Charlotte Crosby

0:05Hello and welcome to the Travel Diaries podcast. I'm your host Holly Rubenstein and here each week I uncover the seven chapters of my guests' travel diaries. From the first place they fell in love with to their all-time favourite and hidden gems, we uncover the travel experiences and destinations that have shaped their lives. Today's guest is one of the defining reality TV stars of the last decade They have people like standing in corridors with guns like fully suited up Like you could not leave your rooms Then I have to be transported by people in fully head-to-toe suits The army, I've got a police escort I'm in the back of a paramedics van Geordie Shore was huge It was like a phenomenon It wasn't just big in England It was big in over 60 countries in the whole of the world Someone had somehow googled And saw pictures of me running round The Celebrity Big Brother house With my top up flash on my boobs Yeah, as you do And they'd printed them out Banging on the door Bang, bang, bang on the door With all these sheets of paper in their hand I don't think there's enough paper for the printer For all the stuff that people have to say and find on me They basically thought that I was a prostitute I had the ultimate life I had the ultimate 20s and that's all down to that crazy, wild rollercoaster that was Geordie Shore.

1:27I have literally travelled the world. That was Charlotte Crosby, who first burst onto our screens on Geordie Shore, one of the most iconic reality shows of the 2010s. A show that became a global phenomenon and completely changed the course of her life, taking her from the north of England to filming and working all over the world. Since then, she's built a huge international following, particularly in Australia, where she's become a familiar face on primetime TV. And as you'll hear, travel has completely shaped who she is today.

2:20And you can't go wrong with a ready-to-heat quiche Lorraine, deviled eggs, and fresh-cut fruits to go. Celebrate mom with Whole Foods Market.

2:29Charlotte Crosby: Running a business means juggling a lot of moving parts. And when your communication tools can't keep up, things start to slip. Missed calls, slow replies, scattered conversations. They're not just frustrating. They're lost opportunities and revenue left on the table. That's where Quo comes in. Spelled Q-U-O. Quo is the number one rated business phone system on G2, trusted by over 90 ,000 businesses. One shared business number for calls and texts, so every conversation stays visible, organized, and accountable. It works from an app or computer. You can keep your existing number, add teammates, and sync your CRM, letting you scale without adding complexity.

3:12Charlotte Crosby: And with built-in AI, Quo logs calls, summarizes conversations, and flags next steps, even after hours. stop missing customers stop leaving revenue on the table try quo free and get 20 off your first six months at quo.com slash tech that's q u o.com slash tech quo no missed calls no missed customers hey before we get into today's episode just want to share a stay that i think is such a good one if you're looking for a home rental in the Cotswolds. It's called The Glass House at Lakes Bayou. So Lakes Bayou, I think I mentioned on the podcast before, it's an 850 acre estate in Letchslade, right on the edge of the Cotswolds.

4:00And it's made up of lakes, woodland, meadows, with a collection of beautifully designed houses dotted around it. And the idea is that you get the privacy and space of your own home, but with all the benefits of a resort layered in. So there's a spa, an indoor pool, a restaurant, loads of activities on the lakes and so much for kids to do and it's very much designed as somewhere you can just arrive and stay put for a few days. The glass house is an architectural masterpiece thanks to the fact that it's construction of glass. It appears entirely made out of glass. You access it by a single bridge and it's surrounded by decking right on the water.

4:38There are four ensuite bedrooms all with glass walls so that you can feel if you put the blinds up like you're sleeping with the outdoors in and the master bedroom is such a showstopper it's huge it's enveloped in these floor-to-ceiling windows with a direct lake view and there's a roof terrace with its own barbecue and dining area it's a great spot for sunbathing and entertaining and at night the fun doesn't stop because the basement there is this epic leisure zone with a jacuzzi and a sauna an incredible cinema with like fully reclining leather armchairs, a huge bar with a popcorn machine and this full-size snooker table.

5:17It's so well situated so you've got all those classic honeystone villages within like 15 minutes drive, places like Burford and Bybury that feel straight out of a postcard. I've been to the Cotswolds dozen times and it never gets older, it's just one of my absolute favourite places in the country. you know it's that world of brilliant pubs and farm to table cafes farm shops you know and this time we took the kids to the Cotswold Wildlife Park which is incredible I can't believe how close you can get to the animals there if you've been you'll know what I mean there are like zebras and rhinos just kind of roaming around it was amazing and we always go to the Burford Garden Company every time we're in that part of the world I could send her a whole holiday around that shop to be there and then to be able to go back to the glass house and have that comfortable sense of space really felt like the ultimate tree is I know so many of you are always asking me for home rental recommendations that are good for you know family long weekend or a special birthday add this to your list the glass house at Lakes Bayou thank you so much to them for having us okay so let's get started with Charlotte from South Shields to Sydney Spain to Canada.

6:31I know you're gonna love this one. It's so much fun. Here's Charlotte.

6:41Charlotte, welcome to The Travel Diaries. It is so lovely to meet you. How are you? I am so good. How are you, Holly? I'm good. I'm enjoying this weather today, which is like a little dose of early spring summer so I'm enjoying that. It feels too hot. I know well it feels like we're on holiday maybe which is apt for our conversation. It really is it really is. So I feel like having kind of got to know you over the years that you are somebody who really loves to travel. I have literally traveled the world and really all because of Geordie Shore not because I would have really if I hadn't been on Geordie Shore I don't think I'd have been half the places I've been.

