Plug in to adventure: surf star Adrian Buchan takes us on a family road trip
The former professional surfer, known as Ace, has fond memories of competing on the World Surf League Championship Tour – partly because of the many exotic destinations he visited, such as Tahiti, Indonesia, South Africa and Europe.
But Buchan's love of travel was ignited years before he became a globetrotter for his career.
Family camping trips up and down the New South Wales coast, to places such as Crescent Head, Point Plomer and Seal Rocks, were a formative part of Buchan's youth.
'I really do remember those road trips,' he says. 'Everything just seemed so exciting.'
Despite having retired from professional surfing in 2021, Buchan, along with his wife, Beck, and their three children, still often hits the road in search of adventure.
'We are lucky on the east coast of Australia to have this incredible coastline,' Buchan says. 'I'm grateful to be able to share that with my kids now, and go back to places that I was able to explore.'
The family's most recent trip was driving – in a Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid EV – from their Sydney home up to Avoca Beach on the Central Coast of New South Wales.
We asked Ace to talk us through his essentials for a weekend on the road with the family.
He may be a former pro surfer, but these days Buchan lives a life much like many of us.
He describes his weeks as 'busy', balancing the responsibilities of parenthood and a new career off his surfboard, as the chair of Surfing Australia, an environmentalist and entrepreneur.
'We love going to a boutique hotel and swimming in the pool as much as anyone,' Buchan says. 'But I think getting out and about and discovering places is much more rewarding work.'
For Buchan, 'a sense of discovery and adventure' are integral to any family road trip. 'Travelling is about not having plans,' he says. 'Just kind of seeing where the day takes you.'
'Safety,' Buchan replies without hesitation when asked about must-haves for any vehicle he'd take on the road. 'It's important with a young family.'
He's just as quick to list what items he would never go on a road trip without.
'The number one thing I'd take would probably be the surfboard.'
There are more than 10,000 beaches in Australia, and the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid EV opens up access to many of them. Its seven driving modes can handle all sorts of terrains, and its Super All-Wheel Control system offers greater stability on whatever terrain your adventure finds you driving on.
Exploring those beaches, it's no surprise that Buchan, someone whose life is 'somewhat dictated by surf', would want his surfboard with him. And his three children seem to have inherited their father's passion.
'When we did the road trip in the Mitsubishi, the kids were very keen to make sure the boards were all in the back,' Buchan says.
Buchan thinks Australia's east coast is perfectly suited to anyone who might want to give surfing a try.
'There are lots of different types of waves,' he says. 'No matter what kind of level you're at – a beginner, like my kids, or a professional.'
Discovering new places, trying new foods, meeting new people – it's easy to recall our favourite memories from a road trip after the fact. But there is also, undeniably, a lot of time spent, you know, driving.
When Buchan's behind the wheel, he prioritises comfort. And the Outlander Plug-In Hybrid EV didn't disappoint.
'The car was super comfortable,' he says. 'The drivability was great, and it was surprisingly really stylish.'
But Buchan has another tactic for comfort on the road, one that parents far and wide will relate to: keeping the kids happy.
'If you can find something that your kids are into, it's quite a nice way for them to zone out,' he says. 'We play games, like I spy, or find a good playlist. My youngest, Harley, also loves listening to dinosaur podcasts.'
From an early age, Buchan's passion for the ocean led him to develop a love for the environment and a desire to protect it. He's long been a climate advocate, speaking out about the climate crisis, and between 2020 and 2023 served as a board member for the Australian charity Surfers for Climate.
With its fully electric range of up to 84km, and regenerative braking technology that recharges the battery while it's driven, the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid EV can make a road trip more sustainable.
And Buchan was surprised at how well suited the car was to travelling as a family.
'There's been a lack of options within that portion of the market,' he says. 'It's really cool to see that there are now options that have space and can accommodate a young, growing family.'
Learn more about the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid EV, built for Australian adventures.
