seem to mind our presence. They are not shy, whereas the Proboscis monkey definitely noticed our presence. We’ll tell you what they did in the podcast.Being here in the rainforest of Borneo made Aren feel like he was on assignment for National Geographic. I worked for National Geographic for 16 years, and I can tell you it was nothing like this. Our experience was more of a celebration of food, culture and exotic animals that you normally see in a zoo.Speaking of food, we have a segment on Malaysian food that you won’t want to miss. We’re grateful to our friends at Amazing Borneo for helping create our itinerary for this part of Malaysia.Don’t forget this week’s question: What’s the most remote place you’ve ever visited? We’ll read your comments in the next podcast. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Hai from Borneo!We’re in Kuching, the capital of the Malaysian state of Sarawak. We’ve spent this week discovering the rich cultural heritage and natural beauty of East Malaysia.This week’s question is inspired by Southwest Airlines’ move to end its “bags fly free” policy. Have you ever stopped visiting a place because of a change they made? Maybe prices went up or a favorite attraction closed down. We’ll read your comments in our next podcast.These dancers at the Sarawak Cultural Village were having a lot of fun when we visited. The Malaysians we met in Borneo were friendly and seemed happy to see us. There was a lightheartedness about them that we really liked.We had the rare privilege of seeing an Orangutan in the wild at Semenggoh Nature Reserve. I just realized I’ve never seen one outside a zoo. I should get out more often!The Bidayuh Tribe put Aren to work making tea from foraged pandan leaves. The tea is made in bamboo over an open fire, and it’s delicious. I didn’t do as well. A few minutes after Aren took this photo, I spilled the contents of my bamboo rice cooker all over the woman on the right. I’m so sorry about that!Hey, don’t forget this week’s question: Have you ever stopped visiting a place because of a change they made? We’re adding Borneo to our “return soon” list — it’s one of the most interesting places we’ve ever seen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Werte from Alice Springs in the Australian Outback. Wow, what an adventure! We’ve been to Uluru, Kings Canyon and Alice Springs in the last week, and we have so much to share that we had to turn this podcast into a video.But before we do, here’s this week’s question: Have you experienced xenophobia or anti-American sentiment in your recent travels? I ask because many of our listeners have asked about the dangers of traveling abroad. (We’ll tell you about our experiences in the podcast.)We loved the minimalist scenery and red rocks of the Northern Territory. It’s the perfect place to contemplate life.The Kings Canyon Rim Walk at Watarrka National Park. It’s so quiet and beautiful out here. I could have stayed here and hiked for weeks. And at night, you see all the stars.The road to Uluru, taken early in the morning before our hike around the rock. I almost hesitate to write a caption for this, because I want it to speak for itself. I took this picture a few minutes later as the sun was rising. You have to see this place at least once in your life.Our lives are forever changed because we have visited Uluru.Thank you for watching our podcast this week. I’d love to know what you think of the video. And please don’t forget this week’s question: Have you experienced xenophobia or anti-American sentiment in your recent travels?We’ll read your comments next week when we’re in Kuala Lumpur. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
G’day from Sydney! We’ve been hanging out in the Harbor City — sorry, I mean Harbour City — and trying not to get into too much trouble.But hey, it’s us. We always find a way.Before I forget, here’s this week’s question: Sydney has some of the best mass transit systems in the world. What’s the best mass transit you’ve discovered in your travels? From riding the Strassenbahn in Zürich to catching the light rail in LA, I’d love to hear your stories. If you have time, check out the Sydney Opera House tour. You’ll see this architectural masterpiece from the inside and hear the controversial story about how this performance art center was built. (I’m working on a story about sustainability at the opera house — stay tuned for that!)Our daily walk takes us under the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Quite a view! Find out what we discovered in CBD — that’s the part of town across the bridge — in the podcast.Here’s a preview of what awaits. This is Ernesto Neto’s Just like drops in time, nothing at the NSW Gallery. The powder under the translucent membranes is curry, pepper and other spices. Never smelled anything like it in my life! Don’t forget this week’s question: What’s the best mass transit you’ve discovered in your travels? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Hello from New Zealand’s scenic South Island. Maybe you’ve never heard of this place, but you’ve probably seen in — in movies like The Lord of the Rings and Narnia. This is where Hollywood goes for epic scenery. And the scenery is epic.Before we get to the photos, here’s this week’s question: This week’s plane crash in Washington, D.C., got us thinking about dangerous flights. What’s the most dangerous flight you’ve ever been on? I’d love to hear your stories of planes and helicopters held together by ducktape and where you pray for a safe landing. (I’ve been on a few of those.)Words can’t adequately describe the stunning beauty of New Zealand’s South Island. But let me try. Majestic. Awe-inspiring. Unforgettable. Here’s a view from the famous boulders at Flock Hill Lodge, where the final battle in the first Narnia film, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was filmed. In our podcast, we can’t stop talking about the incredible food — one of the best reasons to come to New Zealand.We will be thinking about this pizza years from now. It is the pizza against which all other pizzas will be measured. Seriously. Those guys at Flock Hill are geniuses.Hey, it’s my new friend, Fluffy. He’s an orphaned lamb. Such a cutie. Bottom line: The South Island of New Zealand is awesome and it should be on everyone’s bucket list. Give yourself a few weeks (it takes at least a week to get used to the time difference) and pack your sense of adventure and your appetite. Details are in this week’s podcast.Don’t forget our question: What’s the most dangerous flight you’ve ever been on? I can’t wait to hear your stories. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe
Kia ora from Auckland! It’s been almost two years since we’ve been here. But it’s our first summer here — and we love it.Here’s this week’s question: What’s the farthest you’ve been from home for the holidays? Here in Auckland, we’re almost halfway around the world from home, so we’re really feeling the distance. (Hi family! We miss you!)Auckland is surrounded by indescribably green islands. This is the old-growth area of Tiritiri Matangi Island, which feels a little bit like walking through a screensaver. So beautiful!Just a short drive outside of Auckland you’re in the bush. Here’s the view from Waitakere Ranges Regional Park. We’ll tell you what we thought of our adventure in the podcast.We had to show you the kumara sourdough from Amano Bakery. Best bread in the southern hemisphere so far. You have to get some early in the morning just after they open because they sell out.Don’t forget this week’s question: What’s the farthest you’ve been from home for the holidays? Speaking of holidays, I hope you have a great holiday season! Thank you for listening. We’ll see you soon. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.elliottconfidential.com/subscribe