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How to get lost
OR – the road less travelled or driving miss crazy . . .or ‘are we there yet?’ At a pinch I could probably perform emergency surgery, whip up and decorate a four-tiered wedding cake, put out a bush fire, sail single-handed from Sydney to Auckland and hand tool a pair of leather boots. BUT I […]
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Who put the PORT into PORTUGAL?
Portugal’s robust and vibrant small city of the north, Porto, is more than the sum of its many and varied bridges. I was coming to the end of a cruise along the silky Douro River in Portugal through an old part of the world that is thus far unspoilt, mellow and innocent of mass tourism […]
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Oh Vienna!
Forever young, Vienna knows how to enjoy herself and share the love. (Mercer’s 20th annual Quality of Living survey recently announced that Vienna topped the world’s most liveable city list for the ninth consecutive year. See link at bottom of article.) Landlocked and lovely, that’s Austria. A country of modest proportions that is neatly wrapped […]
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USA: get your kicks on Route 66
A pilgrimage is what a drive along Route 66 is today. The fabled road lives in songs and literature and just won’t fade away. This is America’s Main Street. In the earliest days of television in Australia, the black and white screen flickered with many (mostly) American series to entertain the young minds of the […]
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How to explore Umbria, Italy
If it wasn’t for the Etruscans, there might not be olive oil or wine in this region of Italy. Let’s head to the hilltop fortress towns of Umbria and enjoy the legacy of the ancient invaders. It had been a carb-overload lunch hosted by chef and pastamaking teacher Lorenzo Polegri, a showman and a man […]
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Vienna’s best breads
A slice of life I love bread. Sourdough, rye, Turkish, flatbread, brioche, French sticks, naan, roti, wholemeal, soft white rolls, Italian focaccia and am not ashamed to admit to a couple of slices of white Tip Top bread with butter and vegemite. And part of travel is eating lots of bread . . . (sorry […]
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Scandinavia: Great Danes
‘Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen, friendly old girl of a town’ . . . continues to enchant visitors with tradition and its easygoing personality. But there’s more to explore as its varied and eclectic architecture – old and new – stirs ‘for’ and ‘against’ controversy, eventually melding into the visual fabric of the city, just as it […]
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Switzerland – Zurich’s best car park
Ah Switzerland, land of glorious scenery, of alps, lakes, elegant cities. So why am I writing about a Car Park? Cos it’s a cool car park. It’s not often visitors to Zurich get excited about a Car Park – but you never know what this city is going to turn up. A couple of years […]
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How to enjoy Tasmania’s Bruny Isand
As the year 2021 is hitting its stride, thoughts return to happier days when the world was my oyster – well, Tasmania was in the plan and fresh oysters were being shucked. I was lucky enough to enjoy the splendor of beautiful Bruny a couple of years back and am thinking it’s time to reboot […]
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England’s treasures
Three sisters and a legacy of wonderful fiction, and all written by three women who lived in a quiet, out of the way village in Yorkshire – The Bronte sisters. I had always imagined Parson Bronte’s daughters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, living in remote, windswept Haworth, in a damp, dreary stone cottage with no neighbours, […]