(37 Reviews)
100% Recommended

Gabrielle Estel

Cedar Rapids, IA

International Travel Leisure Specialist

I live to travel. I’ve invested over 4 years of my life living abroad.

I lived in Taiwan and explored Asia. Then, I moved to Egypt and explore the Mediterranean and the Sahara. From living with a host family in Spain as you...
Learn more about me.

I live to travel. I’ve invested over 4 years of my life living abroad.

I lived in Taiwan and explored Asia. Then, I moved to Egypt and explore the Mediterranean and the Sahara. From living with a host family in Spain as young teenager to honeymooning in Italy, travel has always marked my life milestones. Now I’m back in my Iowan home state to help others plan their own dream experiences across the globe. Travel is my life.

Let me share my life with you. 

ARTS & CULTURE

My husband is my main travel buddy. He’s a history guy; I’m a literature girl. Between the both of us, we have to see every museum, temple, cathedral, statue --- you name it!

Over my years of travel, I’ve learned art and culture is more than the highlight real. It’s also exploring a local Greek market, listening to a Korean grandmother describe her love of fan-painting, trying homemade Italian dishes at a rooftop dinner party, having a quiet moment in a café watching uniformed King’s College students rush through Canterbury to their morning classes, bargaining for a brick of tea in China.

These little moments of life are art and culture. 

FOOD & WINE

Food is the heart of a country. Food tours are journeys to the heart of a place---and the locals. Local food tour guides know every alley, and cooking instructors always welcome travelers into their family. They’re the best to ask for any last minute recommendations and to have a better understanding of culture through the kitchen. Sometimes the kitchen is the desert, like roasting chicken in Egyptian with a side of koshari. My personal favorite are moon cakes to celebrate Mid-Autumn festival and Scottish eggs in Bath.

Nothing is as engrained in a place as food. It an easy way to experience a place’s every day.

EXPLORATION & ADVENTURE

Let’s take the path less traveled.

That path might be a horse ride through the mountains, a dune buggy through the dunes, a hike up an along the spine of a mountain, a gondola ride above the jungle outside Hong Kong, or a peak at North Korea at the DMZ.

Whatever type of heart racing you’re looking for, I can find.

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Gabrielle Estel

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United Kingdom Travel Expert

Canterbury Cathedral

There’s nothing like escaping the drizzle in a homey UK pub. It seems they’re made for those little moments of pause, chat, and sip. I love a Pimms and lemonade, and my husband always chooses a random local brew. I've been lucky enough to visit the United Kingdom multiple times. Every time I have a new favorite place. Here are a few of my favorite moments:

Oxford

We booked our Oxford train tickets for May Day without knowing it was a huge celebration. It was the first May Morning singing after the pandemic. The streets were full of faeries. It was like stepping into the worlds of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Lewis Carroll. My husband and I grabbed a hot chocolate and walked the streets with our literary history guide. Libraries, writing pubs, Harry Potter movie sets, Oxford is full of little moments of wonder. 

Canterbury

Everyone knows to visit the high spires of Canterbury cathedral, but no one knows to explore the low points of the Canterbury canals by punting. Our little hour on the water going around and under the buildings of Canterbury is as cherished a memory as our tour of the famous cathedral. Not to say the cathedral isn’t shockingly beautiful in sight and story, it is also by far one of my lifetime favorite tours. I just had to recite the opening lines to the Canterbury Tales from my college memory at the entrance.

Leeds Castle

The United Kingdom is a place for the path less traveled. We choose to disembark the train at a small station without attendants and enjoy a walk through the countryside to Leeds Castle. On our way through the village, we stopped at a farm-to-table shop for coffee, a ham sandwich with a thick slab of amazing cheese, and freshly baked apple fritters. We talked to the kind store owner about what it was like to live in rural England before packing up and heading to Leeds Castle. Leeds Castle is absolutely gorgeous. A surprise to me, the inside was renovated by Lady Bailie in the 1930s. It is full of Great Gatsby-esque glitz and glam!

London’s Hyde Park

While seeing the well-known sights of London (Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, London Eye, etc) we stopped for a rest at Hyde Park one morning. We found an adorable little cafe run by two ladies, had a full English Breakfast, and wandered the park. I never thought seeing so many swans at once was possible!

Some of my favorite suppliers to work with for the UK are Avanti Destinations, Kensington Tours, and Tauck. I can't wait to help you experience the United Kingdom and find your own pocket of cherished memories.

My Travel Albums

United Kingdom

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