7:25Literally all because of Johnny Shaw. It opened up the world for you. Yeah, definitely. And so when you reflect on that, do you feel like a sense of, I guess, real, is it gratitude? Like a real sense of like happiness that it has given you all those amazing opportunities? Absolutely. Oh my God. Like I am so grateful. I wake up every single morning and I sometimes think, wow, how the hell did all of that happen like yeah how how how was I picked out of 8 000 people to star on this show that if I if there was like almost like a millisecond where that didn't even happen and this wasn't even my life and I literally had the best decade in my 20s that anyone could have ever had like I had the ultimate life I had the ultimate 20s And that's all down to that Crazy wild rollercoaster That was Geordie Shore And I will always be Grateful to the absolute Core I literally don't have any Bad words to say about the experience About the show About the people on it It was the wildest time of my life That I am so excited To tell my grandkids about like I am so excited to say will you do you believe that your nana did all this like do you believe little old me travelled the world presented TV shows on the other side of the world I did all that but it doesn't look like it now but I did it and honestly I am so excited I honestly most best like grateful grateful grateful at the core do you believe in like destiny do you feel as though this was your fate or or do you think it was luck honestly i believe in destiny because there's a lot of things that that a lot of things that had happened at the time that led to me auditioning like some like i'd split up with a boyfriend and i was like in a terrible place like i just used to deal with breakups really bad back then i was only 18 so like it was like it felt like my first true love oh it was heartbreaking I remember the heartbreak it was awful and like that prompted us to do this crazy thing because I was like well this is going to take my mind off it at least like it's going to give us something else to focus on and and I honestly believe that all of them things lined up because this was always meant to be do you know what I mean it wasn't just a case of one day this just happened like other things had happened before to make to make way for this that's lovely Everything happens for a reason, I believe.

10:12Exactly. I believe that too. And we learn and we take things away from where we travel to as well. And that also, I think, shapes our path. Definitely. 100%. Well, we are going to go on a journey today, Charlotte, through the seven chapters of your life's travel diaries. And we start right at the very beginning with chapter one. And that is your earliest childhood travel memory. What would that be? so earliest childhood travel and and i've got to be honest the earliest earliest memory i have of like going on any kind of holiday and it's not an exotic one it's not even a plane trip but for us a holiday was going to the caravan so it was like going to the caravan for the weekend we have some lovely like english countrysides in the north and it was like very much long winding roads I remember it like it was yesterday sitting in the back of the car with my cousin and you would know you were close to the caravan park because the roads would get windier and they would start going up hills because you were going off the back roads and you would always get that smell of manure because you were literally getting closer and closer to the farm Because you're getting more and more rural Yeah, you're getting more and more rural but it was red hot and it was always the summer months and the weather was stunning and it was it was red red hot you could if you touch the window of the car you could feel the heat on the window because the air con was never good in the cars back we're talking like 20 something years ago and I just remember like running around and we'd go down to the lake and that we'd be in our knickers and we'd just be in the lake and it was just that was that was my very earliest memories of a holiday listen it wasn't a plane it was nothing like that it was just going to the caravan in the summer months oh that sounds like pure childhood holiday like barefoot on the grass running around in the in the sprinklers like proper proper English summer holiday was there a particular destination that you went to um in the caravan that you remember like one of your favorites that you think really is like an underrated part of the UK that was wonderful for a child?

12:29Well the caravan was I think this is the right word it was a static caravan so it just stayed in one place. Oh okay oh I see I see I see right yes. But the place was Wolseynum. Okay I don't know about that tell me. Lovely really lovely so it's got obviously the big like I think it's actually like a like a river that we used to go in not a lake but the big river that's I think it's quite famous like around here everyone goes in that in that river and then it's got this lovely little village so it's got like little ice cream shops like do you know when you have like the news agents but it says ye olde news agents like really really like proper like victorian village style like a lovely corner pub and cobble streets everywhere's cobbles everywhere's cobbles and it just it it feels really special it's quite unique it's really English.

13:21Have you gone back there now as an adult? No I haven't actually I think I drove through it once because I had a I was driving through this place and I had this really memory of getting chewing gum stuck in my hair outside of this pub and I saw the pub and I was like oh my god is this where we used to go at the caravan is that where I got chewing gum stuck in my hair and we had that is a traumatic memory to be fair. It's a traumatic memory yeah traumatic memory of the caravan can you help paint me a picture of sunderling growing up like what did your world look like as a child well it's a lovely place to grow because we're right on the coast we've got like i feel like we've got four or five beaches to choose from and in summer you were always at the beach we had some we had something which i we don't have anymore which is such a shame because it was so amazing and i don't know whether some of your listeners may have even attended this it was something that people would travel to when it was on for the weekend but we had something called the air shore and it was every summer and basically it was where all of the army people would fly over in their jets and put on a shore so they would do the red hour oars would do a big shore and they would let off and it was this big thing there'd be a fun fair the whole of the beach would be shut down none of the roads would be driving along because there'd be so many tourists and i know a lot of people traveled for that and it was such a big thing but now they don't do it anymore no um we i also had that growing up down south we also had an air show and that went over our house they they don't do it anymore either did you used to have that massive like um oh what was the name of it like a typhoon jet one that almost sounded like it was going to break the sound barrier it was so loud and it was just that that didn't do much it didn't do tricks it just went across the sky yeah it was just there to be like so loud yeah it was just meant to be like traveling across the sky decibels that were about to make your death and that was the show yeah exactly exactly what do you think I mean you were mentioning at the you know all the beaches around Sunderland and and and that the area there I mean there there are some incredible coastal stretches that I think are real British hidden gems.

