Tag: travel
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The Arctic’s hottest spot: Reykjavik—36 hours in the coolest season
36 Hours in Reykjavik: The Cool Capital “Greenland is actually white because it’s full of ice,” my 3rd Grade teacher said, “And Iceland is actually green!” Then she stood in front of the chalkboard, smug and self-satisfied, as we broke out the Lakelands. It’s a widespread fallacy perpetuated by the experiences of summer visitors. It…
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Insights gained on a Trafalgar Tour of Christmas Markets
It isn’t safe to visit Bethlehem in December, so the next most Christmassy experience on Earth has to be the Christmas Markets in Germanic Europe. I took a week-long tour with Trafalgar and was hooked. The hotels were all of good quality and I stayed for several nights before the tour at The Hilton Vienna…
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Over the Sea to Skye
It’s November and late autumn in Scotland. My brother and I are on a ‘Family Heritage Tour’ —a kind of pilgrimage— to the stomping ground of some of our ancestors—the Macleods of Dunvegan and Talisker on the Hebridean island of Skye, a popular holiday and tourist destination in summer. The tempestuous Atlantic crashes against Skye’s…
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A Sacred Sanctuary in the Mountains: The Essence of Real Japan
It is early spring in Japan. We are to the west of Mount Fuji, about three hours by train from Tokyo. Minobu, nestled on the side of a holy mountain in Yamanashi Prefecture, is off the beaten travel track and has a rich history, beautiful scenery, and spiritual significance as the home of Kuon-ji, the…
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The Cusp between the years in Tuscany
After Rome, the most bucket-listed part of Italy is probably Tuscany. I spent New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day under the Tuscan sun — how special is that? I was on a 12-day ‘Italian Delights’ tour with ExpatExplore (https://expatexplore.com/tours/italian-delights/). It was their last tour of the 2019 season and featured awakening on Christmas morning…
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Lenses on Lilac: Jacarandas in Ipswich
Where I live, in South East Queensland, there’s a saying that when the Jacarandas bloom, it’s time for students to sit exams. The trees themselves sit, so quietly, studiously, unnoticed all spring—such as spring is in The ‘swich—until one day it’s as if every single jacaranda throughout the city erupts with energetic fuchsia blossoms at…
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Ten To-See-or-not-to-See Destinations in Paris
Every first-time traveller to Paris hears about the same bucket-list places: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Versailles… For me, the list of must-see-and-practise-French sights/sites was formed by passages in the French textbooks we used at school. Those stops were unavoidable—the stuff of dreams— but for other people, they turn into overrated, crowded, or disappointing experiences.…
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A Bavarian Fairytale: Castle Neuschwanstein
Sometimes, I wish I was an artist. I’d specialise in train-window vistas. We’ve just travelled through the snowy Bavarian countryside to Germany’s deep south, where Neuschwanstein (‘Noik-sh-wonn-sty-n’), the inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty castle, perches on the edge of a rugged gorge in the foothills of the Alps. It’s early January and the three ‘viewing…
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IN THE WAKE OF THE LONGBOATS
Holland America 22-day cruise from Copenhagen to Reykjavik The Context ‘I’ve never been keen on cruises and I’m on this Nordic diet,’ I stutter when my friend tells me she’s going on a Holland America cruise. ‘There’d be lactose, yeast and eggs in everything.’ Noisy bands, gaudy atrium full of ageing drunks and spas full…
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THE VENICE HOTEL by Tess Woods
I was excited about reading this book, because I was actually in Venice at the time in which it is set, in the Christmas-New Year period in 2019, just before the World locked down. The stress about cruise ships damaging the delicate city was palpable. I bought the book at Brisbane Airport to read on…
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AN ENJOYER OF REMNANTS OF YESTERYEAR
As a ‘taphophile’, I’m a tad excited to be going to learn the stories around an icon of Brisbane’s southwest suburbs, Toowong Cemetery, this weekend on a ghost tour. Sprawling across forty-four scenic hectares, it’s the biggest boneyard in Queensland! Steele Rudd (aka Arthur Hoey Davis), Jack-the-Ripper suspect, Walter Thomas Porriot, and Mary Kelly (no…
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BLUE BUNYIPPING* IN THE LOCAL AREA:
Kalbar is a neat, wee town on the northern end of south-east Queensland’s Scenic Rim. Settled by German immigrant farmers in the 1870s, Kalbar’s pioneering heritage can be seen in historic buildings and welcoming cafes, pubs and providores that offer hearty homestyle food made with locally grown produce; especially Germanicky is 2 m8’s BBQ Cafe…
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HAVE YOU BEEN NUUKED?
