4 Tips for Stress-Free Parking at Melbourne Airport
Parking at Melbourne Airport, or any airport for that matter, can be a total pain – not to mention, expensive! If you’re lucky enough, you can ask a friend or a relative to drop you off at the airport, but for everyone else there are few options – and they’re often expensive or inconvenient. Driving and parking at the airport in the short or long … Continue reading 4 Tips for Stress-Free Parking at Melbourne Airport
Lunch at South Melbourne Beach
My little sister was in Melbourne on the weekend (yay!), so we met our uncles for lunch on South Melbourne Beach. After a bitterly cold week, including the coldest morning in Melbourne in eighteen years, I was excited to be able to show my sister how beautiful Melbourne can be under blue skies – even if it’s while braving icy winds. Opposite the beach, the street … Continue reading Lunch at South Melbourne Beach
The Gelato Diaries: France, Italy & Greece
If there was a day during our trip from Paris-Athens that we didn’t each gelato, it evidently wasn’t worth remembering. Gelato, sorbet and on one occasion, plain old ice cream, was an essential party of our daily diet because this is what you do when you’re it’s summer, you’re in Europe with your best friend and you’re twenty years old. Sorbet at Berthillon, Paris On my … Continue reading The Gelato Diaries: France, Italy & Greece
Chinese New Year Markets in Melbourne
Chinese New Year is celebrated with great enthusiasm in Melbourne, even by those without a drop of Chinese blood. It’s one of the many events on the Melbourne social calendar that celebrates other cultures and how they are an integral part of modern Australian life. Dad was visiting from Brisbane, so we decided to check out the Chinese New Year Markets in Southbank. It was … Continue reading Chinese New Year Markets in Melbourne
Boutique Hotel in Athens: Hotel Hermes
Athens is my favourite foreign city, after Paris, but it wasn’t love at first sight. My first nights in Athens were spent in a worn out hotel in a dodgy part of town. It looked okay by day but was seriously sketchy at night. Starting and ending every day feeling a little vulnerable around the hotel didn’t do much for my impression of the city. Luckily, … Continue reading Boutique Hotel in Athens: Hotel Hermes
Cruising the Greek Islands: Oia, the jewel of Santorini
Santorini was our last stop on our Greek Islands cruise. The first thing I learned? Santorini is too enchanting for a brief port call on a cruise. I was nowhere near ready to leave Santorini after our brief afternoon visit, 1.5 hours of which was spent on the return bus trip between the port and Oia. On the way to Oia, we crossed rocky, desolate … Continue reading Cruising the Greek Islands: Oia, the jewel of Santorini
The 10 Best Places to Eat & Drink in Southbank, Melbourne
Melbourne’s Southbank is very touristy, but I’ve come to appreciate Southbank for its pretty river views and nice mix of cafes, bars and restaurants. There are some great places to eat and drink in Southbank, it’s just a matter of knowing where to go. Southbank is a short stroll across the footbridge from the city and is close to a number of hotels, making it … Continue reading The 10 Best Places to Eat & Drink in Southbank, Melbourne
Winter Wonderlights at Sovereign Hill, Ballarat
Sovereign Hill is an immersive, open-air museum in Ballarat that recreates a 19th century town during Victoria’s Gold Rush. It’s one of the best things to do in the Goldfields, and a popular attraction year-round, but especially in winter when the whole “town” lights up after dark for the annual Winter Wonderlights festival. David & I visited Sovereign Hill for the Winter Wonderlights on a … Continue reading Winter Wonderlights at Sovereign Hill, Ballarat
Postcards: Why I love Nice
Contiki Tours may be a lot of things, but I have to give them this much: They introduced me to Nice. Before my tour, Nice wasn’t on my radar. We had arrived for a few sunny days, in the middle of a cold European winter and I fell in love. It was the only place during the trip, apart from Barcelona, where we saw blue … Continue reading Postcards: Why I love Nice
Winter in the Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne
A wintery weekend walk in the Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne was full of little surprises. First was the Spanish-style conservatory gardens, blissfully humid to keep the tropical plants and this transplanted Queenslander happy, right beside Captain Cook’s cottage, moved here from England. Behind it was a bright and breezy cafe where our table number was a playing card bearing a horoscope, the perfect place to … Continue reading Winter in the Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne