Category Archives: A Day in the Life

Welcome to the rumbling belly of the shaky isles: Orakei Korako

Welcome to the rumbling belly of the shaky isles: Orakei Korako! I visited one of Aotearoa’s most unique and unexpected delights, a #volcanic and #geothermal park near Taupo on the North Island #travel

Travel: Mornington Peninsula’s Antiques Roadshow at the Tyabb Packing House

The Mornington Peninsula (where I hail from originally) is located in the S.E tip of Port Phillip Bay, about 1 hour’s drive outside of Melbourne.  It’s a sundrenched and beachy part of Melbourne which features serene and quiet, toddler friendly beaches in sheltered Port Phillip Bay, along with colourful bathing boxes. On the other sideContinue reading “Travel: Mornington Peninsula’s Antiques Roadshow at the Tyabb Packing House”

Welcome to the rumbling belly of the shaky isles: Waiotapu

Waiotapu means sacred waters in Maori. It’s an active geothermal area at the southern end of New Zealand’s Taupo Volcanic Zone just outside of Rotorua. It’s a place of surreal colour, beauty and otherworldly wonder. It’s no exaggeration that you haven’t seen anything like this before. The alchemy of mineral deposits mixing over thousands and sometimes millions ofContinue reading “Welcome to the rumbling belly of the shaky isles: Waiotapu”

Travel: Five Brilliant Off the Beaten Track Restaurants Around Edinburgh

From writing for several years for the Edinburgh Food and Drink Guide I have gathered together some personal favourites of the Athens of the North. Here are a selection of Edinburgh restaurants that require some pounding of pavement often through beautiful scenery to get there. These eateries are worthy of recommendation because of their beautiful ambience,Continue reading “Travel: Five Brilliant Off the Beaten Track Restaurants Around Edinburgh”

Wild and Wonderful Asian Fruit Smoothies to enjoy this summer

Living in tropical South East Asia definitely has its benefits. One of them is being able to tan all year round. Another, is the abundance of juicy, vibrantly coloured and weird-looking fruit. This tastes like nothing you have ever tried before! Also, Asian fruit is cheap to buy here, so it’s easy to conjure upContinue reading “Wild and Wonderful Asian Fruit Smoothies to enjoy this summer”

The Art of Illusion: The Panorama of the Battle of Racławice

The Panorama of the Battle of Racławice (Panorama Racławicka) is a definite must on any trip to the city of Wrocław. The panorama is as iconic to Wrocław as Wawel Castle is to Kraków. The Wrocław Panorama is a gigantic 114 metre long and 15 metre high painting that depicts the battle of Racławice. This was an epic battle ofContinue reading “The Art of Illusion: The Panorama of the Battle of Racławice”

Travel: The Epic Story of Wieliczka Salt Mines in Poland

Inside of the Wieliczka Salt Mine, a thousand steps seem to guard you from the surface of the world. A thousand false ceilings seem to call out and confuse your senses. So far away are you from the grounding blue of the sky and the sensation of dirt under your feet. Inside of this mineContinue reading “Travel: The Epic Story of Wieliczka Salt Mines in Poland”

Polski jedzenie/ Polish food: My om nom nom nominations

Polish food could be considered similar to many other central European traditional dishes. There’s a sprinkling of a German, Czech, Slovakian, Ukrainian and Russian influences here. Although any Pole worthy of his or her passport will patiently explain to you that while there are similarities, Poland are the original creators of some of the mostContinue reading “Polski jedzenie/ Polish food: My om nom nom nominations”

Objects With A Story. Object 1: The Tiny Book

I found this tiny old leatherbound book in the home of a woman I was looking after in Wales about six years ago. I liked looking after the woman and living in her ancient thatch-roofed house in the middle of nowhere. The serenity was perfect. And yet precisely because it was so serene, I gotContinue reading “Objects With A Story. Object 1: The Tiny Book”