15:39What do you think, what's your favourite part of your local area that you think that anybody who comes up your way must visit? All of our beaches are absolutely gorgeous. But if I had to say two, and they're completely different reasons. So we've got Whitley Bay, which is just stunning because it's full of big cliffs. You can walk around the cliffs. We've got this beautiful, and I can't remember the name of it, but fish and chip restaurant on the beach where on the night time you go down and you light a fire pit and everyone's got their own fire pits and you eat your food at the fire pit. It's stunning.

16:19Oh, wow. It's really stunning. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then we've got an aquarium there too, which is really good. But then we've got like, that's almost like the chic side. And not that this isn't chic, this next place, but it's just a bit more fun. So the next beach that I actually absolutely love, because the sands are basically white. They're not like brownie, like brownie muddy-ish. And it's not a pebble beach, but we have got a pebble beach. But South Shales has got white sands. Like basically as if you were in the Maldives. I might be exaggerating a little bit, but it's white. It's white in comparison to other UK beaches.

17:01Really soft. Yes. and it has loads of people. Well, people surf at every beach, but South Shield's a big one to surf at. But it has the best fairground. And is that there all the year round? All the year round, roller coasters, dodgems, Ferris wheel, candy floss stands, hot dog stands, you name it. South Shield has got a big lake next to it where you can go in swam boats. It is fun, fun, fun to the core. Sounds so wonderful And I guess now with your two little ones It must be like so You must be looking forward to taking them when they're a bit older Yeah well we've already been with Alba I don't think I have Have you?

17:42Yeah she loved it, she loved it She can go on the littlest rides Yeah oh really there are ones for little ones are there Yeah Oh how lovely Yeah I think that that's so exciting isn't it It's this new chapter in your life I also have two babies What's your goal? I've got a three-year-old girl and a seven-month-old boy. Oh, so lucky. One of each. Yeah. It's lovely, isn't it? My girl's three. Alba's three. She's four this year. End of the year, though. Yeah, same, same. It's such a fun age, isn't it? Because I don't know if you've had the same experience, But like we just got back from the Dolomites and I really felt like my daughter Isabella like really appreciated what was on offer as part of that holiday.

18:31Like when we came back, she said, mommy, I really miss Italy. So it's that age where they really care about it. Yeah. Right. Yeah. They understand, don't they? They understand more. They really do. They're like your little best friend. Two, they still feel like a baby. Three, they feel like your little best friend who you can have a proper chat with. Yeah, it's such a joy. And we'll come on to family travel because it's another part I'd love to chat to you about. But let's move on now to chapter two of your travel diaries. And that's the first place you fell in love with. Where would that be? Right.

19:03Okay. Let me have a think. The first place I fell in love with. So for me, I didn't grow up in a family that had money and I didn't go on my first abroad trip until I was maybe, I want to say 14. like it was I was basically like a proper teenager I think and I think we went to Tunisia three times and I remember yeah yeah we went to Tunisia three years in a row and that I think that was my first holiday and I remember like the heat oh my god it was so hot so humid like it was really one of them countries that I never felt that type of heat in so that's why I remember that one quite well I wouldn't say I fell in love with it because I was still very young.

19:51I didn't really, I don't think I appreciated traveling like that. It was just like my first holiday. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. But I think the first place that I properly fell in love with, it was when we went on Geordie Shore, we started traveling more and more. Yeah. But if we're talking about like really fell in love with, like really like could almost even imagine living there one day, I would have to say it was when I got when I was a lot more older and it was probably Australia. Yeah, because I was going to come on to Australia because Australia is almost like you're you're an honorary Aussie.

20:28I mean, they've adopted you and they just adore you and you adore Australia. Yes, it's absolutely amazing. I've been going to Australia nearly every year for like the past 10 years. And so how did that all come about? Jodie Shaw was huge. It was like a phenomenon. It wasn't just big in England. It was big in over 60 countries in the whole of the world. It was huge in Brazil. It was the biggest in Australia, which meant that we in turn got to go out there to work. so all because of Johnny Shaw we did our first trip to Australia for press and just to go out there and promote the show the season one I think and then after that we just got invited there all the time we would do PA tours going around different nightclubs like that was in the very beginning and then I got started getting invited on like big shows I've done I'm a Celebrity Get me out of here the Australian one I've done Mask Singer really oh wow yeah I've done Mask Singer um I've done absolutely loads over in Australia and it is just phenomenal today's episode is brought to you by Airbnb one thing I have learned from years of traveling is that the trips you remember most aren't always about the big headline sites it's that feeling of getting under the skin of a place.

21:54Some of my most memorable stays have been in real homes, in real neighborhoods, where you start to experience that quieter rhythm of somewhere. The morning coffee spots, the local park around the corner, the little details that make a place feel lived in. And of course, many of those homes belong to people who are simply away for a few days or heading off on their own travels. Instead of leaving their home empty, they choose to host on Airbnb during that time. It's a practical way to unlock a bit of extra value from your home, whether you're away for a long weekend or a longer stretch of time.

22:30And at the same time, it allows someone else to experience your area in a more personal, local way. If you've ever been curious about hosting, getting started is even easier than you expect. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk forward slash host. Thank you to Airbnb.

