Sponsored videos As you all know, Rosemarie and I are foodies. And if you follow us on Instagram, you will know that, that is indeed a fact! With the launch of Chef to Chef TV Series by InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, our urge for an international food adventure has become stronger. Chef to Chef features acclaimed chef and host Sharone Hakman meeting with...
[tps_header]My trip to China wasn’t the usual stopover in Beijing or Shanghai. Instead, it was to a city that was as important as Rome was in its heydays! Xi’an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road is the largest overland trade route linking China to Central Asia and Europe and is filled with historical sites, beautiful tales and intriguing food...
The wind was in my hair, the sun shined brightly and the fluffy clouds moved gracefully in the bright blue sky. I was at the Canberra Southern Cross Club’s jetty just about to board the M.V. Southern Cross for an arvo of cocktails and canapes! If you’re anything like me, a day our on the water puts a smile on my face. Toss in good food and great company...
I was standing in a sacred location, a place that has served the Muslim community of Xi’an for more than a millennium. I was in China’s oldest and most renowned mosque. Laid out like a traditional Chinese Temple, the Great Mosque of Xian was built in 742 AD during the Tang Dynasty. The Great Mosque was built to honour the founding of Islam in China. The...
Sponsored Post Canberra is the city where the rest of Australia mocks its quietude, but those that reside in it sing its virtues. Despite being the seat of power to one the world’s most developed country, Canberra remains somewhat of an unknown to the tourists interested in trekking down under. Nestled between Sydney and Melbourne, Canberra’s birth was in fact the...
It was a bright sunny day in Sydney. A bead of sweat ran down my neck as the heat warmed my skin. I had arrived from Canberra – the cold capital of Australia just 30 minutes ago snuggly wrapped in warm clothes. As I got out of the taxi, I started to remove my cardigan. Silhouetted against the bright sunlight were dark maroon Anglo Dutch gables sharply pointing into...
[tps_header]THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED![/tps_header] One hundred years ago on 1 January 1914, four men made the first scheduled commercial airline flight possible: Percival Fansler organised the funding for the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line which provided the first scheduled air service across Tampa Bay, Florida. Thomas Benoist’s airboat conducted the first flight...
[tps_header]THINGS TO DO IN XIAN: THE XI’AN CITY WALL IS THE OLDEST AND LARGEST SURVIVING WALL OF ITS KIND IN CHINA.[/tps_header] Its history began literally in the Stone Age 3000 years ago and served as the capital of China for several ancient dynasties. A great metropolis that was as important as Rome in its hey days. It was the starting point of the ancient...
It’s springtime in Australia and Mother Nature is having a makeover. The bare tree branches near my home are beginning to bloom with pretty flowers. The Cherry Blossoms trees in the city have bees humming around the opening buds. More butterflies are seen sitting on flowers and the screechy Cockatoos seem camouflaged between the flowering trees. It is also when...
Through my slightly parted hotel room curtains, I saw the gabled roofs of the Kumamoto Castle at the crack of dawn. The early morning sun reflected off its walls gently bathing it with warm golden hues. It stood there in majestic glory, proud of an ancient past. And as I gazed at the castle, time stood still. It appeared to me that the castle was beckoning to me to...