Two Drifters

We’ve basically been away all month. First in Rye for Easter then on an incredible cruise from Singapore to Mumbai. First, Easter. We had almost a week in Rye and all the kids (plus Baby granddaughter of course) came to stay which was lovely. The weather held out and we were able to host the extended family for lunch on Easter Sunday. Just after Easter, we flew to Singapore to board Crystal Serenity, our first ocean cruise in Asia and our first cruise with Crystal. I am writing a story about the cruise for MiNDFOOD magazine and Andrew is recording a couple of long-form YouTube episodes. When we’re invited on a cruise, we’re still trying to work out the balance between working and holidaying but it’s a good conundrum to have!! We loved the cruise. In no particular order, the ship, our Suite, the rockstar dining, the free-flowing drinks, the destinations/Ports. All of it! We didn’t realise until we boarded that this cruise was the last segment of a World Cruise which had started in Los A...

Question: Where did January go?  Answer: In a lovely blur of family, lazy days at Rye and a week in Palm Cove, Far North Queensland. We had all the kids and partners and some of their friends at Rye until they all went back to work earlier in the month. I have forgotten how much food six (to a dozen or so) adults eat! Added to the holiday congestion that descends on the Mornington Peninsula every Christmas/New Year, I did feel a bit like I was relaxing in between supermarket visits!!! Also, a big group deciding what to watch after dinner is a minefield. Especially when there are a couple of voices very keen to watch the Big Bash which seemed to go on endlessly! I like cricket but Test cricket during the day followed by T20 at night is too much for me. Not whining….even though this reads like whining!! It was lovely to all be together. Our son, M, turned 30 so we had some celebrations for that too. Yes, I have a 30 year old child. How did that happen??!! Said 30 year old child and h...

  Sunset in the Douro Valley We loved the A-ROSA cruise.  The lack of organised excursions (because they were German-speaking) was a blessing in some ways as we were able to use the ship as a floating hotel and do our own thing during the day. The weather was cool and wet a few days in the first week but hot in the second so we spent some time happily lolling on the Sun Deck. Our time in England was terrific. It was wonderful to see M & A and share their excitement at becoming parents. We had a mixed bag of weather – rain and cool in York and Chester but pretty good in Oxford and amazing in London.  We had two stints of a couple of days each in Oxford and did different things to what we did last year. This time, we concentrated on literary topics so we toured the Oxford University Press Museum (free but you need to book ahead online), the Bodleian Library, the Ashmolean Museum (free) and we did a private, literary-focused walking tour. We also wandered through Jericho...

After Easter, we had some work done at home. Double bonus – our concrete floor which was cracked and horrible is now a beautiful oak herringbone pattern and, whilst the work was done and we had no access to our kitchen and laundry, we lived at Rye. I had a special afternoon in early May being a 40 year school reunion. Any girl who went to my old high school, Kildara, to line up with HSC (Year 12) in 1985 was invited. Our school closed in about 1992, sold off for a high rise development so there is no Past Students or Alumni.  We had just over 30 women there. Our HSC year was only 60 odd so I was pretty happy with that turnout. Some women had flown from interstate to be there. Turns out that, so many years later, we were all happy just to be there and see each other. No more cliques, no more “brains” or “cool” girls. Just women who shared formative years together and who were delighted to see each other again.  It was truly lovely. Mid May we headed off on a 7 week trip so ther...

Well, let me start by saying that our motorhome trip to the Sunshine Coast never happened. But, I’ll get to that! The 1st of March (a Saturday) was spent by me, L and G at a brand new culinary experience in Main Ridge on the Mornington Peninsula. Owner, Ciara, hails from Ireland. Her gorgeous property includes ten acres of vines (currently looked after by Foxey’s Hangout and, when we visited, on the cusp of harvest) and a house formerly occupied by the property manager. Last year, Ciara decided to renovate that house and she has created a bespoke kitchen with a dining space around a huge, curved stone bench plus tables inside and out. Ciara’s cooking is home-style, seasonal Mediterranean and she uses as much produce from her garden as possible. A real farm-to-fork experience. Ciara demonstrates what she is cooking, all the while giving cooking and entertaining tips to the group.  At the end of the demonstration, the group all ate lunch together. It was a lovely day and, if you’re l...

^Polar me!! I write this from the Havila MS Pollux on the Southbound voyage en route to Tromsø, Norway. A little queasy but more on that later. Andrew and I drove to the Hunter Valley. We could easily have flown (Newcastle airport is the closest airport) but Andrew wanted to go fishing and play golf so it worked better to drive. He bought himself a fishing kayak and we towed that too! I attended a Pre-famil (meaning a Press Trip) before the Convention. This was organised by the Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association and was a genius move by me, even though I hadn’t realised it at the time! Rather than attending the Convention where I would know one other person (the PR who convened the Azamara Croatia Press Trip), I was able to meet seven other people. It made attending the Convention much less intimidating. The Pre-famil was a whirlwind (mainly of wine tasting!) and we had the red carpet laid out. It was a great learning experience and I already have one accepted travel story in t...