In this episode of the Truly Expat Travel Podcast, Paula Barnes speaks with Canadian expat Keltie Maguire, who has been living in Munich, Germany for over eight years.

Keltie shares her fascinating journey from Vancouver to Sydney and eventually settling in Munich with her husband, as well as the life-changing decisions that shaped her career, identity, and her podcast The Kids Are Childfree.

We also dive deep into Munich as a travel destination and lifestyle city — from beer gardens and Bavarian food culture to hidden local gems, day trips, and how to experience the city like a local rather than a tourist.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why Munich is considered the “perfect balance” of city and village life
• The truth about Bavarian food culture (beyond pretzels and sausages)
• How tipping works in Germany (and how it differs from North America)
• How to get around Munich using public transport and bikes
• A 3-day “local’s itinerary” featuring bakeries, markets, beer gardens & lakes
• Hidden gems in Munich including Maxvorstadt, Museum Quarter & local rooftop bars

Featured Places in Munich

• English Gardens Seehaus beer garden (Englischer Garten)
• Monastery beer garden
• Viktualienmarkt
• St. Peter's Church (viewpoint over the city)
• Julius Brantner bakery
• Baumgartenschneid hike
• Standl 20
• Rooftop beer garden

Food & Drink Highlights

• Weißwurst Frühstück (traditional Bavarian breakfast)
• Pretzels with Obazda
• Käse Spätzle (German mac & cheese)
• Bavarian beer gardens
• Apple Schorle & rhubarb Schorle
• Craft beer at Higgins Ale Works
• Pretty Pizza
• Napoli Rush

Guest Links

• Website: https://www.kidsorchildfree.com/
• Podcast:

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Running this podcast takes a lot of coffee (and countless hours exploring every destination!). If you found this helpful and want to support more honest, detailed travel guides and itineraries, you can buy me a coffee. No pressure though – I'm just happy you're here and hope you have an incredible adventure! 🙂

🎙️ Is Sydney the Most Beautiful Harbour in the World? 🇦🇺 Ultimate Sydney Travel Guide + 7-Day Itinerary

In this episode, Paula shares a local’s perspective on Sydney—the city she grew up in—and breaks down exactly how to experience it like you live there, not like a tourist.

If you're planning a trip to Sydney (or dreaming about one), this is your complete 5–7 day itinerary, packed with iconic sights, hidden gems, and real insider tips.

🌏 In This Episode You’ll Discover:

• The perfect Sydney itinerary (5–7 days)
• Must-do experiences like the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb and visiting the Sydney Opera House
• The truth about Bondi Beach (and where you should stay instead)
• The iconic Bondi to Coogee coastal walk 🏝️
• A local guide to beaches including Manly and beyond
• Easy day trips to Kurnell and the Blue Mountains
• Where to eat, brunch, and soak up Sydney’s café culture
• Insider tips on transport, seasons, and how to avoid tourist mistakes

✨ Why This Episode is Different

This isn’t a generic travel guide.

It’s a local’s blueprint to Sydney—what to skip, what’s worth it, and how to experience the city the way Australians actually do.

🗓️ Quick Itinerary Snapshot

• Day 1: Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Circular Quay
• Day 2: The Rocks + Darling Harbour
• Day 3: Bondi → Coogee walk
• Day 4: Kurnell / Cronulla day trip
• Day 5: Ferry to Manly
• Bonus: Blue Mountains, wildlife parks, food tours

💡 Pro Travel Tips

• Best time to visit: Spring (Sept–Nov)
• Skip the car if staying in the city
• Use contactless payments (but always tap on/off!)
• Book ahead during peak season

⭐️ Ready to Plan Your Sydney Trip?

If you loved this episode:

👉 Hit Follow so you never miss a destination guide
👉 Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts (this helps more travellers find us!)
👉 Share this with someone planning a trip to Australia 🇦🇺

#SydneyTravel #AustraliaTravel #TravelPodcast

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Running this podcast takes a lot of coffee (and countless hours exploring every destination!). If you found this helpful and want to support more honest, detailed travel guides and itineraries, you can buy me a coffee. No pressure though – I'm just happy you're here and hope you have an incredible adventure! 🙂

Join host Paula Barnes as she dives into innovative travel strategies that can transform your trips — from time-saving hacks to must-have apps for planning and on-the-go. In this episode, Paula chats with Michelle from Intentional Travelers about tools and tips to make your travel smoother and more intentional.