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The Guardian
12-08-2025
- The Guardian
Moreish Murcia: a gastronomic journey through south-east Spain
'My grandmother, a widow, sold her livestock in the 1940s and bought this land to start a vineyard. That's where she made the wine,' says Pepa Fernández proudly, pointing towards a weathered building no bigger than a garden shed. We're standing between two fields on a chalky road skirted by poppies, daisies and thistles. One field is lined with neat rows of lush vines, the other with small bush vines soon to bear monastrell grapes (the most dominant variety in these parts). In the distance, a sandy-coloured mountain range peppered with pine trees sits beneath a cloudless blue sky. Pocket-sized Pepa is the face of Bodega Balcona, a family-run organic winery in Spain's south-eastern province of Murcia. The vineyard lies in the picturesque Aceniche valley, in Bullas – one of Murcia's three wine DOPs (denominaciónes de origen protegida), alongside Yecla and Jumilla. Each has its own wine route, scattered with museums and vineyards. My girlfriend and I are in the area to explore Murcia's food and drink scene after a tipoff from an old friend who grew up in the city (Murcia is the name of both the province and its capital). The province hosted two of Spain's most prestigious culinary events last year: the Repsol Guide Soles gala and the Michelin Guide gala. 'Murcia is one of the best food cities in Spain,' a suave Granada-based gentleman in a fedora tells me on the way to the tasting room. We soon learn that its wine is pretty special, too, as we make our way through Bodega Balcona's roster of earthy natural wines. Each glass is paired with national and regional dishes: cold cuts, local cheeses, almonds, tuna empanadas, and a Murcian favourite made by Pepa's nephew, pastel de carne – a hearty meat and egg pie topped with flaky pastry. After, we drive to the nearby Salto del Usero waterfall, where kids are paddling and teenagers are sunning themselves on rocks, like lizards. Following a quick dip in the chilly plunge pool, we go to meet Paco Franciso Muñoz Reales, who runs an organic farm nearby with his German wife, Heidi. Laid-back and softly spoken, Paco is part of a local cooperative of growers, including Pepa, using ecological farming methods. He explains there was a little bit of tension with local farmers when he first started, but things have settled down. On a tour of his five-hectare estate, he shows me a seed bank tucked inside a pantry, rows of apricot, olive and lemon trees, and a tomato patch. Nicknamed the garden of Europe, Murcia accounts for around 20% of Spain's fruit and vegetable exports. This agricultural heritage stems from a vast network of fertile gardens, or huertos, that surround the city of Murcia, where baroque buildings, palm-lined riverbanks and buzzing tapas bars cluster around Plaza de las Flores. La Huerta de Murcia, as the fertile area is called, also influences local food culture, with Sundays traditionally reserved for family meals at rustic restaurants. Each spring, the city also throws the Bando de la Huerta festival – a lively celebration of rural life where locals don traditional dress and feast on regional dishes. We arrive a few weeks later, so instead visit the rustic El Cañal Los Almillas restaurant, where we tuck into heaped platters of beef entrecote dusted with a layer of rock salt, and a fresh tomato salad with olives and lettuce, accompanied by plates of lemon (Murcianos squeeze lemon on everything). We finish with a classic Murcian dessert of crispy, deep-fried paparajotes – battered lemon leaves served with a dollop of ice-cream. The restaurant is named after the city's canal system, which are part of an irrigation system dating back to Moorish times. 'Think of it as the Segura River being the heart and the canals the veins that deliver the blood,' our guide, Antonio, explains. David López, the chef at the fine-dining restaurant Local de Ensayo, tells us these ancient systems are still in use today as he shows us around his huerto. López visits his patch daily, growing everything from lettuce, beans and cucumber to strawberries and aubergines. Fruit and vegetables feature prominently in traditional Murcian cooking, in dishes such as ensalada murciana (tomato salad with tuna, olives and egg) and arroz con verduras (rice with vegetables). 'It's a way of life for me, somewhere I can bring the children to plant things and watch them grow,' López says while trudging through the mud, checking his crops. About 20% of the produce used in his restaurant comes from his garden, the rest being supplied by an ecological farmer with a stall at Verónicas market, which sells fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and olive oil to the city. Sign up to The Traveller Get travel inspiration, featured trips and local tips for your next break, as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays after newsletter promotion López and his wife, Carmen, show us around the market, pointing out local delicacies like mújol (mullet), almendra marcona (almonds), langostino del Mar Menor (langoustines) and alficoz (a type of curly cucumber). We finish at Café Bar Verónicas, which to the untrained eye looks like any other neighbourhood bar: metal countertops, shelves of pickled vegetables and wine, and locals chatting loudly. However, framed newspaper reviews hint at something more. It's run by Samuel Ruiz and his wife, Isabel Torrecillas. The young, tattooed chef could be Spain's Anthony Bourdain. Ruiz, who trained at the famed El Bulli, was responsible for one of Murcia's most exciting restaurants, Kome, a tiny Japanese-style tavern. 