Category: Culture

chicago
Chicago, Food & Drink, USA

The Best Bars in Chicago: Cocktail Bars, Craft Breweries & Beer Gardens

Chicago might be best known for it’s striking skyscrapers, gangster history, a giant silver bean sculpture and deep dish pizza, but you’d be missing out if you didn’t dive into some of the best bars in Chicago. The city’s dynamic and creative bar scene means that Chicago bartenders no longer flee to San Francisco and New York to make it in the hospitality world. The … Continue reading The Best Bars in Chicago: Cocktail Bars, Craft Breweries & Beer Gardens

Genevieve Lauren1 Comment
Gardens of Versailles France
Europe, France, History, Versailles

The Temple of Love in the gardens of Versailles

The Temple of Love is a neo-classical temple in the English Gardens at Versailles, erected for Marie Antoinette. The Queen preferred the more “natural” style of the fashionable English gardens, as opposed to the French order imposed upon meticulous greenhouses and manicured garden beds, which you can see in the rest of the gardens. You could lose hours in the seemingly never-ending gardens of Versailles. … Continue reading The Temple of Love in the gardens of Versailles

Genevieve Lauren5 Comments
Ballarat Begonia Festival_1
Ballarat, Festivals & Events, Victorian Goldfields

In Bloom: Ballarat Begonia Festival

Spring is in full bloom in Melbourne, which reminded me of the radiant beauty of the Ballarat Begonia Festival, which David & I stumbled upon back in April of this year. Over the Easter long weekend, David & I spent the weekend in Hamilton in the Southern Grampians. A spontaneous stop in Ballarat on the long drive home delivered one of the most beautiful moments … Continue reading In Bloom: Ballarat Begonia Festival

Genevieve LaurenLeave a comment
Chicago River Walk Hero
Architecture & Design, Chicago

The Chicago Riverwalk

I recently visited Chicago for the first time, a city that has been on my wish list for years, and mostly due to it’s renowned architecture. The Riverwalk is a 1.25 mile path along the beautiful Chicago River, where it is flanked by some of the city’s most striking architectural treasures. I started opposite The Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower and peeled off when I was just about … Continue reading The Chicago Riverwalk

Genevieve Lauren3 Comments
food walking tour of lower east side with urban adventures
Food & Drink, History, New York City

Tenements, Tales & Tastes: A Food & History Tour of New York City

New York City has a rich and diverse culture thanks to generations of immigration. The city has benefited from welcoming immigrants in countless ways, and the most tangible is it’s diverse and delicious cuisine! On a summer trip to New York before we moved there, I took the Tenements, Tales & Tastes food & history tour with Urban Adventures so I could learn how generation of … Continue reading Tenements, Tales & Tastes: A Food & History Tour of New York City

Genevieve Lauren12 Comments
path to meiji shrine yoyogi park tokyo
Festivals & Events, History, Religion & Spirituality, Tokyo

Exploring Yoyogi Park: Meiji Shrine, Earth Garden & The Tokyo Flea Market

As one of the biggest city parks in Tokyo, Yoyogi Park is a hive of activity. Yoyogi Park is home to the Meiji Shrine, as well as the Tokyo Flea Market. In spring it is a popular spot for enjoying the cherry blossom trees, but when we visited in Autumn, we found the Autumn instalment of the quarterly Earth Garden festival, which was a nice surprise. Japan … Continue reading Exploring Yoyogi Park: Meiji Shrine, Earth Garden & The Tokyo Flea Market

Genevieve Lauren3 Comments
grounds of alexandria sydney
Food & Drink, Sydney

The Best Bars & Restaurants in Sydney

To get the best out of Sydney’s dining and nightlife, you have to know where you’re going. It’s not as easy to follow your nose and strike gold in the sprawling city, as it is in well-planned Melbourne. For me, knowing where to eat and drink in Sydney took a few goes as I got to know the city better, but on my fourth visit … Continue reading The Best Bars & Restaurants in Sydney

Genevieve Lauren3 Comments
View from boroka lookout in the grampians victoria australia
Food & Drink, Nature, The Grampians, Victorian Goldfields

Highlights from a weekend in the Grampians

Last weekend, I visited The Grampians for the first time with two girlfriends, Olivia and Marlo. The Grampians National Park is one of the most beloved regions of Victoria, around four hours’ drive west of Melbourne. The park is enormous, and best explored in sections. We stayed in Hall’s Gap, which is close to more lookouts, mountains and hiking trails than we could possibly do in … Continue reading Highlights from a weekend in the Grampians

Genevieve Lauren4 Comments
New Orleans-2
Food & Drink, New Orleans, USA

The Best Bars & Restaurants in New Orleans

New Orleans is famed for it’s complex, flavourful regional cuisine and vibrant nightlife. Eating and drinking in the city was an exploration of several layers of foreign cuisines at every meal – American, Southern, Cajun and Creole. Despite having a few must-try iconic New Orleans dishes on my to do list, I didn’t really have a list of particular cafes, bars or restaurants I wanted to … Continue reading The Best Bars & Restaurants in New Orleans

Genevieve Lauren2 Comments
Pantheon Paris
Architecture & Design, Culture, France, History, Paris

The Pantheon, Paris: Home of France’s Heroes

The elegant dome of the Pantheon is an iconic fixture of the Parisian skyline. I was excited to see inside, when I was in Paris for the first time, with my family. The Pantheon’s purpose is to serve history, but the building itself is also a legacy of Paris’ tumultuous history. Paris is a city that celebrates and honours the past better than any other city … Continue reading The Pantheon, Paris: Home of France’s Heroes

Genevieve Lauren1 Comment