The Chic Girl's Guide to Travel and Adventure

Another 40th birthday treat - a day-trip to Melbourne

2008-07-05T23:25:00.000-07:00

I am off to probably my favourite city in Australia on Wednesday. Melbourne has that groovy, European vibe I love. Perhaps it's the river, or the ordered streets of the CBD with the little lanes filled with boutiques and cafes? The light is more filtered and the seasons more pronounced in Melbourne than they are in Sydney.

Melbourne has a vibrant arts and cultural scene (where else would be home to the Australian Ballet, although Sydney does have the Opera House ......) as well as fabulous small bars and wonderful food. The CBD is quite different to that of Sydney's, and sure the Yarra River is not Sydney Harbour but the sight of rowers on the river and the parks and gardens that are green and fragrant envelope the senses in a way that the visual beauty of Sydney Harbour doesn't quite do ...

A trip to Melbourne feels like a trip to London to me, but cheaper :-)

I've booked a ticket to a matinee preview of 'Wicked' the Musical and will spend the afternoon at the National Gallery of Victoria at the new Art Deco exhibition. This exhibition has been travelling the world since it's original showing at the V&A in London in 2003, and I can't wait!

De Witte Lelie, Antwerp

2008-07-05T23:10:00.000-07:00

This stunning hotel in Antwerp, Belgium, is dressed all in white. It comprises three canalhouses joined together with ten bedroom suites to choose from. Gorgeous!

Charlotte the tulip

2008-06-17T23:56:00.000-07:00

Monet's garden at Giverny was full of Americans and tulips the day we went to visit. It was overcast in the morning but the colours of the flowers were no worse off for it.

Charlotte had seen so many daffodils, jonquils, hyacinthes and tulips that she decided to impersonate one ... a tulip that is.

Abbaye aux Hommes in Caen, France

2008-06-11T22:58:00.000-07:00

I decided one day in France to ditch the family wagon atmosphere of home and head to Bayeux and Caen a seule. With the others in tow we'd leave the house by 11 and be home by 4. My dad's first question at our destination would be 'where are we having lunch?' and we'd waste 2 of our five hours sitting at a restaurant table. The decision to be selfishly solo on this day lead to a memorable tour of a relic of William the Conqueror.

The Abbaye aux Hommes was established by Bill in the 11th century with a view to atoning for the 'sin' of marrying his quite distant cousin Matilda. It was governed by abbots and the abbey was very powerful during the Middle Ages. Bill's original installation was rebuilt in the 18th century after destruction during various 16th century wars, and so no longer resembles the building that he once knew. His grave in the Eglise St-Etienne (the consecration of which he attended in 1077) has been ransacked over the centuries and now contains only his thigh bone. The Abbaye became a school in 1804 (the Lycee Imperial) and was so until the 1960s.

I couldn't find the door to enter the church and got myself waylayed in the direction of the Abbaye. It now houses the offices of the Caen city council. A group of people were waiting in a side room to the right of the main entrance and they turned out to be waiting for a tour of the building. I don't know what cog slipped in my brain but I paid my 2 euros and joined the group.

The tour turned out to be all in French! Quite a test for my French Z level of fluency. Not a single word in English was uttered.

We saw many parts of the Abbaye otherwise hidden from the public and its history slowly revealed itself. It is built of creamy Caen stone and extremely beautiful. I loved the cloisters (fuzzy picture above) in particular as well as the salon where civil marriages are conducted. I also loved the wood-panelled walls, the staircases that hang in the hair (no cement was used to join the blocks of stone) and the marble floors.

A lovely surprise for a lovely solo day in Normandy ...

France sojourn ...

2008-06-11T22:47:00.000-07:00

The Chic Family headed off to northern France in April ... and almost all of us wish we were still there (not sure that baby J is that bothered where he is ...). It was fab.