22:54Make Mother's Day even more special at Whole Foods Market. Kick off brunch or dinner with quality cheese and charcuterie with no synthetic nitrates. Then go seafood. There's an abundance on sale at Whole Foods Market, where it's all sustainable while caught or responsibly farmed. At the bakery, grab seasonal treats like their strawberry pretzel cream pie, and you can't go wrong with the ready-to-heat quiche Lorraine, deviled eggs, and fresh-cut fruits to go. celebrate mom with Whole Foods Market. Quick question. When was the last time a display ad changed your mind? Now think about the last time a friend told you about something they loved.

23:31Different feeling, right? That's how podcast advertising works. A host who's built real trust with their audience talks about your brand in their own words, in their own voice. It doesn't interrupt the experience. It's part of it. With Acast, you can access the world's largest podcast marketplace, Choose the right shows, the right audiences, the right format. Then watch the data tell you it worked. You're not buying impressions. You're buying influence. Learn more by visiting acast.com slash advertise.

24:04So where was the first place in Australia that you fell in love with, do you think? So Sydney. It's definitely Sydney. We used to go to Bondi Beach all the time. and we actually filmed a series of Geordie Shore in Australia. We lived in Coogee Bay for six weeks. Oh, my God. So just all along that coast in Australia feels a lot like home. So it's so familiar to us. Like, I got every single one of my tattoos on Bondi Beach. And, like, it's just like, honestly, the whole of Australia feels so familiar to us that it is somewhere that I really love. I love everything about it. I love the people. I love the shop.

24:48I love the food. Like, all of their brands of food. Like, they do the most amazing hummus, this brand of hummus. Like, whenever I go there, I cannot wait to go to the grocery store to get, to, like, stock up on all the things I love. Like, it's honestly almost like I, like, live there part-time. Like, I just, I love it so much. So I would definitely say that's the first place I fell in love with in terms of everything about it. Yeah. Are there any other kind of things that you always do when you go to Australia, like part of your routine, places you always go? Right. Well, we always go to Bondi.

25:24Like that's just a just absolute given. We always have burgers at this burger place right on the Beige Gorge. We'll always go to Darling Harbour, which is like just right next to Sydney Harbour. and we'll go at night time. I don't know why, but it always feels like we're there around Valentine's Day and it's lit up beautifully. What they do in the harbour is they light up all these big red hearts and they just dot them about everywhere. And obviously it's really still, it's a lovely temperature there. Like it's gorgeous in February, it feels so warm. And like I just always know that when we're there, we always do our normal things.

26:00Darling Harbour and Sydney Harbour have got beautiful restaurants, so we'll always head down there on an evening and just stroll along the whole of the harbour and chat and then drop in a restaurant and it's beautiful, honestly beautiful. It's just far away. Yeah, it's such a shame it's so far away, isn't it? It's so far away, yeah. So we move on then, Charlotte, to chapter three and that is the trip that taught you the most about yourself, the place where you learnt the most about yourself. The place I learnt the most. so I flew out to Australia to do the Masked Singer I think maybe like five or six can't remember how many years ago but it was basically when COVID had hit COVID had just like really lockdown had just happened but I was always meant to be flying out there to do Masked Singer so I'd flew out there basically when all of the lockdowns had just come into place and like it got like whilst I was traveling it got really really strict wow So when you landed, you had to quarantine in a government-run hotel in Australia.

27:06They were really, really strict. They had the army outside. They had people standing in corridors with guns, like fully suited up, like you could not leave your rooms. So it was a pretty crazy time to have to travel. Yeah. And I obviously had to do the mandatory quarantine in the hotel. and you have to get tested for COVID whilst you're staying in there. You're not allowed out unless it's totally clear. On day five, I tested positive for COVID. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. So, basically, I was then... You got it on the plane? I must have got it on the plane. I must have. I'd been doing a lot of travelling anyways because just before that I'd been in I'm a Celebrity, get me out of here, South Africa, for Australia.

27:54after that I'd went to Dubai right and I was in Dubai for a while this is when I was young free and single you know like I could never do all this now don't think that this is my life now because it's definitely not and so I'd been in Dubai I'd been doing a lot of traveling there was a very small period of time where I was back in London I was doing a big shoot for my brand there was a lot of people on it it could have been from there as well because we were shooting there was about 20 plus people on that shoot in London and right it was I feel like after that maybe was it then? I don't know. Who knows?

28:25We could think about that forever. But anyways, I had COVID. I was in the lockdown hotel. But that's quite nice hotel, the mandatory one, until they find out you have COVID and then you're moved to a different one. Oh my goodness. Then I have to be transported by people in fully head-to-toe suits, right? Full head-to-toe suits. The army, I've got a police escort. I'm in the back of a paramedics van and I'm going to the actual hospital hotel oh my gosh Charlotte that must have been terrifying and you were on your own yeah on my own oh my gosh so basically I was in a relationship at the time with this this man boy child whatever um didn't last very long but but at the time I was the type of person who I feel like I jumped a lot from relationship to relationship and I think that's what I'm kind kind of known for as well.

29:20I always got my heart broken. Kind of was always scared to be on my own. And I don't really know like what the reason for that is. Maybe something in childhood. I don't know. There must be something. But I was just, I feel like I was terrified to be on my own. And that was the scariest thing. So that's a bit of a backstory there. So then I'm transported to the hospital hotel. Quick jump forward again. And I get into there. And basically that is like Nova. That is military operation. like you get your food delivered i'm in this hotel i'd already been in the first one for four to five days so then i know that i've got to spend two weeks in this next one i have to i can't i'm not allowed out under any circumstances so they're sending medical people in doing the blood tests i'm getting my blood test every day there's nurses coming in the room it was crazy right just wild absolutely wild so two weeks plus five days had elapsed that's 15 days I test again and I'm still positive oh my goodness right so at this point I'm just like wow what the hell like I did have I did have COVID and it did feel really wild because at the time nothing like that had been around and the symptoms were pretty crazy like one day I'd feel completely fine and the next day then I'd feel a bit under the weather.

