Walking over the rocks that separate Alexandra Headland from Mooloolaba I nearly stood on a sea snake. I made sure it was dead before inspecting it closely. It was silver, with dark bands, and up close you could see it had non-overlapping hexagonal scales. They weren't perfect, however; it was as if they came from the … Continue reading Sunday morning, Alexandra Headland
On the good ship Gráinne Mhaol
The Mooloolah river flows into the Coral Sea just south of the seaside town of Mooloolaba. In its final half kilometre it wraps around a spit, enveloping the boats anchored in Mooloolaba Marina that stick out into it on hundred-metre-long arms. On arm C of the Marina is a thirty-five-or-so foot yacht called the Gráinne … Continue reading On the good ship Gráinne Mhaol
From Zakynthos to Athens
A krasáki at Kolonáki We left Zakynthos the old-fashioned way: by ferry and bus to Athens. There's nothing like being on the water to make you feel like you're leaving or arriving on an island - coming by plane just can't compare. On a calm sea we slowly watched Zakynthos turn into a hazy blur on the horizon, a … Continue reading From Zakynthos to Athens
The end of a long road
It’s nearly time to leave Zákynthos. Our year-and-a-half-long odyssey to Europe is nigh-on over. What a time we’ve had! And yes, I can feel another book about Zákynthos, or better, about the whole trip, coming on. View of Ναύαγιο When we got back here, after leaving Ireland, and spending six weeks in France and Italy, people … Continue reading The end of a long road
A little tour of the Alpilles
Our couchsurf near Salon-de-Provence was perfectly situated for day tours into the hill towns of Provence. Our first tour was to be of the Alpilles, a long limestone range full of olive trees, vineyards and medieval towns. We got off to a bit of a bumpy start, circumnavigating Salon a couple of times before finding the correct road. … Continue reading A little tour of the Alpilles
A couchsurf in Provence
We picked up a car near the Nîmes train station and headed for our next destination - a Couchsurf near Salon-de-Provence. But as we had a bit of time to kill we decided to do a little side trip along the way. Referring to our guidebook we found a detour to the town of Miramas-le-Vieux. … Continue reading A couchsurf in Provence
From Dublin to Nîmes
This guy got up from his seat two rows behind us on the Toulouse-Nîmes TGV to have a go at the family in the four-seater space opposite us, whose kids were - fair enough - being a bit noisy, albeit harmlessly so, I felt, since they looked like nice people, and you could tell the kids were smart, and while naturally I couldn't catch everything … Continue reading From Dublin to Nîmes
The Queen’s walk on Mayday, London
At the end of a raw spring week sleet and windy, Sunday turned the corner into May, ready to make amends. That morning we stepped out of our Theseus Walk Airbnb pied-à-terre and caught the number 38 bus to Charing Cross Road, ready to take it on foot from there. Leicester Square Maybe I'd been listening to too … Continue reading The Queen’s walk on Mayday, London
Farewell to Clifden
On a cold February evening in 1999 I met my future husband in a pub on Main Street, Clifden. By the end of the year I'd moved to that little market town on the Atlantic, where I spent the next four years before moving back to Australia. As little towns in Ireland go, Clifden's not bad. Being a … Continue reading Farewell to Clifden
Ireland’s Heritage
One of the best things we did when we first arrived in Ireland was purchase a one year family pass from Heritage Ireland. For €60 we got a year's worth of monuments, castles and manor houses. We purchased it on our visit to Tintern Abbey and Colclough Walled Gardens last September down in Wexford. Since … Continue reading Ireland’s Heritage