Our house was a former dairy in the grounds of the 15th century Manoir de Petagny (pictured above). Our hosts were an Anglo-Dutch couple with three young teens and they'd thought of everything in their recommissioning of the old building. Four bedrooms, a spacious patio, fire-place, high chair ... our favourite activity was to sit around the very long dining table and eat the goodies we'd collected that day from the market or the Intermarche (my family are not adventurous shoppers).

The herd of cows were an unexpected bonus. The train was also a highlight!

I love France, and this time I loved the French a lot more. I think it had something to do with attempting to speak French to them no matter how crappily I spoke it. Train conductors, shop girls, policemen ... they all warmed up the moment we greeted them with 'bonjour monsieur, je suis Australienne and je ne parle pas francais!' I even gave a delivery guy directions! Thank God for La France en Direct in Year 7.

Hong Kong ... a place to move to?

2007-10-31T00:47:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking of spending a year living in Asia - Hong Kong or Tokyo? Hmmm.

Honkers is pretty gorgeous at night ...

Moleskin notebooks - for the travel writer

2007-10-24T03:41:00.000-07:00

Moleskin do a fantastic range of notebooks and now they've gone one better ... they've created a special range of City Notebooks for favourite towns such as Paris, London, Berlin and Rome.

They also have a dedicated website that includes travel information and blogs.

Great travel wear from Vigilante

2007-10-24T03:35:00.000-07:00

This trench coat is a part of the winter collection from Vigilante. They also do great travel-weight jeans and a denim skirt that folds up into almost nothing - perfect for travel shoppers like me :-)

Kenyan safari, 1920s-style

2007-10-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

Cottars Sarfari Service has been operating in the same family's hands since 1920. The picture behind this blog's title is from their gorgeous website. Located in the Masai Mara region of western Kenya, they offer a full-service tented safari as well as other safaris (including wedding safaris).

I love it ... Just like 'Mogambo' with Clark Gable, Ava Gardener and Grace Kelly ...

Leggy blonde Sydney reveals some of her seductive charms

2007-10-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

Read what one journalist thinks about glamour girl Sydney.

The world's most liveable cities ...

2007-10-17T18:01:00.000-07:00

The Monocle Quality of Life Survey in the IHT has come up with the following top ten list of cities:

1 Munich
2 Copenhagen
3 Zurich
4 Tokyo
5 Vienna
6 Helsinki (pictured)
7 Sydney
8 Stockholm
9 Honolulu
10 Madrid

Being a Sydney resident I agree there is a certain amount of livability here - the harbour certainly makes Sydney a looker - however, one wouldn't want to rely on public transport or be a keen motorist.

The trains are always late and the traffic is terrible.

I've created the happy arrangement of living near where I work so I can make like a European and walk to work. Cycling would be an option if Sydneysiders weren't such rude, selfish drivers!

Sydney is great for outdoor pursuits such as swimming, surfing and sailing. However, like any pretty girl with a great pair of legs and a tanned, toned bod, there's not much in the way of intellectualism or groovy creativity. She relies on her looks to seduce, not her personality or her brain or her sense of humour.

Melbourne is much more interesting!

For lovers of the Wallabies ... :-D

2007-08-19T16:30:00.000-07:00

This is the port of Sete, near Montpellier, on the south coast of France.

The perfect place to stay during the pool rounds of the RWC!

Singita Sebora Tented Safari, Tanzania

2007-08-19T16:28:00.000-07:00

Even the name is romantic :-)

I once stayed in the smallest hotel room in the British Isles ... this isn't it.

2007-08-16T00:24:00.001-07:00

This is The Milestone Hotel in Kensington Circuit, London. It's adjacent to Kensington Palace and hence all the shopping delights London has to offer.

They have 45 guest rooms, 12 suites and 6 2-bedroom apartments. The studio suite I like costs over AUD 1200 a night - plus VAT. 17.5 % on top. Yep, add another couple of hundred dollars and you've got a night of luxury and extravagance in one of the best but MOST EXPENSIVE cities in the world!

My tiny hotel room cost me 80 pounds .... oh well.

