WHERE I’D RATHER BE . . .
SHORT HAUL
The Commonwealth Games kick off on the Gold Coast this week and I’d love to be there to cheer on our Kiwi competitors, including the legendary Dame Valerie Adams. gc2018.com
Eating: Those athletes are going to make me want to live more healthily. I’d start at Broadbeach’s Cardamom Pod, a plant-based, clean-eating cafe serving Instagram-worthy meals. cardamompod.com.au
Drinking: Something fresh and healthy from Dharma Juice and Coffee Bar, a tiny kiosk packing a big flavour punch at the Miami One shopping centre. facebook. com/DHARMAjuicecoffeebar
Staying: Only 200m from the beach at the Sofitel Broadbeach — where rooms have unbeatable Pacific Ocean views. sofitelgoldcoast.com.au
MID HAUL
The next Summer Olympic Games will be in Tokyo in 2020, but I want to explore this inimitable city right now. gotokyo.org/en
Eating: My way around the farmers’ market at UNU (United Nations University campus) in Aoyama, held every Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm. farmersmarkets.jp
Drinking: Juices and smoothies from Trueberry, where the focus is on making perfect, nutritional drinks with added Japanese superfoods such as Amazake (fermented rice) and Kuzu roots. trueberry.jp
Staying: At One@Tokyo, a 10-storey hotel in the downtown Oshiage district, close to the Skytree — the world’s tallest tower. onetokyo.com/en
LONG HAUL
Birmingham, England will be put well and truly on the global map in 2022 when it hosts the next Commonwealth Games. Why not head there now, so you can say you got there before it was cool? visitbirmingham.com
Eating: At Natural Bar & Kitchen, an organic, plant-based eatery in the central city that serves brunch, lunch and dinner. naturalbar.co.uk
Drinking: At the Birmingham franchise of Joe & the Juice, a Danish coffee and juice chain, founded by a former professional karate champion, that seems to be taking over the world. joejuice.com
Staying: In luxury at Hampton Manor, a beautiful country estate in 18 hectares of gardens. described on its website as “a Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms”. hamptonmanor.com
Destination dine
If you’re sifting around Somerset this English summer, be sure to call into the historic 15th-century Packhorse Inn for a ploughman’s lunch and a pint or two to celebrate the fact it’s still standing. The site of the Grade II-listed boozer in South Stoke closed six years ago and was earmarked for flats until some feisty locals took the bull by the horns.