Key topics:

• The importance of innovative travel hacks that saved time and effort
• Essential apps for effective trip planning before and during travel
• The value of intentional travel and how to incorporate it into your trips
• Practical tips shared by Michelle that can enhance travel experiences

Timestamps: 00:01 - Unique travel hacks that will change how you see the world
00:31 - Michelle from Intentional Travelers shares top travel app recommendations
10:47 - How to support the podcast and stay updated with travel guides
11:16 - Connecting with Paula for destination inspiration and travel resources

Resources & Links:

• Michelle from Intentional Travelers
• Free Pre-Trip Phone Checklist
• The Best Travel Planning Apps to Enhance Your Journey
• 10 Apps that make Life Easier

Happy travels and remember: the best trips are the ones you plan with intention!

Send us Fan Mail

Help Truly Expat Travel by leaving a review or making a donation

Here is the link - https://buymeacoffee.com/trulyexpat

Find me on:

Website: Truly Expat Travel

Facebook: Truly Expat

Instagram: Truly Expat Travel

TikTok: Truly Expat Travel

Running this podcast takes a lot of coffee (and countless hours exploring every destination!). If you found this helpful and want to support more honest, detailed travel guides and itineraries, you can buy me a coffee. No pressure though – I'm just happy you're here and hope you have an incredible adventure! 🙂

If flying feels overwhelming, exhausting, or like you're starting from scratch every single trip — this episode is for you.

This week I'm joined by Phoenyx from Phoenyx Travels — a content creator and accessible travel expert who has built a reputation for honest, practical advice for disabled, chronically ill, neurodivergent and sensory-sensitive travellers. We're talking about her Flight Ready Travel Kit and everything she's learned about making air travel genuinely work for people whose bodies and brains don't follow the usual rules.

This is part 4 of our special 4-part travel creator series — and this one might just be the most important episode of the four.

In this episode:

✈️ Why most accessible travel advice doesn't actually help on real travel days

🧳 What the Flight Ready Travel Kit covers and who it's designed for

🗣️ How to ask for accommodations — even when words or energy are limited

⚡ How to pace your energy before, during and after a flight

🔄 Why having a repeatable system changes everything

Guest: Phoenyx — Phoenyx Travels

🔗 Flight Ready Travel Kit

🌐 Phoenyx travels Website

📸 Instagram

Chapters:

00:00 — Introduction

00:29 — Meet Phoenyx from Phoenyx Travels

15:59 — Truly Expat Travel Introduction

16:28 — Travel Guides & Destinations

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs it. And if you have a story about travel you'd like to share on the podcast, get in touch at podcast@trulyexpat.com

Send us Fan Mail

Help Truly Expat Travel by leaving a review or making a donation

Here is the link - https://buymeacoffee.com/trulyexpat

Find me on:

Website: Truly Expat Travel

Facebook: Truly Expat

Instagram: Truly Expat Travel

TikTok: Truly Expat Travel

Running this podcast takes a lot of coffee (and countless hours exploring every destination!). If you found this helpful and want to support more honest, detailed travel guides and itineraries, you can buy me a coffee. No pressure though – I'm just happy you're here and hope you have an incredible adventure! 🙂

You've landed somewhere new. The bags are unpacked. And then comes the question every travelling family knows too well — so what do we actually do here?

This week I'm back with Julie Talbot — British ex-expat turned global nomad — who after 12 years in the UAE took the leap into full-time family travel with her husband and children. She's worldschooling her kids, running a UK property business remotely, and somehow always seems to know exactly what's on, what's worth doing, and where to find the kind of experiences that don't show up in a Google search.

This is Episode 3 of our special 4-part travel creator series. This week — the practical stuff that makes nomadic family life actually work.

In this episode:

🗺️ Where Julie finds events and things to do in every new destination

📱 The apps, websites and communities she swears by

👨‍👩‍👧 How to keep a travelling family engaged and entertained

💡 Tips for finding local experiences over tourist ones

About Julie: Julie Talbot is an ex-expat turned global nomad. After 12 years in the UAE she and her family took the leap into full-time travel — worldschooling her children while running a UK property business remotely. She proves every day that location independence isn't just possible, it's extraordinary.

📸 @julierosetalbot

Previously on the podcast with Julie: 🎙️ The Silk Road

Chapters:

00:00 — Introduction

00:29 — Meet Julie Talbot

15:59 — Truly Expat Travel Introduction

16:28 — Travel Guides & Destinations

Join me live on Instagram: Every last Wednesday of the month I go live with a different travel creator. Keep an eye on my stories for the time — @trulyexpattravel

Send us Fan Mail

Help Truly Expat Travel by leaving a review or making a donation

Here is the link - https://buymeacoffee.com/trulyexpat

Find me on:

Website: Truly Expat Travel

Facebook: Truly Expat

Instagram: Truly Expat Travel

TikTok: Truly Expat Travel

Running this podcast takes a lot of coffee (and countless hours exploring every destination!). If you found this helpful and want to support more honest, detailed travel guides and itineraries, you can buy me a coffee. No pressure though – I'm just happy you're here and hope you have an incredible adventure! 🙂

Most people planning a trip to Holland for tulip season get the timing wrong. They book Keukenhof, they show up, and they either miss the peak bloom entirely or find themselves shoulder to shoulder with thousands of other tourists wondering why it doesn't look like the photos. Sound familiar?