30:41Then the next day I'd have severe back pain. Anyways, after the two weeks I felt fine, but I was still shown positive for COVID, so they were having to do more bloods, and in the blood it was still shown. So at this point I'm having to speak to a psychologist on the phone because I'm now stuck there for another seven days. That is full on. So now it's three weeks plus five days. So I'm on my own in Australia in a hotel room. For how long is Street 7, 14, 21, 25? So it's virgin on 26, 27 days I've been there. Nearly a month, yeah. Yeah, I'm on the other side of the world. I can't readily speak to my friends and family because of the time difference.

31:28Luckily, I've got friends in Australia, so I was chatting a lot to them. One of our best friends lives there now. We did a lot of Zooms and we did a lot, you know, when everyone was doing them Zooms on together. but primarily I was by myself for almost a month they told us that apparently something called long COVID existed and that's probably what I had and it was just still shown in the blood system but I definitely couldn't get out of that hotel until I tested positive I mean negative so a few more days passed and luckily finally I got a negative test but I think that was on like day 29 and but I finally got out and I remember like I remember like running out of them doors and my best friend came to me is in the street and it was a dead hot night I was just running out going Natalie and I was just so happy to have some kind of human contact but in that time although I never the only thing I ever did was I had a very small balcony in this like this whole this hospital hotel which I was so grateful for so I could sit out and get fresh air and I had the most beautiful sunsets I can't explain how amazing these sunsets were when I say it was burning orange and it would come through the whole of the apartment like that's one thing that kept us going like video in the sunset, sitting out and watching it, put my music on my phone and just listening while the sun went down and I had so much time to myself in that room and it really really was the massive changing point in my life that I learned to be alone and that it actually wasn't really scary at all.

33:13When I came back, because it was my biggest fear, but before going out there I was terrified of even just doing the the week you had to do mandatory i was like how am i going to do it i'm not going to be able to do it and i'd just done 29 days in a hotel room by myself on the other side of the world not not able to leave and i got home and me and that i split up with that person straight away and i wasn't one bit scared i was so looking forward to being in my house alone i was like oh my god imagine just when he actually leaves my house i'm going to get to sit in it alone and I was so excited for that and honestly alone that's another boring answer and it's another story that involves Australia it's not a boring answer at all it's absolutely fascinating and what a thing to have gone through to have been you know at that moment in time and like you said people walking around from the army and like with hazmat suits on I mean that is quite uh when we reflect on that now like bearing in mind that like half the population are wandering around probably with COVID at the moment it seems to be another surge like COVID is just now like it I mean I mean what even happened there like it really it really yeah it was a mental time and we've learned a lot from it I think everyone as a nation um yeah but yeah it just like you say everything happened for a reason and maybe that experience was about like you say like learning the joy of your own company.

34:44And the fact that I just find it so strange that it happened and I was in Australia, so I literally didn't have the comfort of just being able to talk to anyone whenever I wanted. No. Like, it was just, it just felt so poignant that actually I grew in myself so much. If it wasn't for that trip, I would think I'd be a different person altogether. I think that's an amazing answer. and I'm in a way glad that it happened for you, even though it must have been horrible at the time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen, it was an experience. And after Geordie Shore, you did something really interesting. You stepped into this completely different kind of show, this travel show, the Charlotte Crosby experience, where you were living with communities around the world that were totally different from anything you'd experienced before.

35:32So of those different places that you went to, it was what Japan, India, Canada, was it the Arctic was the fourth one? Yeah, the Arctic Circle was the fourth one. Was there one of those that you felt kind of really was an eye-opening experience for you in terms of, you know, learning about yourself? Absolutely. Every single one of them was an eye-opening experience. It was, it's bizarre to even think that, like I had, sometimes I forget that I did that. like I it was just crazy because I was really immersed in a culture like I they really let me in and I saw I saw all sides of it like really deep emotional sides that probably weren't even shown on the show like yeah it was it was really it was an eye-opener to see how all of these different cultures live and how lucky we really are to have everything we have here like as who we are in our culture we really are free to do whatever the hell we want and I was in cultures especially in Canada where the hutterites they literally they literally weren't even allowed to leave the community they weren't even allowed to be on electronics like and I don't want to like offend anyone by saying this but it's the only way I can kind of simplify it to explain where I don't think anyone would be offended but it's like the Amish like in a way that they live in that community and they're separated from the world but they do have their differences it's not as full on as the Amish I don't want to offend anyone by what I'm saying it's like the Hutterites say for example they live in houses and they had washing machines and stuff like that they were a religious community they had a church the women weren't allowed to leave the community, that kind of thing.

37:25But I think in the Amish, it's like... No electricity. No electricity at all. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. So a kind of offshoot of a kind of strict Christian society where it's very insular. Yeah, and they all wore their... They weren't allowed to wear normal clothes. you would wear your like full attire which was like a pinafore and like a white shirt and you had like a little head scarf it was quite cute really the attire were they um were they did you feel for the most part were they curious about the life that you lived yeah the girl that I lived with um she was the eldest and she had two younger sisters and she she basically expressed a lot that she didn't want to be there really and that she really wanted to like see the life outside and be like a woman who can like get it like have a career and aspire to do the things that she wants to do, wanted to do, and she was really curious.

