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Grantourismo Travels

The website of globetrotting professional travel writing and photography team Lara Dunston and Terence Carter

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Getting It Right – Selecting the Perfect Holiday Rental

Getting It Right – Selecting the Perfect Holiday Rental

Think back to the last time you had to book a holiday rental for a family reunion or choose a resort for your summer getaway. Remember the hours you spent trawling through photos and descriptions on websites? Flicking through the back page ads in stacks of old Conde Nast Travellers? Multiply that by 26 and you have our life at the moment.

Selecting the right holiday rental, like a good hotel, takes time. It’s not because there isn’t a lot out there. There are a gazillion places – not just on HomeAway Holiday-Rentals, but on sites like vrbo.com. The issue is more about finding the right place to match your needs.

It’s not such a headache if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t really care where you stay because you’re going to be out exploring all day – you just want somewhere cheap to lay your head, to be able to make a coffee the moment you wake, and to have a fridge full of snacks and drinks to enjoy during that early evening chill-out time before you head out again.

If you’re that kind of person on one of those types of holidays then location is your main concern – you want to make sure you’re nice and central to the action, or you’re near a train station, bus stop or busy street so it won’t take you long to get there.

But if you’re planning on kicking back at the place – perhaps you have kids who need afternoon naps, you love to cook and want to have some meals in, or it’s going to be another sticky summer holiday on the Med so you’re intending on snoozing by the pool during the day and exploring the old city in the breezy evenings – then a whole bunch of factors come into play that affect the decisions you make.

If you’ve got a big stay-at-home family or group of friends, you’ll want loads of space, more than one bathroom, a big dining table and plenty of seating. If there are kids who need entertaining, you’re going to be looking for extras like bicycles or a games room. By contrast, an active young couple planning on spending their days at museums and galleries and nights at restaurants and bars, will probably be happy in a cute, clean, compact studio, as long as it’s got an espresso maker and iPod docking station.

Due to the nature of our work – we’ll be spending several hours a day writing, downloading photos, and updating the blog – our number one priority is fast broadband Internet and a big table to work at. Ideally there’ll be heaps of natural light and heating or air-con, depending on the climate. We also look for handy locations, within walking distance of the action, in buzzy local neighbourhoods rather than areas where travellers congregate. For instance in Bangkok, you won’t see us at Banglamphu v we stay in Thong Lor where the young Thai hipsters and Japanese expats hang out.

Ordinarily, our only other requirement is a good well-equipped kitchen, because Terence is a brilliant cook and we love shopping the local markets, buying fresh seasonal produce, and eating some meals in.

For our Grantourismo Project, however, we have one more requirement – we need to make sure the place is sexy. It needs to look good. It needs to be alluring. Why? Because we want you to like it. We want it to capture your imagination. Remember, we don’t want to do this trip alone, we want you to come along for the ride.

So take a look at the links – these are the places we’ve selected so far, in London, Marrakech, Essaouira, Jerez, Barcelona, Ceret, Paris, Kotor, and Venice, just for starters. Let us know what you think of our choices so far.

Updates on our Holiday Rental Calendar

Update 19/1/10 And these are our latest homes to be confirmed: a luxurious home on The Palm, Dubai, a charmingly rustic casa in Sardinia, a tranquil Balinese villa, this sleek, chic villa in Phuket, a cute colorful casita in San Miguel de Allende, and these stylish contemporary homes (here, and here) in Austin, Texas. Things are getting very exciting now, don’t you think?

Update 1/2/10 We’ve had a few more fabulous homes confirmed for the year ahead which we wanted to share with you, including a traditional trullo (conical-shaped house) in Puglia, stylish contemporary apartments with stunning city vistas in New York and Buenos Aires, two breathtakingly beautiful beach houses in Costa Rica that come complete with friendly monkeys (see here and here), a characterful penthouse in the historic centre of Mexico City, a breezy hut-like cottage with makuti roof in Kenya, and an architect-designed penthouse in Istanbul that’s featured in design magazines. What do you think?