This week I'm joined by Gerrit from Hidden Holland — a specialist in Dutch travel and someone who knows the tulip fields better than almost anyone — and he's sharing exactly what most visitors get wrong, when you should actually be going, and where to find the real tulip experience beyond the tourist trail.

This is a special 4-part series where I'm featuring travel creators sharing their best tips, hacks and local knowledge from four completely different corners of the world. Each episode, one creator, one destination, one set of tips that could genuinely change how you travel. This week — it's all about Holland in spring.

If you're planning a trip to the Netherlands this year, listen to this before you book anything.

What We Cover in This Episode

• 🌷 When tulip season actually peaks in Holland — and why most visitors get the timing completely wrong
• 📍 Where the tulip fields really are beyond Keukenhof — and why locals go somewhere different entirely
• 📸 The best spots for photos that aren't overrun with tour groups
• 🗓️ How to plan your Netherlands spring trip around the bloom — including what happens if you get the dates wrong
• 🚲 How to explore the fields like a local rather than a tourist
• 💡 Gerrit's single best tip for first-time visitors to Holland in spring

About This Week's Guest

Gerrit is the founder of Hidden Holland — a travel platform dedicated to showing visitors the real Netherlands beyond the obvious tourist stops. He joined me on a previous episode to talk about Amsterdam, and this week he's back with everything you need to know about tulip season.

🔗 Find Gerrit and Hidden Holland: here

📻 Missed the Amsterdam episode with Gerrit? Listen here: Episode 12, Season 1

Chapters

• 00:00 — The Tulip Season Secret Most Visitors Get Wrong
• 00:29 — Meet Gerrit from Hidden Holland
• 15:59 — Truly Expat Travel Podcast Introduction
• 16:28 — Travel Guides & Destinations

Related Episodes You Might Enjoy

Send us Fan Mail

Help Truly Expat Travel by leaving a review or making a donation

Here is the link - https://buymeacoffee.com/trulyexpat

Find me on:

Website: Truly Expat Travel

Facebook: Truly Expat

Instagram: Truly Expat Travel

TikTok: Truly Expat Travel

Running this podcast takes a lot of coffee (and countless hours exploring every destination!). If you found this helpful and want to support more honest, detailed travel guides and itineraries, you can buy me a coffee. No pressure though – I'm just happy you're here and hope you have an incredible adventure! 🙂

Paula Barnes lived in Seoul 15 years ago — and honestly? It was hard. The language barrier was real, the taxis were brutal, and getting around without Korean felt nearly impossible. So when she went back, she wasn't expecting to fall in love with it. She did. In this episode, Paula goes solo to unpack everything that's changed, everything that's stayed beautifully the same, and every reason why Seoul should be at the top of your travel list. From the DMZ to Dongdaemun, Korean BBQ to Olive Young skincare halls, cherry blossom season to single-digit winter temps — this one covers it all. Whether you're planning your first trip or your fifth, this episode is your honest, no-fluff guide to Seoul.

• DMZ tour (respectful, highly recommended)
• Nanta Show — no Korean needed, funny and unmissable
• Myeongdong — street food, Olive Young skincare, boutique shopping
• Namdaemun Market — oldest market in Seoul, try the Hotteok!
• Bukchon Hanok Village — go early morning for sunrise
• Gangnam — upscale shopping mall, the iconic Gangnam statue
• Itaewon — boutique bars, restaurants & Vatos (Korean-Mexican fusion)
• Courtyard Marriott Namdaemun — central location, robot room service
• Gimpo Premium Factory Outlet — near the airport, worth the detour
• Bibimbap cooking class
• Traditional Korean feast restaurant in Myeongdong
• Temple stay information centre — free activities, monk conversations
• Olive Young — Korea's answer to Sephora, massive flagship in Myeongdong
• Best seasons to visit: cherry blossom (spring) and autumn
• Paula's full Seoul guides on her website: 5-day itinerary, where to stay,

Send us Fan Mail

Find me on:

Website: Truly Expat Travel

Facebook: Truly Expat

Instagram: Truly Expat Travel

TikTok: Truly Expat Travel

Running this podcast takes a lot of coffee (and countless hours exploring every destination!). If you found this helpful and want to support more honest, detailed travel guides and itineraries, you can buy me a coffee. No pressure though – I'm just happy you're here and hope you have an incredible adventure! 🙂