WALKABOUT

Comedian Charlie Pickering shares his travel tips and mishaps

1. As a child, our family holidays were always to... Noosa. 2. Now if I have time for a short break, I head straight to... country Victoria. It has some of the best food in the most beautiful locations… and it’s only an hour or so from my house. 3. My local’s tip for Melbourne is... for the best coffee in town go to Casati’s Deli on Easey Street, Collingwood. 4. My souvenir of choice is... a snow dome. I have a collection of beautifully hideous winter landscapes from around the world. When I’m on the road, I’m listening to... Two of Us by 5. The Beatles. My last holiday read was... City Of Mirrors by Justin Cronin. 6. It’s the third in a trilogy and a nice, fat, sci-fi/vampire/zombie/future story. Nothing too serious, other than apocalyptic Armageddon. I can’t leave home without... my Bluetooth headphones. 7. My travel wardrobe always consists of... Cole Haan 8. blue Wingtip Oxford shoes, Herschel Pop Quiz backpack and plain t-shirts from Mr Simple. When it comes to packing, I... am getting better at not 9. overpacking. I’ve started using a system of large ziplock bags to keep things organised and it’s working well. The challenge now is not buying anything when I travel so it all fits back in the bag. I’ll never forget the time... my wife and I got lost cycling 10. through the hills of Chianti in Tuscany. It was simultaneously the most romantic and terrifying travel experience. Thankfully Stefano, our incredible host, was able to find us in the dark in the middle of a forest and whisk us home for emergency sangiovese. My carry-on is usually filled with... a Kindle, 11. headphones and toys to keep a three year old occupied. I also love to buy a copy of The Economist at the airport. It’s the journalistic equivalent of slow cooking. If I could live anywhere in Australia... I would live in 12.

Cape Byron Lighthouse. The Weekly with Charlie Pickering returns on Wednesday 2 May at 8.30pm on ABC.