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The thought of travel certainly feels like a far-flung concept right now, with the ongoing coronavirus epidemic, but for Eva Piskadlo, she's been reviving old memories and rediscovering her own backyard—London—to get through these strange times. Having jet-setted across continents exploring everything from boutique gems to top-of-the-range hotels, Piskadlo has certainly lived the high life. But it's not gone unnoticed—Piskadlo holds a cult following of over 80k on her Instagram. The Eurasian holds a background in law and pursues her creative output through her online blog—and she's one of our newest dining and hotel review contributors set to join Cha Siu Papers Times. We speak with Piskadlo on her top recommendations for food, hotels and suitcase essentials in a hopeful travel-filled future.
Could you tell us about yourself, in brief, and how you got into travel writing?
I grew up in London and Singapore, and studied Law at University. It doesn’t automatically marry itself with a love for travelling and eating. I created my corner of the internet back at University. But what started as a casual passion project has since grown into something much bigger than I ever intended. My blog is my side-baby to my day job in Legal Insurance, documenting where I love to eat, travel and stay. My love of travelling and food stems from my Eurasian roots. Home has always been impermanent, first London, then Singapore, then York, Leeds, back to London, and next to Hong Kong in the Summer.
What are your top five favourite hotels so far (globally)?
After a long and difficult ponder, it would have to be the following:
Where will be your first go-to destination once travel opens up?
Hopefully New York or Italy before I move to Asia in the summer.
What are your top ten favourite restaurants in London?
After an even longer ponder, (and in no particular order) my favourites in London would have to be the following:
What's something you recommend everyone to do in London?
If you have a day to spend in London, I’d highly recommend doing a walk through the City of London. London is renowned as a walking city—one that I’ve become almost too familiar with during lockdown. Start from Tower Bridge towards the Square Mile, past St Paul's to Chancery Lane, Holborn, and through to Covent Garden. If you’re peckish along the way, you can alternatively go via Borough Market to pick up a street snack (or three) and walk across Millennium Bridge. There really isn’t a similar skyline in the world—the blend of new against old is truly unique to the Big Smoke.
Top 5 travel essentials?
The following items are essentials with a capital E in my book:
Face masks for a long flight - I don’t care if I look like a loony with my face laid back with a Korean Ginseng mask on, I’d rather not have dehydrated skin for the initial days of my holiday;
Bose 700 Noise Cancelling Headphones;
Lip balm;
A good book;
A pre-planned itinerary.
What are the most important aspects of a hotel for you?
A good breakfast selection is a deal breaker for me. It motivates me to get out of bed in the morning, and it sets the pace of my day. Depending on the country and type of holiday, an adults-only pool and fully-fitted gym are also facilities that I look for when selecting my hotel choice.
Could you share one of your most memorable travel experiences with us?
The most memorable experience in the recent past must have been to Florence last year. We visited right after lockdown had ended in Italy, so the place was practically deserted. What is usually renowned as the city with the most tourist foot-fall in Italy was practically a ghost town, it was really quite special to experience the sites feeling like a local Florentine. It was incredibly serene.
Eva will be contributing towards Cha Siu Papers Times' international dining and hotel reviews.
Follow us at @chasiupaperstimes and follow Eva at @byevapiskadlo for live updates.
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