Category: Scenery

Normandy – Part 1: A winter break

Reading Time: 24 minutes
Normandy, France (January 2024)

I was warned. In France many attractions and museums close during January and the weather would likely be cold and gloomy.  However timing our visit in the first week of January was our only option. It was also probably the last time our family would all travel together, as Brandon was now 19 years old. I hesitated when booking but as my research informed me there would be enough open attractions for us to visit over our 3 days in Normandy, I decided we would go for it. Continue reading “Normandy – Part 1: A winter break”

Top 10 places to visit in Dorset, England

Reading Time: 11 minutes

For those who don’t know, Dorset is a county of South West England. I have spent so much time there I consider this part of the world as my second home. Having family there, when I was growing up, we used to visit frequently (every couple of years) and my English born dad used to drag, I mean, drive, me and my sister around Dorset to show us all the local sights and landmarks that he used to roam around in his youth. Now as a parent and married to another Dorset native, I do the same with our kids.

These are my top ten favourite places to visit in Dorset.

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Winter break in Venice

Reading Time: 12 minutes
Venice, Italy (February 2023) 

I have been to Venice before. It was 30 years ago when I was backpacking in Europe with a friend, on a very tight budget. On that adventure in January 1992 we stayed in youth hostels and bought food from the supermarket which didn’t need cooking (e.g. bread and jam). We visited most of the main tourist attractions like St Mark’s Square, Rialto Bridge and Peggy Guggenheim museum. I even managed to buy a Venetian glass ornament which I somehow got back to Australia in one piece. It still proudly sits on display in my home now. 

This would be a different experience with a bit more spending money. Steve and I were visiting the UK and decided to invite my UK based in-laws (Steve’s mum, dad and sister) to join us on a side trip to Venice for 2 days & 3 nights. Our objective was to spend some quality time with our family that we haven’t been able to see much the last few years thanks to the pandemic – creating memories while experiencing Venice.

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Wine tasting in Murrumbateman

Reading Time: 10 minutes
Murrumbateman, NSW (Jan 2021)

Murrumbateman is a little town in NSW, 40 minutes drive north west of Canberra and not far from Yass. It used to be a gold mining village but is now known for its vineyards, being at the heart of Canberra wine country.

What an ugly year 2020 was! Like everyone else, the global pandemic put a stop to all our travel plans. We lost a chunk of money after our trip to LA got cancelled in April (thanks Cadillac Hotel Venice Beach for not refunding us despite being a fully refundable booking). Plus Steve and I found ourselves working harder than ever, as the lines of work we are both in saw the pandemic actually creating more work for us. The final insult to injury was getting stuck in lock down over Christmas. Mind you, I know there were people much worse off than us so I’m not really complaining. Compared to our family & friends in the UK, we had it easy being in lock-down at Christmas on the northern beaches of Sydney during an Australian summertime.

In late January 2021, we decided to dip our toes in the water and to venture out of Sydney for a day trip to regional NSW. This was our first trip since the pandemic and since we can’t travel overseas we thought we’d make the most of our local area and visit somewhere we haven’t been before. We’ve been to Canberra plenty of times and driven past signs advertising local wineries but not had the chance to stop. I heard there were some decent wines in the area so we decided on the Canberra winery region as our destination. After getting some tips from one of our Canberran based friends and doing some research I picked some wineries in the Murrumbateman area. COVID safe plans meant booking would be essential. We wouldn’t be able to roll up and expect to be accommodated. I set about building an itinerary.

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