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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 […]
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Art Deco capital of New Zealand (and possibly the planet)
Not often you get to thank a natural disaster and community tragedy for a splendid architectural creation. In February 1931 a bastard of an earthquake rocked Napier, a town on Hawke’s Bay on the east coast of the north island of New Zealand. The ‘quake measured 7.9 on the Richter scale and rocked the Hawke’s […]
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Venice . . . as the day begins
Ah Venice, La Serenissima, you temptress, you beauty, you moody city on the water. It never loses its attraction – Venice is a living city that is hounded and trampled on by thousands of tourists every year, her waters are cruised by mega-liners that dwarf and threaten the low-rise city silhouette and the Grand Canal […]
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How to make cheese, the easy whey!
A couple of years ago I was in New Zealand’s North Island, hanging out with an old friend who had matured like fine wine – and good cheese. We were once young gals, way back, tearing the town up in a village in Greece – there’s more to that story. Following is how she taught […]
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Take me to the Greek!
It was a few years ago now. Time has taken on another meaning since the pandemic has stifled our yearnings for far away places and hindered actual travelling, but memories never fade. The journey began in Athens. SeaDream 1 was waiting for us in Piraeus and it wasn’t too long before we had stowed our […]
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How long is Long Beach? or How long do I stay there?
It wasn’t a long visit to Long Beach, California. I was to stay overnight before I headed across to Catalina Island. I didn’t know what to expect as I couldn’t quite get the gist of the geography – where’s the beach? I could see the bay from my hotel and in the distance the static […]
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How to tea-tease and please
I reckon I’ve had more than a 1000 afternoon teas. Call them Cream Teas, Afternoon Tea, Devonshire Tea, Afternoonsies, or a mid-arvo cuppa and cake – I’ve had them. This wasn’t a genteel affectation I grew up with. As a kid it was a biscuit and a glass of cordial and as a teenager, “there’s […]
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My two scents worth
There is nothing that screams ‘GREEK’ than an image of a building whitewashed to perfection with the blazing helios (sun) spotlighting its surfaces and reflecting good housekeeping practices with not a speck of dirt to be found. AND across the eaves and tumbling down the walls is the Queen of Colour, the vibrant and saucy […]
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Spain: 24 hours in Madrid
Apart from short periods of time in my misspent youth, Spain was just a passing flirtation. Someone I had a few drinks with. But recently as a grown-up I discovered a few choice locations in Spain and fell head over heels. As we couldn’t cover the entire country on this visit we stopped short of a whistle stop trip […]
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Switzerland’s Bag Men
After spending a couple of days digging into the past of the buzzy city of Zurich, a visitor can be completely mellowed out by the beautiful old buildings, historic structures and the cosy vibe of the inner working of the old town. But as pleasant and pretty as Zurich is, there’s the ‘other’ side of […]
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Travelgal on the move 