Macaroons in Melbourne, la Belle Miette on Collins Street

Very cute shop on Collins Street just near Parliament House. You can eat in and enjoy a tea with your macaroon choice! Macaroons cost approx $2.50. I must admit I was a bit too excited about the flavour choice to notice the cost. 

Lovey gift box options too of varying size. 

Cute Easter themes macaroons with hot cross macaroons available!

Yum caramel, vanilla and hazelnut. Vanilla was my favourite.

They didn't quite survive in my handbag!

Stationery and Prints on Brunswick Street, Melbourne

Take a walk along Brunswick Street in Melbourne and enjoy the food, drink and independent shops. There are a lot of independent clothing shops and some pretty cool places to eat and drink. Today we opted for a fairly casual brunch, popped into a few stationery shops and a cool old school print shop (just off Brunswick Street - easy to spot with A-frame advertising) and finished off at Little Creatures Brewery for some doughnuts and beer! 

The best thing about Brunswick Street is its versatility from a shopping strip during the day, brunch with the girls or head out in the evening to some funky bars, breweries and restaurants. It has wide appeal for everyone and is easy to get to from the city (walk or tram). 

What's your favourite spot on Brunswick Street? 

https://littlecreatures.com.au

Once a year on the Tiwi Islands, Art Sale and Football Grand Final

Each year the aussie rules Tiwi Island football grand final is held in March and coincides with the Tiwi Island art sale. It is the only day of the year that a visitor does not need to buy a permit when visiting the island.

This year it is to be held on 16 March 2014. I recommend anyone up in the Top End to make the trip across by boat or plane from Darwin to enjoy the day. The island offers a lot of history from the people that live there, missionary Churches, relics of the bombing of the Northern Territory in WW2 and the role that the Islanders played in trying to warn the mainland of the impending attack. Fascinating history that is not well known! 

A few photos of the day are below.

A painting of baby Jesus in the Church

Visitors from Melville Island - rushing to get a spot after the grand final had finished

Some beautifully painted buildings on Bathurst Island

Artwork for sale - tourists looking through the art

Make sure you watch the football match (no boots worn by the players and quite a few dogs running on the oval to get into the action!) and head to the art galleries to buy some artwork. The prices are very reasonable and it is a lovely opportunity to meet the artist (not all of the artists are there on the day). I was lucky enough to meet the talented artist of the artwork I choose and even got a photo!

A beautiful piece to add to my collection

Screen printed material sold by the metre -  I wish I had now bought some!

Some tips from the day:

Planes and boats book up quite quickly so I would recommend booking early. I took the boat and it was a fun way to get there. I would recommend it over the plane as there was space to put my artwork on the ride back and I just wonder where I would've put them on the tiny plane!

Pack some snacks and an umbrella.

You might find that you won't get to watch all the football match (depending on when the boat arrives and departs) so make sure you leave enough time to visit the art sale and walk around the island.

Keukenhof Tulip Festival, Amsterdam, Holland

It's only 3 months until the Keukenhof Tulip Festival kicks off once again (opens 24 March 2011). Here are some photos from the beautiful gardens in full bloom to inspire you.

A river of flowers

Pineapple tulip

Classic clogs

It is a beautiful day out wondering around the gardens and many people hire bikes to ride through the tulip fields and admire the Dutch windmills.

The gardens are located near Amsterdam and there is a bus that runs regularly from Amsterdam and direct from Schiphol airport.  There are cafes though I would recommend taking a picnic lunch like many of the locals.

Details: Late March is the start of the festival and April is a good time for full bloom.  See their website for price and further details http://www.keukenhof.nl/index/. If you are in Amsterdam at the right time of the year be sure to head out to the festival - even if you are not a tulip enthusiast!

Lake Como - Cooking Class, Varenna

On a lovely day in August I joined a cooking class in Varenna, one of the gorgeous villages in Lake Como.  Moreno's daughter picked me and an American couple up in the town square (just near my hotel which was handy) and drove us up the windy hill giving us beautiful views of the Lake and surrounding mountains.  The restaurant is set high within the hillside and during the break we got to wander around and admire the views.

View from outside the restaurant

Moreno is the chef who has been holding cooking classes for about 10 years.  When I was there we had 7 people participating so it was quite a nice intimate class size from various parts of the globe (Australian, American and Norwegian).  Everyone else were part of a couple, however, I wouldn't discourage singles heading along as everyone is welcoming, ready to learn and in holiday mode! So much so that five us all joined up to explore Varenna later in the day and for dinner.

The class ready to learn (and eat!)

Moreno in action

Three different pasta dishes were made including a northern Italian dish, large flat pasta dish and a risotto.  The dishes Moreno demonstrates change so I plan to go back next time I visit Lake Como.  The cooking class is demonstration based and you get to enjoy wine and antipasti while you watch (included in the price).  However, Moreno does encourage people to come up and help with different part of the process including the pasta making.

 

There are the three dishes we made - all very tasty but too filling to finish all three dishes! I think I will take a tupperware container next time I visit so that I can enjoy the dishes later and not feel like I'm wasting the food Moreno has spent so much time preparing! Here are the fruits of 'our' labour...

I would highly recommend doing this cooking class. It is extremely well priced (35 euros in 2010 but worth a lot more than this) and is a fun 4-5 hours.  I will be back there in a few months and this time round my parents will be joining me after talking it up so much!

Details:
Email Moreno to book in a class (held on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday)

info@ilcaminettoonline.com

I would recommend booking well ahead of your trip to secure your space as it is a great experience that was a highlight on my trip to Lake Como.  I didn't have time to visit the restaurant for dinner at the time but think I will add to the itinerary next visit.

Ciao and buon appetito!

Lovely Lisbon, Portugal

As a winter escape from London I booked in a long weekend to Lisbon where thankfully it was a good 10 degrees warmer than the UK.  We caught a cab into town (approx 25 euros) and were surprised while lining up that so many drivers were women. We caught an airport bus on the way back which only cost 3.75 euros.

Lisbon has 5 of the top 10 hostels in the world so we were intrigued to check out why they had received such a good wrap.  We booked into the Living Lounge Hostel which was well located to the main train station, a metro stop and some fab restaurants and nightlife.  On the first morning we woke to the smell of fresh hot pancakes and I started to understand why this hostel had received such a good wrap (mmmmm chocolate crepes - my guilty travel favourite!). 

We joined a free walking tour that the hostel hosted and these photos show some of the highlights including the neogothic elevador and cute petit yellow trams.

View from the elevador

Santa Justa Elevador 

The oddspot of rain played havoc with me and cobblestones, perhaps partly due to some good vinho. I recommend heading to Bairro Alto for dinner and some good cheap cocktails.  This area was very busy even in November (temp approx 15 degrees) and would go off in Summer! There are lots of bars and restaurants to choose from and some fairly good graffiti too.

Lisbon is a lovely sized city to explore and enjoy the local food - lots of cod fish dishes and definitely try the tasty Portuguese custard tarts. You can buy the custards tarts in a box (6 for 5.10 euros) so quite a good present to take back to work if you don't have to travel too many hours home.

Sao Nicolau, Cafetaria, Rua Augusta No.110, Lisboa

I would recommend Lisbon in winter and would love to go back in summer when the streets would be even busier with locals and tourists. Compared to London and other European cities I've visited Lisbon is very well priced when it comes to food, drink and transport.