A romantic safari to South Africa

2007-08-15T23:55:00.000-07:00

Singita Private Game Reserves are South Africa's finest according to Travel + Leisure magazine. They offer several lodges, as well as the Sabora Tented Camp in Tanzania.

This is my idea of Africa and I hold Sydney Pollack responsible! He directed 'Out of Africa' and made this place too too romantic for words. Not for me the youth hostel or 3 star hotel - I want to stay in a tented camp and have someone wash my hair for me.

Robert Redford or similar would be most suitable :-D

This hotel group is regarded the 2nd best in the world, but they look like the best to me!

The Isle of Skye, Scotland

2007-08-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

On of my favourite books is Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart. I remember my mum recommending it to me and I loved the misty atmosphere of this romantic island off the north-west coast of Scotland. The book's synopsis is something like this ....

'Beautiful but troubled, Gianetta cannot seem to escape her past, her pain, or her ex-husband - not even in a remote hotel on the Scottish Isle of Skye. One of her fellow guests, however, is also hiding secrets . . . and a skill and penchant for murder.

And now the killer only has eyes for Gianetta . . .'

Kinloch Lodge is owned by a famous Scottish chef called Claire Macdonald and she runs a cookery school as well as a small guesthouse and restaurant. Move over Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver et al - I want to eat here! The rooms look lovely and the lodge accepts four-legged guests as well (my dog Millie would love it). The tariff is quite reasonable for UK standards.

Indian dreaming .....

2007-08-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

I have a passion for India, even though I've never visited her. When I was a small child, if she had need to, my mother would leave me in the care of our neighbour, a Mrs Agarwal. Mrs Agarwal's husband worked with my father at the Jenny Lind Hospital for Sick Children in Norwich and I was great friends with her children.

Mrs Agarwal taught me how to speak Hindi. She would speak to me and I would answer, all in this foreign tongue. I was a blonde curly-haired Shirley Temple lookalike who spoke Hindi with an English accent, and my parents were always amused by my unusual bilingualism. Never had anyone seen a stranger Indian than me!

Ever since then I've had a deep-seated love of Indian culture. I'd love to visit this vibrant country one day, when I have the time to see it properly. Since I first read MM Kaye's 'Death in Kashmir' I've always fancied an Indian honeymoon :-D I've not got the guy but the dream prevails ....

The above photos show two of the Oberoi Hotels, the Rajvilas in Jaipur and the Udaivilas in Udaipur. My parents have stayed at both these hotels. They're living my dream for me (lucky them :-D). The Rajvilas includes luxury tents as well as private villas and suites. The Udaivilas has the extraordinary pool and breathtaking views over Lake Pichola.

Both are small hotels (fewer than 100 rooms) which means more privacy and more staff per guest to make your stay unforgettable.

I'm sure Mrs Agarwal would approve :-D

A Day Spa with a difference .... The Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai

2007-08-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

I visited Chiang Mai in January of this year and gave myself a treat at the Day Spa at The Four Seasons Resort. A 3-hour massage, facial and pedicure, all carried out in a suite of rooms larger than my flat in Sydney.

The resort is located in the foothills and is built around a valley. Rice paddy fields are tended by farmers in traditional coolie hats and I could have sworn I saw an elephant in the distance! The view from the terrace was breathtaking and the air invigorating. A stay in one of the private pavilions is definitely on my wishlist ...

The Huka Lodge, Taupo, New Zealand

2007-08-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

I want the Owner's Cottage at the Huka Lodge to be my house.

Could one place be any more luxurious?

Huka Lodge has been named the best hotel in Oceania (Australia, NZ and the South Pacific) and it possesses an enviable celebrity guest list - several crowned heads of state, pop stars, actors and actresses have enjoyed the extraordinary scenery and first class facilities.

A honeymoon in a houseboat on the Dal in Kashmir was always my dream .... since they're still waging civil war there the Huka Lodge has now become my ideal post-wedding destination :-D