Update 10/1/10 Due to the recent trouble in Thailand, we have changed our plans, sadly cancelling the stunning Phuket villa above. We’re venturing to Tokyo and a chic apartment in Akasaka instead. We’ll update you on our post-Istanbul properties soon…

Support our Cambodia Cookbook & Culinary History Book with a donation or monthly pledge on Patreon.

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About Lara Dunston

A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Paul says

    January 14, 2010 at 9:23 am

    Hi Terence and Lara,
    This sounds like a magiic job/life style!
    I’m really glad I came across you (by chance on twitter) and look forward to following your blog.
    Even better, is that you are planning to come to Jerez, my home for the last 7 years. I don’t know when you plan to come but the horse fair in the first week of May would be a GREAT time to come. The 2nd & 3rd is also the World Motor bike GP and there is a real ambience around town.
    Good luck & Best wishes
    Paul

  2. Erica Johansson says

    January 15, 2010 at 5:04 am

    If I had to do what you’re doing right now, I would feel very overwhelmed. On the other hand, at the same time I’d probably feel like a kid on Christmas morning!

    I like the way you display photos by the way. Makes the blog stand out.

    Thanks for revealing your choices. I LOVE the deluxe studio in Barcelona. Exactly my taste!

  3. Lisa Bergren says

    January 17, 2010 at 2:03 pm

    Mmm…fantastic choices so far. I LOVE that process of choosing and have spent 2-3 days finding just the right spot–and that was for ONE city. Can’t imagine how your head must be swimming. :-) I think the patio/pool in Kator looks especially fab.

    We rented an apartment in Venice on the Grand Canal…it was an entirely different experience than when we first went and stayed in a hotel a couple blocks inland. It looks like you’re right above a vaparetto stop–be aware they can be loud if you have to keep your window open (not sure what month you’ll get to Venezia). But then that’s part of modern life on that special waterway…*sigh* We pulled up chairs to our canal view windows, drank wine and just watched it all happen outside. [Insert dreamy look out my window now…]

  4. Terence Carter says

    January 17, 2010 at 10:49 pm

    Hey there Lisa,
    Lara is alternatively tearing her hair out and going ‘wow’ as she goes through the property listings! I guess it’s holiday anticipation x 24. ;)
    Totally agree with you on the different experiences in Venice. Personally, I didn’t like Venice much at all until we stayed there in an apartment. We just had an experience that was so different from our hotel stays there. The funny thing is that we’ve stayed in Venice three times since (for travel gigs), but my best memories are of the time we stayed in an apartment…
    Thanks for your thoughts!

  5. Jane says

    February 2, 2010 at 1:00 pm

    Hi

    It’s great to get an insight into what other people base their apartment selections on, thanks. I must admit I’d not necessarily thought that sexiness would be high on the list, but I can completely see where you are coming from.

    The demand for wifi really seems to have grown as our ‘bleisure’ time increasingly merges. I wonder what others on holiday typically log on for if they are not doing your job?

    Looking forward to seeeing how your travles progress. Enjoy!

  6. Lara Dunston says

    February 3, 2010 at 7:17 am

    Hi Jane

    The places need to be alluring in some way (whether they’re drop dead gorgeous or they have a brilliant location or attractive setting) to capture people’s imagination and engage readers, but that’s not to say that a stunning apartment tops everyone’s list – some people are more concerned with space, others location, some just want something affordable where they can rest their head every night.

    Re WiFi, it’s quite incredible how many people travel with their laptops these days. In Bangkok last month we were noticing all kinds of travellers carrying laptops, from young backpacking friends to mature, affluent couples.

    Looking forward to having you along for the ride! :)

  7. Keith says

    September 7, 2010 at 10:08 pm

    And, here’s me thinking you just threw a dart at a map of the world! :D

    Hey, but over the last few weeks, we’ve stayed at a couple of self-catering apartments in Queensland, & will be blogging about them in the months to come.

    Not exactly ‘holiday homes’; I can best describe them as ‘hostels that think they’re hotels’ …

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About Grantourismo

Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
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Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

#recipe #recipes #vietnamesefood #cambodianfood #asianfood #southeastasianfood #ricenoodles #rice #noodlebowl #meatballs #igfood #igfoodie #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #writingacookbook #writingacambodiancookbook #patreon #patreoncreator #grantourismo
It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

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