In mid July, I went and did something crazy… I took a trip Italy.
Italy, as you surely know, had major problems with Covid early on, and it’s pretty much still seen as a no go zone by most. Almost everyone I know cancelled their planned Italian holidays this year.
But when a friend wanted to take me away for my birthday weekend, all we really wanted was to see the ocean, smell the salt and swim in the sea.
Continue reading
When a colleague of mine took an extended break living and working with her family in Crete, I realised it was the perfect chance to holiday somewhere new. I’d done the Greek Islands as a backpacker (though not very well), but I’d never made it so far south.
None of which, by the way, I saw on my recent trip to Australia.
I hadn’t meant to go back to Oz at the end of the year, but with hubby’s new job, I suddenly found myself a-flush with more leave than him, and we decided it was a good chance for me to take the trip on my own.
So off I tripped… for a whole month… just cause I could.
When I met my friend Jodie in Budapest in August, it was my third visit.
The first time was pretty much unsuccessful – not Budapest’s fault.
The second time was also relatively unsuccessful – again, not Budapest’s fault.
The third time’s the charm.
In August I was lucky enough to have a visitor – one of my best friends in the world was undertaking her very first Eurotrip and after a 14 day cruise from Amsterdam to Hungary I met up with her in Budapest.
You will be both thankful and disappointed there are no specific photos for this blog post.
I’ve mentioned mowing in previous blogs, Austrians’ need for a perfectly manicured lawn and their penchant for mowing around the flowers. But I have forgotten to mention one detail so far. There seems to be a kind of mowing ‘uniform’ in Austria… and it’s… bathers. Continue reading
There is a significant difference between summer and winter in Austria. And in summer, every plant goes mad. Something that was basically a grotty patch of mud two weeks previous can unexpectedly bloom a veritable forest of green and colour. It’s amazing to see.
Austrians are pedantic about lawn mowing. Their lawns must be perfect, mown weekly, shorn to an exacting length. I’m quite sure there are fines issued if you breach lawn mowing rules, or at least a disapproving neighbourly glare! Each garden boasts a lush lime carpet of soft grass, devoid of weeds or lumps and bumps. And while I don’t think I’d have the patience to maintain such perfection, it certainly looks amazing, and feels warm and spongy on bare feet in the summer – a huge contrast to the brown-tinged, prickly lawn I grew up with (because there’s a drought, people).
This is a photography project, four years in the making. Now, I’m no photographer, I have no patience – I stand and I shoot. With this project I exhibited persistence rather than skill. I went back to the same places, in the middle of each season, to see what the differences between the four seasons really were. The results, for all my amateur skills, are pretty cool. Have a look – Wolfsberg – four seasons – enjoy!
Returning after a holiday always leads to a multitude of questions: How was it? What did you do? And you answer: Yeah, it was awesome! We did heaps of cool stuff! But where do you go after that? How do you pick out just a few notables that that particular person might be interested in hearing about?
Well, I just spend a month in Australia. And it was awesome! And we did heaps of cool stuff! And if you really want to know more, keep reading!
