windsor, melbourne, australia

a typical windsor walk - lunch at the windsor deli followed by a walk to a two storey victorian terrace that is a hairdresser's salon which is itself opposite an old antiques shop that was converted into a yum cha restaurant

hardware lane, melbourne, australia

AFL grand final morning on hardware lane

sydney, australia

another sunny 29 degree day in sydney.. meanwhile, in melbourne, 17 and rain....

cherbourg, france

on one of our other cooking adventures, we were lucky enough to be able to visit an old village woodfired oven, where we made our own dinner, including bread.

mont st michel, france

wow, what a place.  history oozes from this magnificant catherdral.  the tour is well worth doing and the island is well worth seeing.  at high tide, the only road that connects the mainland to the island is submerged.  when you park your car there, the attendants will tell you what time you have to leave so that your car doesn't get taken out with the tide.  many a car and bus have been taken away by unsuspecting tourists.  right on the top of the spire you'll see a statue of st michael.  again.. wow.

paris, france

paris is home to cafe culture.  although espressos aren't probably as good as in italy, i still enjoyed my daily cup of coffee at a random coffee shop in paris along with hundreds of others

riems, france

the heart of champagne country contains two key towns, riems and epernay.  we only had time to visit riems and only to two large champagne houses, one being veuve cliquot, home of the famous orange coloured bubbly

burgundy, france

truffles anyone?  the dog half in shot was a lovely truffle dog called elfie.  she was able to smell her way into many of our hearts (through truffles) and is quite cheeky herself!  these aren't the white truffles found elsewhere in france, but hey, i'm not going to complain - any truffle is a good truffle in my view!

burgundy, france

amongst the many brilliant wineries we visited on our private tour was the winery of jean-louis et Didier Amiot, who owns grand cru and premier cru vines in the gevrey-chambertin plot in burgundy.  we were even lucky enough to try some of their grand crus - an experience that is unlikely to be repeated unless i win the tattslotto soon.

dijon, france

dijon was another one of the cities that we visited in transit between places.  we had a few more hours than in lyon and were able to walk around and see some of the city.  unfortunately, dijon no longer grows much of its own mustard to make dijon mustard.  instead, it must import the mustard seeds from other regions to make dijon mustard.  dijon is also host to a grand catherdral (much like most of france). 

burgundy, france

it was terrific to travel with a guide who knew what she was doing and where she was going.  not only were you able to get into grand cru wine tastings, but you were also able to go through little villages, walk through some vineyards and see out of the way countryside that you wouldn't see if you were in a large tour bus.  in fact, most of the roads that we travelled on couldn't even fit a tour bus.

beaune, france

beaune is in the heart of burgundy country.  the place where great pinot noirs and chardonnays live.  in the middle of beaune is the beaune hospice.  in its day, it cared for the poor who were sick.  it was founded by a rich gentleman who was hoping his good deed would see that he would get into heaven.  these days, it is still a nunnery but it is no longer a hospice.  there is a rich history in and around the building and is worth a visit if you ever get to beaune.  the hospice is also famous for its annual wine auction.  its wines are generally some of the best in burgundy and can command a princely sum.

maribrynong river, melbourne

someone please tell them that a bbq doesn't involve smoking meats

queen victoria markets, melbourne

the queen victoria markets opened in 1878 in melbourne. it now sells food (meat, poultry, fruit, vegetables, deli items), clothes, souvenirs and other miscellaneous items