38:35She asked us questions all the time, and she wanted to see photos, and yeah, she was lovely. She was really lovely. And did you find it hard not to be kind of judgmental of them in a way, because it was, like, so different to what we, like, how we grew up? Well, I'm just not a judgmental person at all. I'm very interested in, like, absolutely everyone and what they've got to say, and I just find everything really, really interesting. Yeah. But for them, it was like there was a point in Canada where they judged me. So someone had somehow, because they're not allowed computers, so I don't know how this happened, but someone had somehow Googled and saw pictures of me running around the Celebrity Big Brother house with my top-up flash on my boobs, yeah, as you do.

39:22And they'd printed them out and they'd came while we were filming a scene in one of the houses in the community, banging on the door, bang, bang, bang on the door with all these sheets of paper in their hand, printed out loads of different stuff on us. And listen, if you go on Google, you're going to find a lot of, like, a lot of things to print out. I don't think there's enough paper for the printer for all the stuff that people have to say and find on me. And basically, I got kicked out of the community. Yeah, they basically thought that I was a prostitute. Really? So they thought, yeah, yeah, that's, just to put it out there.

39:58So they kicked us out. we are trying to explain them i'm not a prostitute and i'd like that's not what i do there's just a couple of semi-naked pictures where i'm just having a bit of a laugh you know flashing my boobs or pulling a moony like there was one where i was pulling a moony like you know when you go with moony do you know what i mean like but they took this like really serious and obviously they're really religious so i do i did hear stories that within the community there had been some women who had left and it wasn't like they were like shunned out and never allowed to return but like it really was not the norm that anyone would the men could go out and leave they would go they would go out and leave and work right and but the women were not allowed in saying that i don't want to like bash it as such because yeah no i understand yeah there were like families who were thriving and and it was so nice to see a different side of life where like there was such this communal spirit where actually that was their world and they were all so side by side and like they had this thing where like one day of the week they'd go to the hall and they'd do songs and dances and and everyone was so friendly and everyone was so chatty and it wasn't it wasn't an ignorant world it was it was a really thriving lovely friendly social place to be they just had their own beliefs and they just did things differently and I actually think that that that way of life would be quite nice to be to just live in that community and to be so social and everyone was always smiling and happy until obviously they all thought I was a prostitute then I had a lot of curtain twitches when I was walking around and I had got kicked out but listen before that was all a very lovely experience brilliant well we move on to chapter four and that is the big one your all-time favorite destination where is top of your list today let us try and think i've got a villa in spain and i do love spain i love the fact that it's so close and the lifestyle is so beautiful and And there's so many pretty, lovely places in Spain that some people don't even know exist.

42:19Like, I went to a place that's right next to my villa called Altea. I don't know whether you've heard of it. You will have heard of Altea. No. No, I haven't. What? Oh, my God. Where in Spain is it? Which part? You land in Alicante, and it's literally about 40 minutes from Alicante. And it's called, after you get off the phone, after we get off this, you've got to research it type it into instagram you'll be blown away it's called the spanish greece so basically it looks like santorini but it's in spain and it's absolutely mind-blowingly beautiful and not many people know it there's a place there that's called altia hills where you're gonna live and it's like hollywood hills and it's basically just in spain just outside of alicante and it's amazing honestly so beautiful like a lot of when people go to benedorm a lot of people go on day trips to altair you would wander around the little streets all of the little boutique shops there's loads of ice cream parlors all of the views every little street you look down seems to have a view of the sea it's beautiful uh you'd have lunch and then and then on the night time there's i've not stayed at any yet but i've seen so many because i've been researching them because i'd love to stay there overnight i've only ever been in the day but there's some beautiful boutique hotels like really really beautiful and there's also a wellness hotel that's right near it like wellness fitness health and spa um so mine would be to stay in one of those and have a day wandering around the streets so i would say i do love spain and all of the new little parts of spain that i'm getting to discover because our villa's in a little area called benijofar and i didn't Bení Cofa, that's how you meant to say it.

44:11And I didn't actually even know that this little area existed. And I'm like, wow. And there's so many areas within driving distance that we could just go on a little road trip to. So I feel like that coast of Spain is absolutely beautiful and you could explore it. It would take a month to explore it all. And I don't even think then you would fit everywhere in. Yeah, yeah, it is stunning down there. It made me think actually, so if you've got your villa there, my first episode of the season was with Dom Jolly the comedian from Trigger Happy TV oh yes I used to love that hello hello I loved it and he said he was talking about that him and his family love to have this conversation if you have four houses for the seasons like the royal family where would you have?

45:02somewhere for the summer somewhere for the winter somewhere in a city and a wild card so you've got your Spain one for potentially the summer where would you pick for the others right okay I think Spain's a bit too hot for the summer I'm gonna say but I'm gonna use the Spanish one in winter because we still get 17 to 18 degrees in the day and I'll take that that's so nice yeah yeah yeah so Spain's been in the in the winter right and in the summer oh god it's hard can i just this is this is going to be a bit odd but i've just like i moved into my new house right which is actually a lot smaller than my old house i downsized but i actually love it so much and i made my garden like i was always dreamt of having this really nice manageable garden that i could afford to make nice so like i've got this dead average size garden and i I lawned it and I put like a little pregola up.

