Category Archives: Travel

The Barossa Valley

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Dusk in the Barossa Valley

With all the panic about Coronavirus we were glad we decided not to venture far for our 40th Wedding Anniversary. While we still have wonderful memories of the awesome Grand Tour we had embarked upon for our 30th Wedding Anniversary, ten years on we were much less adventurous.

Rather than travelling thousands of kilometres to the other side of the world we travelled less than 100 kms for a lavish few days in the nearby Barossa Valley.

The Barossa Valley just an 80 minute drive for Adelaide is probably Australia’s best known wine region.

We decided to stay at The Louise, a luxury resort for two nights. The resort is nestled in the vineyards and has about 40 rooms. We stayed in the mid-priced (still quite pricey) room. The views over the vineyards from our room and the restaurant were delightful.

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England, London – a lovely few days to end a great trip

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A cup of tea while we wait for the taxi.

After a little over 6 weeks away we are on our last day. An awesome trip that has saw us start in Tel Aviv, take a raucous Saturday afternoon flight to Rome, spend a week in Assisi, take the bus and train to Lecce, then head back to Rome for a delightful weekend before we discovered the delights of Portugal and then to London.

London is a convenient exit point for Adelaide and after a few days here that included a visit to The Emirates to see Arsenal’s first home game of the season, it’s time to head home.

We stayed in Farringdon. It’s more business and locals than tourists, meaning most sites are a tube ride away. But with an Oyster Card purchased from the local Off Licence (I love that term), getting to where we want to go is pretty straight forward.

After 6 weeks of travel we had low key plans for our time here, Continue reading →

Lisbon, Portugal – How good is it?

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I had a feeling as we were flying to Lisbon that I would love this place!

Coming into land across the bright blue water, big sky and the bright white buildings with red rooves I was certainly getting a positive impression.

Through the modern and busy airport and then onto our hotel, just behind Lisbon’s ritzy shopping street. I really was thinking “How good is Lisbon?” Continue reading →

Itria Valley, Italy – Truly or should I say Trulli?

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As we reached the halfway point of our European Trip we booked a tour of the Itria Valley.

A full day visiting four quite different towns.

The first stop was about an hour from Lecce, the stunning Polignano a Mare, a beachside town built into the rock. More than that it is the home of the man who wrote Volare (listen here)!

Polignano A Mare is just a stunning. Continue reading →

Lecce, Italy – a writing day

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Napoli Arch and Obelisk, Lecce

When we planned our trip to Europe I knew I would need to do some research and writing. I was quite looking forward to it. When we’d been away in 2015 I had used the early mornings and afternoon siesta time to write and that was in winter.

This time it’s summer and its hot and humid making the afternoons not that pleasant. As a result, it hasn’t been hard to spend many of our afternoons reading and writing while we have been travelling. My PhD supervisor will be pleased!

One task I have over and above my PhD research is to write a chapter for an academic book due for release next year. My contribution is due about a month after we get back and has been the main focus of my attention while we have been travelling. The topic is aligned to my PhD research which was why I pitched the idea in the first place.

With breakfast done, the day set to be hot and humid and a disappointing but not unexpected loss to my beloved Adelaide Crows out of the way, I sat down to write.

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