14
OCT
anniversary of travels – venice
You can view the original post 'Venice, one of a kind' here.
12
OCT
anniversary of travels – florence
You can view the original post 'Aah, Florence' here.
10
OCT
anniversary of travels – positano
View the original posts 'Perfect Positano' and 'Exploring Pompeii'.
07
OCT
anniversary of travels – rome
Anniversary of travels series continues... Ta-da! Rome. You can view the original post 'Five Days In Rome' here.
05
OCT
anniversary of travels – london
Can you believe it's been a whole year since hubby and I toured Italy (and a wee bit of London)? And what a year! I think about our trip all the time. It was so magical, for a whole host of reasons. I would love to go back again some day. To celebrate the anniversary, I decided to frame some of our photos and display them on our study wall....
18
JUL
hobart in a flash
Hubby and I traveled down to Hobart this past weekend for his sister's husband's 40th. Originally from Tassie, our brother-in-law gathered together a great group of family and friends for a beautiful birthday bash. We made the most of our leap across Bass Strait, scooting all over the country-side, sampling a little of what gorgeous Hobart...
31
MAR
visit victoria — march 2011
Okay, so I promised to share this with you in a timely manner... well, March kind of got away from me. But here 'tis — you can still enjoy perusing the events of April and May! My favourite jaunt in autumn? Daylesford. Hubby and I will definitely be doing a little weekend away sometime soon, when the leaves start to turn and...
08
JAN
slice of healesville heaven
‘Twas such lovely weather on Thursday, I was so pleased to get an impromptu Healesville Sanctuary invite from my mate Ali. It has been many years since we visited, but it was a first for Ali’s little one, Piper. The bright little bubble is 18 months old, and her vocabulary has grown so much since I saw her last. It was so cute hearing her pronounce...
05
JAN
tourism victoria — spring 2010
I probably should have shared this with you during spring, when the event information was still relevant... but I was in Italy! (Was that a little too smug? Sorry...) Anyhoooo, I put the above booklet together just before going on holidays, and the final client tweaks were performed by my trusty side-kick. Though the events have passed,...
02
JAN
take a walk to lala land
On a beautiful day this week, hubby and I took the boys (our furry children) for a walk to the Lala Falls in Warburton (about 80km’s east of Melbourne). A 3.2km trek from the car park to the waterfall, the winding track was bathed in dappled sunlight. The sound of rushing water and bird calls was so uplifting, and the walk challenging enough...
06
DEC
pizza n’ pinot
Last Saturday hubby and I awoke at dawn (ok, not quite, but it felt like it) for a trek to the Red Hill market on Victoria’s coast with the fam. Oh, what a food & craft wonderland! Farm produce, breakfast delights and sugary treats as far as the eye can see! Sweet little bubba outfits, clever crafts and beautiful funky knits! It was all too easy to part...
06
NOV
saturday treat
It was such a beautiful day today, we couldn’t resist taking a drive to the Yarra Valley for lunch. If you’ve never been to Giant Steps Innocent Bystander in Healesville, you really ought to give it a go. Not only does the cafe/bistro serve wood-fired pizzas and bakery goodies, but they do wine and cheese tastings and sell all manner of jams,...
26
OCT
milan, let’s go shopping!
Train travel really is the best way to get around Italy. You can see glimpses of small towns and amazing terrain that you mightn’t otherwise. While on the train between Venice and Milan, I saw chickens pecking around beside the tracks. I theorised that the reason why we’ve seen so little ‘pollo’ on ristorante menu’s is, because the...
20
OCT
venice, one of a kind
Before leaving for our trip, I’d heard a couple of people remark that two days is all you need in Venice. There aren’t a huge number of ‘must-see’ touristy items to cross off your check-list. Love it, hate it or indifferent to it, I’m sure everyone must agree that there isn’t anywhere else in the world quite like it. I’ve been meaning to do a little reading,...
09
OCT
three days in the cinque terre…
...is not enough. Famous for the walking trails that connect these five tiny villages on the coast, the Cinque Terre is simply stunning. I probably should have done a little reading before departing on our first trek, however. Passing a number of German tourists wearing hiking boots and sporting walking sticks, I began to doubt my choice...
06
OCT
aah, florence
Yes, you are right. I know. I have procrastinated over writing this post. Why? Well, I’ve gushed over every other destination thus far, it’s difficult to articulate just how much I loved Florence. I. Bloody. Loved. Florence. How’s that? I seriously loved this little city. It has such an abundance of art and culture and history and lush green gardens...
29
SEP
quick stop in pescara
Following on from my last post on Pompeii: Our driver then drove us from Pompeii to Salerno train station where we were to catch a train back to Rome. I have discovered that I can sleep just about anywhere — including on the steps of the main train station entrance, with my head resting on my folded arms across my bag. Not quite as...
25
SEP
exploring pompeii
Pompeii, like much of Italy thus far in our trip, was a mind-blowing experience. So much of the original city has been spectacularly preserved, and the area it covers is immense. We had just two hours to explore this ancient wonder, and so had a very knowledgeable and lovely guide, Maria, walk us through. I was so impressed by how...
24
SEP
perfect positano
Getting to Positano was to be our first major train journey, and it could have been a bit of a juggle. As it was, we cheated a little — we caught a train from Roma Termini to Salerno, then jumped into a taxi for the remaining distance. Hefty price, yes, but we avoided connection complications, and was able to see some amazing scenery...
23
SEP
five days in rome
Aaah, Rome. What a phenomenal city. I was somewhat intimidated upon our first meeting. I feared the language barrier would lead us up numerous dead-ends, not to mention all the thieving gypsies and pick-pocketers we'd been warned about. Whilst I am confident in reading an Italian menu (seen plenty of them before),...
21
SEP
london calling
My goodness, we managed to pack a lot into our day and a half in good ol’ London-town. We had uncharacteristically good weather for at least half of it, too! You would suppose that after a 24 hour journey we would have been just shy of a coma, but we were running on adrenaline and determined not to miss a thing...
20
SEP
buongiorno!
Aaah, alas we are home from our whirlwind Italian tour. What an amazing time we had, and what spectacular things we’ve seen! Not to mention all the delicious food we’ve eaten... but oh, where to start? I kept a little diary whilst there, so that I could recall where we visited and what we saw...
18
JUL
aah, the alpine air
Biting cold, soft white powder snow, extra-thick socks and ten cosy layers, slow-cooked lamb stew with cous cous, amazing views, lots of colourful wool and a crochet needle, and bloody gorgeous mates and hilarious conversation make for a very enjoyable weekend. Love you lots, me sweets xo...
11
JUL
for the soul
I officially started my four-day week this week. Work has been busy and stressful of late, so on Friday I resolved to treat myself. It was such a beautiful day, clear blue skies and bright sunshine, though incredibly cold. Thus, I decided to drive to the Yarra Valley — to soak in some rays, treasure hunt in an antique store...
26
APR
tourism victoria — spring 2009
Since mid-last year, I have had the pleasure of working with Tourism Victoria to produce several 24-page advertising inserts. This first insert appeared in The Adelaide Magazine and QWeekend Magazine in October 2009. My contact at Tourism Victoria, the lovely Emily, has been wonderful to work with...