46:00And honestly, I'm so excited to have an English summer. So I'm going to say my house for the summer in the back garden so I can enjoy it. And then for a city one, I'm going to have, I always dreamt, and I don't know why, but I always dreamt of having a place in America. And I just don't know why. So I'm going to say New York. Might as well, the Big Apple. And then for the wild card, I'm going to say I'm going to have a really lovely home in Cairns, Australia. Oh, Cairns. So why Cairns? Cairns is magnetic. It is where the Great Barrier Reef is, obviously, you probably saw that, but the actual strip of Cairns and the restaurants, the bars, it's got a Ferris wheel.

46:47Everywhere you look out is just mountains and hills of rainforest and trees and it feels magnetic it feels really magical like there's some kind of pull because of the nature the nature it's so heavy on nature like we drive right up into like the rainforests and like learn all of this history about the trees and how long they've all been there so you've got that side of things and then you've also got the great barrier reef that's on the doorstep and everything about it is you on a night time right thousands and i'm talking thousands not just hundreds there might be like 10 to 20 thousands of bats fly from the trees into the city right and like it's it is the most spectacular scene you have ever seen in your whole entire life every night because i've filmed uh for aussie shore in cairns for the last two years so i've lived there for a month so every night at seven o 'clock me and alba would run to the balcony and watch the bats fly down seven o 'clock on the dot they start flying i must have about seven thousand slow motion videos of bats on my phone because i just was so fascinated it never got old i would take a video after video jake would be like charlotte you don't need another video of the bats i'm like i do like everything is just so the nature there and it feels like earth it feels like mother nature would live there like it is just beautiful oh that sounds absolutely glorious i've not been um i would love to go did you get to to see the great barrier reef did you do any snorkeling or diving no one thing i've not done and it's so mad because i've been there so much is do the biggest sightseeing thing that everyone does.

48:37I haven't done it because both times I've been with the kids and I've been working. So on my days off, I have the kids and you can't really take tiny children out. It's like a three-hour boat ride and then they're stuck on the boat and it's really, really hot. So it's not a trip for them just now, but listen, it's going to happen. On the bucket list. Yeah. Well, our next chapter, Charlotte, is your hidden gem. This is a place that you love that maybe my listeners wouldn't know so much about. Yeah, I've got one of them. I know the answer to this one. So I island hopped in Greece for six weeks and we lived on a yacht for Geordie Shore.

49:15Oh, how lovely. Yeah, and we went to some amazing Greek islands, some that everyone goes to, but there was one in particular that I was honestly really shocked about. I'd never heard about it. It was so pretty. It was like, eh, this place exists. and it was a little island called Eos. Oh, yeah, Eos. So that's in the Cyclades, isn't it? Near Santorini and Paros? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think so. And it is beautiful and it's basically where all of the backpackers go, but, like, not English backpackers. It's more like Australians and Europeans. Like, you'd never really see many. we were the only English people there when we were on that trip and it was full yeah and the in in all of the little streets there's like all these mad bars like it's crazy it really is a bit of a secret party island but you would just never know about it I don't think anyway no it is I feel as though like you say because it's got these it's got Mykonos and Santorini in that group of islands those are the like the big hitters but actually it's a real like you say it's a real hidden gem because it's got that that same amazing water it's got lovely some lovely boutique hotels um it's quite arid would you say like quite dry and arid just very like sandy and buildingy yeah but but like yeah i agree i think that that is a really good one i think when you don't hear so many English voices, that's definitely always a hidden gem.

50:58And I guess because there's not a direct flight, that's part of the reason why, isn't it? Yeah, definitely. Make Mother's Day even more special at Whole Foods Market. Kick off brunch or dinner with quality cheese and charcuterie with no synthetic nitrates. Then go seafood. There's an abundance on sale at Whole Foods Market where it's all sustainable while caught or responsibly farmed. At the bakery, Grab seasonal treats like their strawberry pretzel cream pie, and you can't go wrong with a ready-to-heat quiche Lorraine, deviled eggs, and fresh-cut fruits to go. Celebrate mom with Whole Foods Market.

51:34Mother's Day is coming, and Benny Honig just made it easier to celebrate in style. Buy a$50 gift card and get$10 back. Buy$200 and get$60 back. This deal won't last long, so don't sleep on it. Treat mom to hibachi, sushi, handcrafted cocktails and a dinner table show she'll be talking about all year. Make the night unforgettable. Gift cards are available now at benihana.com. That's benihana.com.

52:07And you're working with Love Holidays, encouraging people to read more on their hold. Yes, yes. So why is that something that you care about? What made you feel passionately about that? So I teamed up with Love Holidays because their message is so important. And I've also worked on a few campaigns about reading, but I think this one is really, really up there, especially after discovering the facts and the statistics. The stats are that reading is down on holiday. Less people are reading on holiday than ever before. And I think that reading is so, so powerful. It's a powerful escape. I think in a time when screens are so overwhelming, it's a chance to get off them.

52:52Do you know what I mean? Totally. I think it was 57 % of British people admitted that they are overpackers and they are overpacking their cases and they're not including their books. There's no room for their books. So I don't know whether you got to see the campaign where I've got the big coat on and it's just got so many books in. so that is our answer everyone needs to get this caught everyone needs to remember to take their books we need to switch off we need to switch off i think and i don't want to get this wrong don't want to get this this statistic wrong i had it wrote down but it's over there by the table i think it is 61 percent of people said that the the they switch off and relax with the book on holiday so if that's the case everyone has to be taking it yeah they should be doing it and it's not even just for adults i take books for the kids on holiday like when we get to the airport it's actually a little tradition is that we all pick a book and the girls will go yeah yeah we'll go to wh smith yeah yeah and like we we read it throughout the whole of the holiday so yeah i'm excited for when the books become a bit more interesting than just like Peppa Pig.

