Happy New Year everyone! Apologies for my radio silence over the last six weeks; I was in Australia for a month visiting my two sons who both now live in Sydney.
I thought I'd share some of the photos of my trip to Australia. It was the most amazing holiday with plenty of wonderful memories. I flew over the city in a helicopter, did a jet boat ride at breakneck speed across the harbour, an evening out on the harbour in a friend's boat, visited some beautiful beaches north and south of the city, a trip to Adelaide and most importantly I ate oysters nearly every day!! However, I found it strange having Christmas in a hot climate (the last one I had was back home in NZ in 1976!). I definitely prefer a northern hemisphere Christmas.
I've posted some of the highlights of my trip below; a bit of a whistle stop tour to give you a flavour of my trip.
One of my sons lives in a flat in Rose Bay, right on the beach with an idyllic view of the Harbour Bridge. I was transfixed by the harbour, the bridge, the beach (a doggy haven) and the amazing sunsets.
Firstly, the sunsets from my son's flat in Rose Bay:
View from my son's balcony!!
A helicopter ride over Sydney Harbour, out to the heads and down the coastline of the Eastern Suburbs:
Yes it was as small as that !!
Traffic to and from Manly
Bondi Beach
A day trip to the Royal National Park south of Sydney where we stopped at the stunningly beautiful beach and lagoon of Wattamolla
7-9 metre high jump despite warning signs!
A drive up the coast on Boxing Day to the northern beaches - Avoca and Terrigal.
An amazing evening on Sydney Harbour with friends
We left from Rose Bay
Moored up by the Taronga Zoo and time for the barbie
I flew down to Adelaide to stay with friends for four days. I've never been to Adelaide before and it reminded me of my home town Christchurch with which it is twinned. We had a day in the Barossa Valley with lunch at Fino in the Seppeltfield Winery. The winery was founded by the Seppelt family in the 1850s. It is famous for the date palms of which there are over 2,000. The road leading to the winery, Seppeltsfield Road, is affectionately known as the Avenue of Hopes & Dreams.
Big sky - driving to Barossa Valley
Seppeltsfield Road aka Avenue of Hopes & Dreams
Seppelt Family Mausoleum
Lunch at Fino in the Seppeltsfield Winery
Coffin Bay king oysters - huge!
Sunset in Adelaide
Amazing light at sunset on the gum trees
No trip would be complete without a visit to some fabulous interiors shops. There are two in the upmarket suburb of Woollahra in Sydney - Pigott's Store and Parterre.
Pigott's Store
Pigott's Store
Parterre is like a Petersham Nurseries
They will open a cafe in the courtyard in April 17
I could bore you with loads more images so I think I'll stop here. Would love to hear if you've been to Australia and what you thought of it.
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After five of these day trips in search of historic little parish churches in Sussex, I couldn’t wait to research and plan the next one. I was still fixated on Sussex so this time I selected the following six churches and one historic house, Firle Place.
I was really starting to enjoy these days out on my own with my camera so decided to venture back into Sussex a week after the previous trip, armed with another list of churches.
If you read my previous blog post, Visiting Churches in Sussex (day 1), you will know that I am doing day trips to Sussex in search of the little churches often found in woodland, at the end of lanes, in hamlets or villages – steeped in history. I’ve focused on Sussex as it’s not too far to travel by car and it’s a beautiful county.
I decided not to have a summer holiday this year and instead do day trips to Sussex which is only about 80-90 minutes from home, on my own with my DSLR camera for company. I wanted to focus on visiting historic little Sussex churches in obscure places.
Sorry for my radio silence since my last post on 31 October - in the run up to Christmas I was manically busy with client work and in January I headed to Sydney for five weeks.
I thought I'd kick off with one of the highlights of my Sydney sojourn - the coastal walk from South Coogee (where I was staying) to Bondi, a distance of about 10k with some of the most spectacular scenery. I did this walk last year with a friend but this time it was just me, my iPhone and my DSLR. The weather was cloudy, windy and about 26C so perfect for a long walk.
It’s been a few weeks since my last blog post mainly due to been manically busy with client work but I also had a two week break in Italy over Easter. As many of you know, I was married to an Italian and lived in Italy for ten years so it’s my spiritual home and I try and go back at least once a year. I stay with friends who live in the Piemonte region and we usually jump into their camper van and head off somewhere for a few days.
appy New Year everyone! Apologies for my radio silence over the last six weeks; I was in Australia for a month visiting my two sons who both now live in Sydney.
I thought I'd share some of the photos of my trip to Australia. It was the most amazing holiday with plenty of wonderful memories. I flew over the city in a helicopter, did a jet boat ride at breakneck speed across the harbour, an evening out on the harbour in a friend's boat, visited some beautiful beaches north and south of the city, a trip to Adelaide and most importantly I ate oysters nearly every day!! However, I found it strange having Christmas in a hot climate (the last one I had was back home in NZ in 1976!). I definitely prefer a northern hemisphere Christmas.
Petersham Nurseries is an interior stylist's paradise as the shop is so beautifully styled into "rooms" or zones with a clever mix of plants and vintage and new items. Take a virtual trip via this post.
I took a trip to Los Angeles, and spent some time soaking in the sun, atmosphere and food portions along the stunning coastline.
I’ve called Day 7 ‘Churches in Sussex’ for consistency but in fact it involved churches in Surrey and Hampshire! I had planned to visit Sussex churches but I decided to combine a visit to a friend in Hampshire.