When I was a little girl, the youngest of four kids, we would be packed into the back of the car and Mum would drive us to the airport to farewell Dad on his overseas business trips. We’d watch with our faces pressed against the wire as Dad walked across the tarmac.
Is this where my love of travel started? Or was it the sensory stories Mum brought back later, specifically the way she described the sweetness of her first fresh figs abroad?
With a family culture that encouraged exploration, I set off for London after university and a year of teaching. I’ll never forget buying that classic Kombi van outside Australia House; it became our home for three months as we wound through Europe. What started as a short trip turned into a three-year adventure, some of the most fun I’ve ever had. Eventually, my travels evolved into a more gradual, ‘upmarket’ style, sharing new horizons with my husband and children..
Life took an unexpected turn when I suddenly found myself a single parent. Transitioning to life as a solo traveler on a strict budget was tough and confronting, but I was determined to keep exploring. I refused to let my circumstances ground me. Eventually, as I built my career in food and wine media, the world opened up again. That professional journey took me far beyond my beloved Australia to the landscapes of Greece, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and Wales, and even back to France with a close friend.
In 2007 I met my late partner and we happily travelled the world for work and play and I hosted some very successful food/wine/travel TV series. In 2018, we moved to London from March to June and September to November each year for our TV business. En route I would visit my daughter and family in Singapore, as she had moved there from the UK. She had left Australia in 2006 and sadly her big brother, Blair, had died at 29 in 2011 from Acute Myeloid Leukaemia three days after diagnosis. But not before we shot a TV series together, Lyndey & Blair’s Taste of Greece. But more of that later.
Meanwhile, I had added another string to my bow and, given my love of people and extensive knowledge of global cuisine, hosted tours in the Mediterranean from 2015 to 2017. Did I mention that when I was little, my parents had gone on a cruise to New Zealand and I thought the ship was the most glamorous thing I had ever experienced? Oh how these memories form us.
I found new joy as a small tour travel host, caring for people, working to maximise their enjoyment and loving the human interaction. I subsequently hosted wonderful culinary tours to Japan and Puglia (in the boot of the heel of Italy). Then came 2020 when not only Covid but my partner’s terminal cancer diagnosis kept me at home. While I have since then hosted three more successful tours to Puglia and three amazing ones to Morocco, I am back to being a solo traveller. I have always preferred it when hosting my tours, so I can devote myself to my guests, but for personal travel I am now learning the ups and downs. One reason we work to minimise single supplements on my tours!
Much as my tours attract solo travellers, couples and friends travelling together, last year my Morocco tour was my first all-female one and it was great. Ten individuals, all strong and independent but who supported one another unquestioningly. We even had three generations from one family. It made it so special for all of us.
I like to challenge myself and always enjoy going somewhere new. Since John died I have been to Albania, Llubijana, Vietnam and a cruise along the Danube. Each time with friends.
So next I’m offering tour to a completely new destination, the Peloponnese in Greece. Greece in 2026 is high on the list for women travellers. Travel writers consistently highlight its strong safety record, hospitable locals and easy transport links between cities and islands, making it a confidence building choice even for first time solo trips. The Peloponnese offers all of that with the added bonus of smaller, human scale towns, deep food traditions and a slower pace than the busiest island hubs. For people who want connection, culture and good meals more than clubs or crowds, this corridor appeals.
Athens, Nafplio, Monemvasia, Kalamata and Olympia form a loop through the Peloponnese that mirrors the route of Lyndey & Blair’s Taste of Greece TV series. When I began to shape the tour, I did not start with a list of ‘must see’ sights. I started with a list of people, experiences and meals I never forgot. That is how this route came together.
At its heart, this is my way of sharing a journey that began as a mother and son travelling through the Peloponnese with cameras and curiosity, now widened to include a circle of like-minded travellers from around the world.
Greece gave Blair and me a chapter I will always treasure. I see it as a tour of joy, not sadness. Sharing these places now feels like passing on a gift. My hope is that we will leave with new friendships, new confidence and Greece in our hearts.
Greek Travel File
A Greek Food Odyssey with Lyndey Milan and Insight Vacations
5 – 17 May 2026 13 days/12 nights from Athens to Athens
$11,695 per person twin share. Single Supplement $1750
Small group maximum 13 people.
All guests receive a complimentary copy of Lyndey & Blair’s Taste of Greece cookbook. To book or for enquiries, contact Insight Vacations at groupsaustralia@ttc.com
Read more stories by Lyndey Milan below.