'They didn't have social media. No website. Nothing. But people still queued down the street,' Torrecillas tells us. Ruiz decided to shut down Kome and return to his roots, opening a barra with a twist in the heart of town, she explains as a plate of caballito (little horse in Spanish) lands on the table. The popular local dish usually features deep-fried prawns, only here it's made with fist-sized crayfish, shell and all. It's followed by a good-sized bowl of marinera, a kind of Russian salad with anchovies, served with crisp bread and homemade mayo. When I ask Ruiz what sauce he's plating up, he squirts a dot on to the back of my hand. 'Try it,' he grins confidently. It is a delicious homemade saffron mayonnaise with anchovy, lemon and garlic. A frozen cocktail with an umbrella appears moments later, sent from his other bar next door, Colmado San Julián. We finish up and say our goodbyes before wandering over to López's restaurant. As we enter, he vanishes without a word and we're seated by a window peering into the kitchen. Dishes soon arrive at the table from his excellent tasting menu (from about £65), which champions local, seasonal ingredients. Standout plates include a wild mushroom dish packed with umami, a deep-flavoured red Calasparra rice with vegetables, and his excellent signature dessert, a cross between a flan and a crème brûlée (a favourite of the legendary Spanish food critic José Carlos Capel). The next day we drive 45 minutes out of town to Casa Borrego – a cosy eight-room gastronomic hotel with soft bucolic rooms and a burbling beck outside. For dinner, we're treated to an elevated take on Murcian cuisine, including pani puri balls exploding with tuna tartare, and a massive pan of rich rabbit rice. Retiring to bed, we're lulled to sleep by the sound of trickling water. With our time in Murcia nearly up, the following day we zip back to the city to hunt down one last dish: zarangollo, a simple courgette-and-egg scramble. We find it at a traditional tapas bar called Bodegón Los Toneles – all jamón legs and chalkboard menus. We end the trip as we began with a local tipple, this time at CaféLab. Asiático is a heady blend of condensed milk, Licor 43, cognac and spices – said to hail from Cartagena. Like Murcia's cuisine, its richness lies in the subtle layers – each one revealing something original, unexpected and distinctly its own. The trip was provided by Turismo de Murcia. Sercotel Amistad Murcia has doubles from around €60 room-only; Casa Borrego has doubles from €120 BB
The Guardian
12-08-2025
- The Guardian
Moreish Murcia: a gastronomic journey through south-east Spain
'My grandmother, a widow, sold her livestock in the 1940s and bought this land to start a vineyard. That's where she made the wine,' says Pepa Fernández proudly, pointing towards a weathered building no bigger than a garden shed. We're standing between two fields on a chalky road skirted by poppies, daisies and thistles. One field is lined with neat rows of lush vines, the other with small bush vines soon to bear monastrell grapes (the most dominant variety in these parts). In the distance, a sandy-coloured mountain range peppered with pine trees sits beneath a cloudless blue sky. Pocket-sized Pepa is the face of Bodega Balcona, a family-run organic winery in Spain's south-eastern province of Murcia. The vineyard lies in the picturesque Aceniche valley, in Bullas – one of Murcia's three wine DOPs (denominaciónes de origen protegida), alongside Yecla and Jumilla. Each has its own wine route, scattered with museums and vineyards. My girlfriend and I are in the area to explore Murcia's food and drink scene after a tipoff from an old friend who grew up in the city (Murcia is the name of both the province and its capital). The province hosted two of Spain's most prestigious culinary events last year: the Repsol Guide Soles gala and the Michelin Guide gala. 'Murcia is one of the best food cities in Spain,' a suave Granada-based gentleman in a fedora tells me on the way to the tasting room. We soon learn that its wine is pretty special, too, as we make our way through Bodega Balcona's roster of earthy natural wines. Each glass is paired with national and regional dishes: cold cuts, local cheeses, almonds, tuna empanadas, and a Murcian favourite made by Pepa's nephew, pastel de carne – a hearty meat and egg pie topped with flaky pastry. After, we drive to the nearby Salto del Usero waterfall, where kids are paddling and teenagers are sunning themselves on rocks, like lizards. Following a quick dip in the chilly plunge pool, we go to meet Paco Franciso Muñoz Reales, who runs an organic farm nearby with his German wife, Heidi. Laid-back and softly spoken, Paco is part of a local cooperative of growers, including Pepa, using ecological farming methods. He explains there was a little bit of