Tamborine Mountain Distillery
There’s something about distilleries that reminds me of the saying ‘The stolen apple tastes the sweetest.’ Maybe it’s the hangover of a prohibition upbringing, or the connotations of ‘hard liquor’. Whatever! Actually, the first liqueurs came about with herbal concoctions sweetened to make them more palatable; an easier way to swallow medicine. Founded in 1993 […]
Budapest. What’s not to love?
In a travelscape of flashy beach and slick city destinations, too often Budapest escapes notice, much like the child who slips sideways, unnoticed, across the edge of our peripheral vision. Yet when we turn our attention to it, we find Hungary and its people fascinating, intelligent and complex. It’s a land abundant in culture and […]
5 Reasons to do a Devour Food Tour in Spain
You’ve arrived in a new country for a week’s holiday. Where do you start? For us, an award-winning Devour Barcelona tour provides the perfect way to orientate ourselves, to discover the hidden gems of a country, its history and local secrets. Nothing brings people together like sharing a meal, drinks and some fun! We soon […]
A Weekend in the Rainforest
It’s the perfect winter escape away from the Gold Coast and into the forest; a weekend away in the Tweed Valley. The Tweed holds many attractions to explore: the magnificent Tweed Art Gallery, Mavis’s Kitchen with its own kitchen garden, Carool’s coffee plantations, winery and Potager, as well as craft galleries and farms set in […]
A Tasmanian Getaway
A trip to Tasmania is the essential compact island journey. It’s the ‘island of everything’ with all the elements of a great holiday plus an escape from the summer heat. Founded by force, for many of its settlers Tasmania has been a place of new beginnings. For us, inexpensive airfares proved to be an irresistible […]
Hawaiian Food Tour
“Aloha. Have a seat.” It’s one of our first interactions with a Hawaiian local, and one of the most typical. Aloha means love, kindness, unity and patience…a philosophy of going gently and living in joy every day. Hawaiians are some of the friendliest people in the world, renowned for their welcome and their love of […]
Steampunk Surfers Paradise
Steampunk brings something different to Surfers Paradise: a retro industrial world that exists only in the imagination. Opened in April 2017, the venue brings us the age of machines, of retro-futuristic inventions, robotics and air travel, recreating a world of science fiction inspired by the steam-powered industrial period of Victorian England. Modelled on the Romanian […]
Winter Solstice Dinner at Mavis’s Kitchen
As we reach the shortest day of the year, winter chills creep in as the sun sinks behind the hills. We linger in tracky dacks, loathe to venture out, content to reach for comfort food in the shelter of warm homes. The winter solstice or ‘Yuletide’ marks a turning point from which days get longer, […]
Dovetails at The Pumpyard Brewery
Ipswich, the ‘grande dame’ of Queensland, is being reborn, her stately buildings and houses undergoing rejuvenation as the city takes on new life. There are lots of attractions in Ipswich if you take time to look: road and rail events, heritage walks, funky cafés and a load of owner-operated niche interest, vintage and gift shops. […]
Opera at Mavis’s Kitchen
Many storms are followed by a rainbow. When we gather on a bright winter’s day in June for a long table lunch beside the lake at Mavis’s Kitchen, we are thinking celebration. But the sobering trip along the Tweed reminds us of the devastation caused by the flood just two months before. Grass, beaten into […]