54:10Not that Peppa Pig isn't interested. She's amazing. I am also a fan of Peppa. I'm going away on Monday without my kids for the first time. So I might actually have a chance to read. Yeah, that's the thing. Number one holiday favourite book. Do you have one that you can recommend to me to actually read? Listen, I'm actually always going to say my fiction book, Lucky Break, because it is a really good one. And if you like the stories I've told you today, you're going to love that book. You will love it more than anything in the world. So I would always say that one, but I will give you one that is top of the charts in the books at the minute for taking away.

54:53The Thursday Murder Club, and while I was doing the campaign for Love Holidays, it was one of the books in the pocket and I kept on like flicking through it and reading a little bit and I read the back and it sounds like such a warm hearted lovely little book to read it's about a group of pensioners I think and they all start trying to solve murders and honestly it was so it just was lovely I think it gets a bit serious so I think it'll actually solve one it's on Netflix now is it? of it, yeah you're lying No, it was number one film on Netflix with Celia Emery and Helen Mirren. Helen Mirren is the main part.

55:36Oh my God, I didn't know. No one's told us that. I might have to give it a watch. Oh my God. Right, I'm giving that a watch then. Or a read. Well, yeah, you can finish reading it and then we move on to the film, like Harry Potter. Yeah. So our penultimate chapter is chapter six, and that is your worst travel experience or the place that you would just never go back to? I don't really have a really bad one. Like, nah, I don't have one that I've hated or had a really bad experience at. I feel like I've been pretty lucky in the sense of everywhere I've been, it's just been amazing. Like even the bad time I had in Australia when I was stuck in the hotel, it turned out to be an amazing changing period in my life.

56:23So I find this is a hard one to answer because honestly, I truly have had a great time everywhere I've been. There's not one place in the world that I would say I would never go back to. I have to say that being stuck in a hospital hotel for nearly a month probably ticks that box, to be fair. Even though it was positive in the end, I think that that was a pretty good answer really for that one. We'll do a few quickfire questions just before we wrap up. So, overpacker or minimalist? Overpacker. Beach or city? Beach. Early flight or late flight? I used to be early flight, but when you've got kids, it's not the one.

57:05I so agree. It really messes up the whole day. I'm going to go for late. I'm going to go for late. Book or phone on holiday? Book. And finally, your favourite meal that you've had abroad? Fish. It's got to be anything fish. I think you get the best, freshest fish when you're on holiday. 100 % totally agree. Well, we are now on the final chapter of your travel diary, Charlotte, and that is chapter seven, the destination that's at the top of your travel bucket list. Where haven't you been that you're dying to get to? Right. Okay. So I would love to go to the Bahamas. It's definitely on the bucket list.

57:47It's somewhere I've never, ever been, but it also looks somewhere that would just be great fun for families. I feel like there is so much on offer there. There's so much to do, like bucket list things, like go see the swimming pigs. All of these things are things that I know my daughter would love. Both my daughters, but one of them's a little bit too young. So I think that's definitely on the bucket list when Pixie's a little bit older. Dreamy, fabulous family destination. if you want some inspiration I've got a beautiful Bahamas destination special of the podcast that you can check out on the travel diaries oh wow it's full of inspo because there are loads of islands to pick from aren't there but I hope that you get there sometime soon thank you so much Charlotte it's been such a pleasure to chat to you those were your travel diaries thank you Holly

58:44love that thank you so much Charlotte for joining me on the pod Charlotte Crosby has teamed up with Love Holidays to encourage Brits to get reading on holiday and did I manage to read my book while I was away you might be thinking the answer is I read a bit and that is better than nothing so thank you Charlotte for encouraging me to put down my phone and pick up my book I'll of course be back next week with a brand new guest so don't forget to hit follow or subscribe on your podcast app so that you don't miss an episode to find out who's joining me next week come and follow me on instagram i'm at holly rubenstein you'll also find me on tiktok at holly rubenstein as well in the meantime have a fabulous week and safe travels

59:40Today's episode is brought to you by Airbnb. One thing I have learned from years of travelling is that the trips you remember most aren't always about the big headline sites. It's that feeling of getting under the skin of a place. Some of my most memorable stays have been in real homes, in real neighbourhoods, where you start to experience that quieter rhythm of somewhere. The morning coffee spots, the local park around the corner, the little details that make a place feel lived in. And of course, many of those homes belong to people who are simply away for a few days or heading off on their own travels.

1:00:19Instead of leaving their home empty, they choose to host on Airbnb during that time. It's a practical way to unlock a bit of extra value from your home, whether you're away for a long weekend or a longer stretch of time. And at the same time, it allows someone else to experience your area in a more personal, local way. If you've ever been curious about hosting, getting started is even easier than you expect. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk forward slash host. Thank you to Airbnb.

1:00:55Mother's Day is coming and Benny Hanna just made it easier to celebrate in style. Buy a$50 gift card and get$10 back. Buy$200 and get$60 back. This deal won't last long, so don't sleep on it. Treat mom to hibachi, sushi, handcrafted cocktails, and a dinner table show she'll be talking about all year. Make the night unforgettable. Gift cards are available now at benihana.com. That's benihana.com.