My Holidays: Nadia Abu-Shanab

Nadia Abu-Shanab, at The Austrian Hospice, Old City, East Jerusalem. Photo / Supplied

Nadia Abu-Shanab and Justine Sachs are running a givealittle page to raise funds for grassroots mental health work in Gaza.

What was your greatest holiday?
Taking my husband to meet my family in Palestine in 2016. We started in East Jerusalem and stayed in the heart of the Old City at The Austrian Hospice. The rooftop there is legendary for its magical view over the ancient cityscape.

And the worst?
Growing up in England we used to go on family holidays to declining English seaside towns. The grey beaches would be covered in chip packets, ciggie butts and Fanta cans. It always rained.

If we bump into you on holiday, what are you most likely to be doing?
Searching for the best yoghurt dish the city has to offer.

If we could teleport you to one place in NZ for a week-long holiday, where would it be?
Hokianga. A friend of mine lives in Opononi and has a caravan for guests. I'd turn off my phone and live off Hoki Smoki smoked fish.

How about for a dream holiday internationally? I'm torn. Either Cuba for May Day or a food tour of Sicily.

What's the dumbest thing you've ever done when travelling? I lost my visa. It literally blew away in a gust of wind.

Aisle seat or window seat? Aisle.

Complete this sentence: I can't travel without ... my 4-month-old baby.

What's the best travel tip you've ever been given? Avoid international litigation and travel as much as you can before having babies. Both bits of advice I wish I'd listened to.

What was the most memorable meal you've had while travelling?
A street-food picnic in Jerusalem. Pita filled with piping hot fresh falafel, salads, pickles and hot chips is a thing there and it's a dream. The hot chips really make it. Best washed down with a freshly squeezed pomegranate or orange juice from a stall holder who'll squeeze the fruit juice fresh in front of you. Eaten sitting by Damascus Gate.

What's the best thing you've brought back from a trip?
A grey alpaca wool jumper I got at a market in Lima, Peru eight years ago. One of those functional things you end up using all the time.

Favourite airport to land at? In spite of always feeling like I've had a brush with death, Wellington.

What's the next trip you've got planned? Melbourne. My husband's family are there so we are taking our daughter over to meet them all.