tension with local farmers when he first started, but things have settled down. On a tour of his five-hectare estate, he shows me a seed bank tucked inside a pantry, rows of apricot, olive and lemon trees, and a tomato patch. Nicknamed the garden of Europe, Murcia accounts for around 20% of Spain's fruit and vegetable exports. This agricultural heritage stems from a vast network of fertile gardens, or huertos, that surround the city of Murcia, where baroque buildings, palm-lined riverbanks and buzzing tapas bars cluster around Plaza de las Flores. La Huerta de Murcia, as the fertile area is called, also influences local food culture, with Sundays traditionally reserved for family meals at rustic restaurants. Each spring, the city also throws the Bando de la Huerta festival – a lively celebration of rural life where locals don traditional dress and feast on regional dishes. We arrive a few weeks later, so instead visit the rustic El Cañal Los Almillas restaurant, where we tuck into heaped platters of beef entrecote dusted with a layer of rock salt, and a fresh tomato salad with olives and lettuce, accompanied by plates of lemon (Murcianos squeeze lemon on everything). We finish with a classic Murcian dessert of crispy, deep-fried paparajotes – battered lemon leaves served with a dollop of ice-cream. The restaurant is named after the city's canal system, which are part of an irrigation system dating back to Moorish times. 'Think of it as the Segura River being the heart and the canals the veins that deliver the blood,' our guide, Antonio, explains. David López, the chef at the fine-dining restaurant Local de Ensayo, tells us these ancient systems are still in use today as he shows us around his huerto. López visits his patch daily, growing everything from lettuce, beans and cucumber to strawberries and aubergines. Fruit and vegetables feature prominently in traditional Murcian cooking, in dishes such as ensalada murciana (tomato salad with tuna, olives and egg) and arroz con verduras (rice with vegetables). 'It's a way of life for me, somewhere I can bring the children to plant things and watch them grow,' López says while trudging through the mud, checking his crops. About 20% of the produce used in his restaurant comes from his garden, the rest being supplied by an ecological farmer with a stall at Verónicas market, which sells fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and olive oil to the city. Sign up to The Traveller Get travel inspiration, featured trips and local tips for your next break, as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays after newsletter promotion López and his wife, Carmen, show us around the market, pointing out local delicacies like mújol (mullet), almendra marcona (almonds), langostino del Mar Menor (langoustines) and alficoz (a type of curly cucumber). We finish at Café Bar Verónicas, which to the untrained eye looks like any other neighbourhood bar: metal countertops, shelves of pickled vegetables and wine, and locals chatting loudly. However, framed newspaper reviews hint at something more. It's run by Samuel Ruiz and his wife, Isabel Torrecillas. The young, tattooed chef could be Spain's Anthony Bourdain. Ruiz, who trained at the famed El Bulli, was responsible for one of Murcia's most exciting restaurants, Kome, a tiny Japanese-style tavern. 'They didn't have social media. No website. Nothing. But people still queued down the street,' Torrecillas tells us. Ruiz decided to shut down Kome and return to his roots, opening a barra with a twist in the heart of town, she explains as a plate of caballito (little horse in Spanish) lands on the table. The popular local dish usually features deep-fried prawns, only here it's made with fist-sized crayfish, shell and all. It's followed by a good-sized bowl of marinera, a kind of Russian salad with anchovies, served with crisp bread and homemade mayo. When I ask Ruiz what sauce he's plating up, he squirts a dot on to the back of my hand. 'Try it,' he grins confidently. It is a delicious homemade saffron mayonnaise with anchovy, lemon and garlic. A frozen cocktail with an umbrella appears moments later, sent from his other bar next door, Colmado San Julián. We finish up and say our goodbyes before wandering over to López's restaurant. As we enter, he vanishes without a word and we're seated by a window peering into the kitchen. Dishes soon arrive at the table from his excellent tasting menu (from about £65), which champions local, seasonal ingredients. Standout plates include a wild mushroom dish packed with umami, a deep-flavoured red Calasparra rice with vegetables, and his excellent signature dessert, a cross between a flan and a crème brûlée (a favourite of the legendary Spanish food critic José Carlos Capel). The next day we drive 45 minutes out of town to Casa Borrego – a cosy eight-room gastronomic hotel with soft bucolic rooms and a burbling beck outside. For dinner, we're treated to an elevated take on Murcian cuisine, including pani puri balls exploding with tuna tartare, and a massive pan of rich rabbit rice. Retiring to bed, we're lulled to sleep by the sound of trickling water. With our time in Murcia nearly up, the following day we zip back to the city to hunt down one last dish: zarangollo, a simple courgette-and-egg scramble. We find it at a traditional tapas bar called Bodegón Los Toneles – all jamón legs and chalkboard menus. We end the trip as we began with a local tipple, this time at CaféLab. Asiático is a heady blend of condensed milk, Licor 43, cognac and spices – said to hail from Cartagena. Like Murcia's cuisine, its richness lies in the subtle layers – each one revealing something original, unexpected and distinctly its own. The trip was provided by Turismo de Murcia. Sercotel Amistad Murcia has doubles from around €60 room-only; Casa Borrego has doubles from €120 BB