Confessing before I post: I’ve never been to Greenland* but I’ve a friend who posted photos from Nuuk, the capital city, this morning and inspired me to go down a Google rabbithole. I might have to go there before it becomes the 52nd state of the USA (after Canada, of course). By boat or plane…
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HASTE YE BACK: ISLE OF COLL, SCOTLAND
Scotland’s a land of monumental mountains and misty glens, castles with hidden stories, drams of whisky straight from the source, men in kilts, kelpies, selkies and Fay folk. It’s a mystical, time-shrouded lodestone which entices for many reasons, but the strongest for me is that my roots are tangled deeply in its rockiest, most wind-lashed soil: the…
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A NORMANDY HERITAGE JAUNT – JUNE, 2024
It’s easy to see why many Impressionist artists flocked to Normandy to find inspiration: the lush landscapes and quiet serenity of the countryside, just a short schlepp away from Paris, would provide the perfect setting to paint in peace. No doubt they also nibbled on local cheese—the iconic Camembert, the smooth Pont L’Evêque, the pungent Livarot,…
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ISN’T KOFU IN GREECE? CHERRY-BLOSSOM TIME IN JAPAN PART 2
Cherry-blossom shots are the quintessential heart of the Japanese travel brochure cover shot, but Japan in cherry-blossom season is unlikely to live up to your dreamed experience if you limit yourself to the overtouristed areas of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. NARITA In March 2025, our Jetstar flight from Brisbane landed at Narita Airport after dark. Rather than…
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RITES OF SPRING, JAPAN 2025
After three weeks in less touristed parts of Japan, my husband and I are bulleting through semi-rural Gunma Prefecture towards Narita Airport, laden with presents for the grandkids and a shared head cold. Blinking at passing scenery with dull, red eyes, over soggy masks, we’re afforded tantalising glimpses of iconic ‘sakura’—cherry-blossom trees. They’re scattered throughout…
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VIGELAND SCULPTURE PARK -OSLO
One of the great joys of travel is having in-person encounters with great art and architecture. This little ripper—the Vigeland sculpture park is a fine example. Steps alert if you are a little unfit. This park is not really wheelchair friendly and Oslo was having a heatwave when I visited so it was a test…
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KOM OMBO TEMPLE EGYPT
In 2010, I went to Egypt. What can I say about this amazing museum of a country? It’s hot, it’s dirty (don’t even dip your toothbrush in the tap water) and you should learn how to say ‘no thank you’ in Arabic, adding ‘I don’t want’, ‘I don’t need’, ‘It’s not possible’ and ‘please go…
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THE TRAVELLING COLLECTOR
What souvenirs do you collect when you travel? My own particular fetishes are fridge magnets, teatowels, postcards and a more unusual collecter item— soft toys. I call them ‘stuffies’ as in ‘stuffed toys’, but more commonly they seem to be known as ‘plushies’. Some people collect particular lines of toys (eg. Ducks or cows or…
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SELF-DRIVING ICELAND?
The Snæfellsnes Peninsular, not too far from Reykjavik, has all the natural features of Iceland represented in one small area. But make sure you don’t zoom past Hellissandur and Rif. These little fishing villages are easily missed if you’re en route to Kirkjufell or exploring Snæfellsjökull National Park. When you reach the end of the…
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THE VIKING AGE NEVER REALLY ENDED IN ORKNEY
I wish I had had longer than one day in the windswept Orkney Islands, north of Scotland.The day I did have was halcyon and perfect. We were chasing deep time—standing stones, Skara Brae and more recent time—the Churchill Barriers, and the beautiful Italian Chapel but for somewhere so steeped in time, I needed more of…
Margaret R Kelly 