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WOMEN WE LOVE | JULIA ASHWOOD

Share with us again the beautiful story of how The Vista started many years ago...

Gosh, well... it all started out very differently indeed.

The Vista, actually started out as BIKINI-VISTA. My "big" idea was to curate all the best swim brands from across the globe and sell them on one great looking e-comm site. This was back in 2010 mind you... Just as I was about to drop thousands of dollars on inventory at Miami Swim Week, meeting with brands I was given the advice by a good friend of - "DON'T F-ING DO IT". Her advice was that, if I enjoy the travel component of what I already did then why would I tie myself down to a warehouse, stock and the headache that comes with that.

So, I took a step back - binned my beautifully designed logo & website and started all over again...I then concentrated on writing and sharing travel guides instead, and here we are now.

How has your experience of travelling changed since you had Delilah Bee (Julia's 1 year old daughter)?

I am MUCH more organised (I would hope)! 

With kids (as those who have them know) you always, quite literally have to be one step ahead. Booking car seats, pop up cots and bassinets for the plane, making sure your hotel room is quiet, packing multiple types of snacks and lugging around all that extra baggage!

Domestic and nearby countries with less flight time are also higher on my agenda these days. 

Despite all this, traveling with DeeDee has certainly opened my eyes to new things. Discovering the spaces and places with her reminds me of just how special even the smallest moments can be... 



Do you ever get homesick for home?

Of course! long trips often have me pining for home. I lived in NYC for many years and constantly dreamt of returning back to Oz. 

I often feel you can travel the world looking to find a place like home... yet one of the best things traveling offers is taking you out of your comfort zone and providing you with a new found perspective - quite like that old saying "distance makes the heart grow fonder".


 

What do you love about living in the Byron Hinterland?

I grew up in Byron so it is a lovely feeling to now return here, close to my mum and dad to raise our own family. 

Having both space in the hinterland, yet close proximity to the ocean is heavenly. We have a healthy veggie patch, room to roam and we're within 10mins of beautiful beaches which are generally uncrowded at most times of the year. Don't even yet me started on the abundance of heavenly food here, its quite hard to match. 

What are your top travelling pieces from the Zulu & Zephyr Summer Collection?

The Stella Pant suit + the Wine Tri bikini look perfect for my bag.

You can visit The Vista's website here.