Times
30-07-2025
- Times
Ace Hotel Brooklyn hotel review: a laid-back, stylish NYC stay
You may not expect a hotel lobby built of cast concrete slabs to feel warm and homely, but that's exactly the atmosphere at the Ace in Brooklyn. Here, neighbourhood locals perch for hours on creased leather couches, working on their laptops at long, varnished tables or meeting for a drink or a coffee under warm amber lights at the bar. The Ace brand knows how to turn a public space into a welcoming third place with a unique blend of style, comfort, and local culture. The property is a hub of community and creativity, with a roster of events and art exhibitions that connect visitors to the local scene. Given its location near multiple subway lines and the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, guests can easily explore the local neighbourhood while enjoying quick access to Manhattan. Service here is informal, but swift and capable, setting the tone for a relaxed and stylish stay. This article contains affiliate links that will earn us revenue Score 7/10The industrial decor of the 287 rooms was designed by Roman and Williams in prevailing hues of deep forest green (carpet), orange (plywood panels and furniture) and charcoal (ceiling) and tempered by vintage instruments, woollen tapestries and wall hangings made by local artists. There's nothing extraneous here — warehouse windows let in loads of light, platform beds are covered in tactile linens, hangers on metal pipes serve as the wardrobe, wooden pegs are perfectly placed for towels and dressing gowns. The smallest room is a sizeable Queen with room to walk around — the bonus to staying in an outer borough. The spacious bathrooms all have concrete sinks and walk-in showers with rainfall heads and stylish custom dressing gowns. The Ace Suite is the only room with a tub. Be sure to book west-facing rooms above the fifth floor for views across brownstone Brooklyn and its church steeples to New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty and the green hill of Staten Island. While the rooms are stocked with Smeg mini-fridges, sturdy white diner mugs and a kettle, there's no tea, coffee or milk on offer — which is all part of the Ace's ethos to make sure guests leave their room and join in the communal vibe of the shared public spaces. Score 8/10 It's New York so there are only about, say, 4,397 restaurants to choose from, but dinner at Lele's Roman, the Ace's all-day restaurant should not be considered an also-ran. The colourful dining room gets an extra buzz from the street-facing windows letting in some of that Brooklyn hustle, and chef Francesco Battisti's new menu has welcome dishes like pinsas (flatbreads) and a sophisticated kids' menu, which is always a good idea in this part of family-friendly Brooklyn. Breakfasts here run from pastrami bagels and eggs Benedict to prosciutto cotto omelettes with fontina cheese. Meanwhile, lit by skylight in the lobby's airy, plant-filled Garden Room, visiting chefs get to strut their stuff at gastro pop-ups with small plates and wines by the glass. The backlit bar is definitely the place to unwind after a day in the city, sipping a craft cocktail or a tongue-tingling, non-alcoholic spritz. • More of the best hotels in New York• Best restaurants in New York Score 7/10The Ace aims to be part of the fabric of the neighbourhood and its calendar has a full roster of artworks, temporary exhibitions, events curated by artists in residence, and DJ parties late into the wee hours. The subway even obligingly rumbles underfoot at regular intervals. There's no spa or fitness centre. The hotel has no-nonsense eco-friendly policies, including soap flakes of cedar and charcoal in the bathrooms to prevent waste, water bottle-filling stations in the hallways, and linens are changed every three days. Score 8/10While the Ace's downtown Brooklyn location won't win any beauty contests, it's a hop, skip and jump from some of Brooklyn's trendiest shops, restaurants and cultural hotspots such as the Barclay Center, BAM and Lucali's (Taylor Swift's favourite pizzeria). The Ace is the perfect base for exploring the Brooklyn lifestyle in neighbourhoods like Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Dumbo, and Fort Greene. It's also surrounded by multiple subway lines with downtown Manhattan a mere two stations away. The closest Citi Bike share is two blocks from the hotel, for those who want to tour on two wheels. Price room-only doubles from £156 Restaurant mains from £18Family-friendly NAccessible Y Sunshine Flint was a guest of Ace Hotel Brooklyn ( • More of the best hotels in Brooklyn• Best affordable hotels in New York
