Category: Places
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Vanuatu, Port Vila and the destruction of Cyclone Pam
My heart goes out to the people of Vanuatu. I woke on Sunday morning to hear the shocking news that Vanuatu and in particular Port Vila had been hit by a massive cyclone.
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Easy (small quantity) Berry Jam and the Wine Trip Surprise
It’s summer in Australia and that means lots of fresh berries. At Victoria Markets there were punnets of strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries, cheap and in abundance. I’d walked to the market and, unfortunately, my backpack was now straining at the seams. There was no room or no way I could safely carry the delicate…
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Procrastination… you evil temptress!
This is where I work and I intend to spend the whole day at my desk. I’ve begun writing the next trilogy but the first chapter just isn’t working. Last night I tossed and turned, not only from the oppressive temperature of a late November heat wave, but because I was missing the words to…
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MaryLou you make the most beautiful things.
I needed to buy a gift, something special so I headed up the freeway to the gallery and studio of potter Mary Lou Pittard. She produces beautiful and, more importantly, functional pieces. Her baking dishes can withstand the heat of the hottest oven, her porcelain rice scoops hold the perfect serve, her teapots pour and…
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What Melburnians do when the sun comes out.
For those of you unfamiliar with Melbourne it can be a grey, drizzly and sometimes ‘Portlandia’ type of place. In spring we’ll get bursts of sunshine and make grand plans to do Sunny things. But the light and the warmth can be very fickle, the clouds and rain quickly returning to send a park full…
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Ghost Houses of Kep
After Christina leaves Phnom Penh and the gorgeous hotel she travels to the seaside town of Kep. Kep was a playground for the wealthy in the 1960s and 70s. After Pol Pot it never recovered, holiday mansions remain empty. Here are some of the vacant sixties houses I discovered when I traveled there.
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Christina’s farm house in Greenhope
Christina’s Farmhouse. It sounds like such a cliche, but sometimes a trip is not about the destination but the journey…
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The Contrasts of Gertrude Street
The thing about the gentrification of inner city suburbs is that it raises real estate prices to ridiculous levels, turning these once diverse cultures into rather monochromatic streets filled with expensive restaurants and overpriced boutiques.
Anna Buckley 