A big portion of my ancestry is Irish, so visiting Ireland for the first time was something I was really looking forward to. From sunny (and often not so sunny) Melbourne it was hard to imagine the accents, the brilliant greens, the castles (yay CASTLES!!) and the...
When Beth googled “magical places in Europe” to visit during our big adventure, I noticed a shift in my thinking. It wasn’t just castles that seemed magic, but it was like there was some indefinable sparkle in the air where almost anything seemed...
Six weeks into our European adventure I started my second sketchbook – a huge achievement for me as I have never filled a sketchbook so fast – or at all really, if I am honest! It was a bit tricky getting used to the skinny, wide landscape format of the...
Ok, so my Strathmore mixed media journal isn’t really made of gold, but the metallic paints meandering over the cover and the gold edges inspired by illuminated manuscripts have given it something of a reputation as a golden sketchbook. This was the first...
“Castle!” calls my daughter from the back seat as we round the bend in the highway. It is our third day in England and we still can’t believe that castles and medieval churches seem to pop up on the landscape every few minutes, interspersed by Tudor buildings and...
My mum was a very keen genealogist, and long before the internet she spent years researching our family history in person, gathering birth and death certificates, visiting cemeteries, hand searching shipping records and writing letters to potential relatives. It was a...
I figure that I am spiritually about 10% Dutch. I lived in Holland for six of the first ten years of my life, and I have wonderful memories of that time – memories that have been soaking back into my veins and reclaiming my soul since the minute we stepped on a KLM...
As I type this I’m looking out over the English countryside and a historic village dating back to 1176. To some people that may not sound like much, but as a Melbourne girl I can’t believe I’m sitting here with this view in front of me. It is simply magical. For at...
It’s a while ago now, but I thought I’d share a sketch I did while standing in Swanston Street with my daughter watching the Anzac Day parade pass. A hundred years after Gallipoli the ANZAC spirit is still strong, and it is easy to feel a lot of pride for...
Unsurprisingly, this was my last journal entry for France. We got to Paris and the last five days of our trip went by in a flash. I was pleased with our conference presentation. Proud just to be there really, although still shocked that I got to go. I never imagined...
It was sad to say goodbye to the millhouse which had treated us so well, but exciting to head off to Paris. After all, I had a conference to go to, so there was work to be done! We caught the fast train, carrying along a picnic of baguettes, smelly cheese and red...
We didn’t eat out that often, but this day we went for a drive around the local villages and stopped for lunch. We sat in a shady courtyard opposite the restaurant and took our time checking out the menu and laughing with the outrageous waitress. You...
