Travelgal on the move

It’s not too far south of Sydney, about two hours’ drive, taking it easy along the way. It’s the beautiful region of the Southern Highlands – an area that is steeped in local history of farming, mining, commerce, bushrangers, Scottish heritage and some wonderful natural wonders of caves, tracks, ghost towns and rugged bushland. Mittagong…

1. British pub holds two Michelin stars Pub food at Michelin star level? SHOCKING. After we all saw the film Burnt starring Bradley Cooper, it gave us a glimpse into the immense amount of pressure that is involved in becoming a Michelin star restaurant. Britain’s gastropub The Sportsman located in Kent, Southeast England, has managed to…

 I was remembering coming up a narrow street in  the small, mediaeval hilltop town of Orvieto in Umbria: I lifted my eyes and saw the most confoundingly beautiful structure – a striped cathedal, with intricate, delicate relief carvings on the capitals with sumptuous cornerstones. It may not be the biggest and the best in the…

How many times have you seen an image of one of the world’s great monuments and memorised it for years hoping to see it in all its glory one day? Stonehenge in England, the Parthenon looking down from the Acropolis in Athens, the Great Pyramid of Giza in Cairo to name just three. And once…

After yesterday’s horrific news of the bombing in Manchester and the destruction it wrought to the families of the dead and injured and to the morale of the city’s citizens, I thought it time to revisit ‘up north’. I send my condolences to all concerned. I visited last year after a 20 year absence –…

When life gives you lemons – go make a pie. For me, travel is 50 per cent about the food. Taste local, mingle in restaurants, explore the great outdoors with a picnic and trawl food markets for perfect produce. But do you ever hanker to have a home-cooked meal? A meal you have cooked yourself?…