Category: Uncategorized
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China: First Encounter
A mate of mine recently visited Beijing for the first time and was mighty impressed with the super high rise modernity and the cosmopolitan ambience. It threw me back to my first trip there in the late 80s. My first visit to China was on a whim in 1989. I saw an ad in the…
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Travel: New Zealand and how to Hobbit – it’s a shire thing!
Listening to callers on the radio today I heard many folk say they had never been to New Zealand . . . how can that be. So close and so beautiful. This was my first o/s journey in the 70s, and what an adventure. One of the callers today said she wanted to meet a…
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Miss Saigon? Sure do.
#Throwbackthursday A day or so in Saigon is like a week anywhere else, staying in District 1 at the delightful Caravelle Hotel (yes, still the best breakfast in Asia). I’m a sucker for a good hotel breakfast, and as one who has the simplest morning meal at home I go crazy when I’m at a…
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Postcards from the Seaside
I know my beaches. I grew up in Sydney and had the advantage of swimming at the great urban beaches in this part of Australia’s east coast. Golden sand, the smell of coconut oil and hot chips, squealing children and days so long that they went on forever. And as I grew older and began…
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Top 10 sites of Stockholm
Stockholm Syndrome . . . Never get enough of Scandinavia? Love Scandi Noir? About to visit Sweden for the first time? Want to have your check list ready? All this and more too, and remember to stop, sit at a cafe and watch the world go by in this fabulous city. No hurry here. If…
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Cruising the Coral Sea
Seeking sun and relaxation, pampering, a perfect getaway or the history of Australia’s connection to this exotic place? PNG is AOK! Papua New Guinea is not often top of the holiday list but with the advent of cruising out of Australia to this exotic destination that’s pretty much undiscovered is a boon to people who…
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Three great Swiss dishes
Although it’s summer in Australia there are images coming through from Europe and England, and America of glorious snow blanketing the countryside and even dusting the cities. I love snow and have a little envy at this time of the year for the traditions and food that come with a snowy winter. Gluhwein, hot toddies,…
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Sailing odyssey to find oddities
Sailing the Mediterranean – the sea of love – is an odyssey that explores grand ports and tiny, secluded islands along the way. I had never had cause to flick a burning ember off my arm on a cruise before, but for a few precious seconds I let it hover there. Free of the…
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Hello Kitty makes a comeback
Time to re run this feline fancy piece. Hello Kitty is 50 years old this year. That heading was to get your attention – ‘comeback’ ? – she hasn’t gone away, in fact she’s more popular than ever. I felt like revisiting this posting from another blog I wrote a few years ago. Please enjoy…
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AUSTRIA: I’m a Sacher for a good cake!
Haven’t heard of Sacher Torte? Have you been living on Mars or are completely oblivious to a good slice of cake? The history of the torte (cake) is a sweet one. It was created in Vienna (not Salzburg), by a young apprentice chef Franz Sacher in 1832. The delicious cake is traditionally served with a…
Travelgal on the move 