Hi! I'm Elena! Welcome to my travel blog Creativelena.com.
For me, it is all about “life-seeing instead of sightseeing”: Join me as I create, eat & live my way around the world. Curious?
*Check out my book, “The Creative Traveler’s Handbook”, for learning more about what we mean by creative travel. Travelling means the world to me, makes me fit for everday life and sometimes, I trust, also calmer on the inside. Read this blog with a smile, share what you love and remember to check back regularly: After all, when was the last time you did something for the first time?
“The best way to start anything is with dessert!” Elle’s simple, matter-of-fact statement still rings in my ears, or should I say, lingers in my mouth … ? Oh how I love following determined, knowledgeable and highly entertaining Elle around town. Also known as “The Big Foody“, namesake & kindred foodie spirit Elena “Elle” Armon-Jones […]
Ko te Reo kia tika .. Ko te Reo kia rere .. Ko te Reo kia Māori. “It is important to us as Maori people, to continue, and perpetuate, our unique ways of understanding the world around us. In the past, our efforts have gone into instilling Maori language & cultural learning as early as […]
In the beginning, there was darkness. Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother, cuddled up against Rangiori, the Sky Father, and in between them lived there many children. It was then that Tanemahuta, the strongest among their offspring, decided to separate his mother from his father and bring light into the world. Rangiori and Papatuanuku, however, loved each […]
Wellington. Happy, windy Wellington! Back in the Kiwi capital city, I would have done my Icebreaker Merino sportswear shopping, enjoyed my walk around Wellington Waterfront & flirted with the lovely guy at my YHA Youth Hostel reception. So what’s next on an easy, two-day stay around town you might ask? 🙂 Zest Capital Tastes Tour. “We’ll wander in and out of […]
“As the track sinks in, I am reminded of its magic … Walking, feeling the land … Charging my bone carving with all the ‘mana’ ( = Maori for status, power, achievement) possible … in what I call the ‘eternal, ephemeral dance of the universe’. Feeling home. Coming home. Doing what I love most. Being […]
“Hi Elena! Great to hear you’re back in New Zealand and of course you’re welcome to join my workshop!” – Words like these are music to my ears, taking me straight to my next creative travel experience here in New Zealand! Stephan Gilberg, also known as “The Bone Carver” in the city of Nelson in the north of New […]
Peace. Comfort. A family Christmas down under … My second summer Christmas, that is! Having lived, worked & travelled in beautiful Aotearoa New Zealand for well over a year, returning to this special place on Earth always feels a bit like coming home. And more so this time, what with Christmas & the start of the Kiwi holiday season there to greet […]
“Aren’t you hiding from reality?”, I have been asked repeatedly in the past concerning the sheer number of trips I take. Most of the time, this question has just annoyed me. Today however, dear readers, I would really rather hide from reality. Too much has happened in the past few days, the reality of a […]
Is it possible for a distant, exotic and breathtakingly beautiful country such as New Zealand to produce something like an “everyday life rhythm”? Looking back, my answer today is YES, although you have to say that everyday life down under is always going remain distinctively special. It starts with the immensely open-mindedness of the Kiwis […]
“Show me your water!”, is what Carolin Hinz proclaims on her travel blog “Esel Unterwegs” (Travelling Donkey), inviting us to participate in a collection of travel articles showing what experiences we have had in or around “water”. Even while I am reading hers, my mind starts wandering off to all those particular travel memories concerning water. I […]