Travel and gift shops

Recently we took a family holiday to Echuca, a three hour drive from Melbourne, Victoria.

Echuca is a popular tourism and holiday destination, with plenty of modern and historic local attractions, and a great selection of restaurants. Love the country feeling!

I particularly like checking out the gift shops when on holidays because you can always find things that are unique. There was one shop I loved called Port Golly Gosh, that sells lots of different homewares gifts a lot of which are handpainted.

This is what I found:

If you have read my post on butterflies, you will know that I love, love, love butterflies. I found a gorgeous 3D bookmark with butterflies on it, which I had to have.

The country scenery was beautiful and so relaxing to wake up to every day. Fresh air and a cooked breakfast every morning was lovely - and we did lots of walking which was nice.

I love travelling and would love to do a lot more of it. There are so many lovely places in Australia that we haven't visited yet. Hopefully one day!

Do you travel much? What is your favourite travelling destination?

The world famous St-Tropez

Hi everyone, I'm back!

I had a really good time in the south of France. It was so hot that I wondered how all the celebrities spotted there always manage to look so cool, literally...

Here are some photos of Saint-Tropez.

P.S. Thanks for 'voting' on my France vs Italy post! Twice as many voted for France!

France, je t'aime? or Italy, ti amo?

Are you a fan of all things French or all things Italian?

Let's say you can only choose one. Which would it be and why? Think of the brands, shopping, food, language, architecture, people, weather, culture...

France

vs Italy

Ok, now I'm off to the south of France! I'll be back with lots of photos. I look forward to reading your answers when I get back! See you soon!

All via google images

The French Riviera

I'm going to the south of France in August!

A friend of mine has a house there and she has invited me over! I am only going for a few days because I have other commitments but it doesn't matter. I'm taking my son with me (my poor husband has to work!) so we'll probably spend lots of time doing nothing by the pool. I can't wait!

Have you ever been to the Côte d'Azur?

Photos

The secret garden

Isn't this gate* magical? There is something so inviting about it...

I can imagine walking into a secret garden full of flowers... and losing track of time.

Today I have a lunch date with a friend and I'm looking forward to cooling down with a Bellini... (There is one major disadvantage to having a car: no more drinking! So I have to make the most of it now!)

What are your plans? 

*It was actually the gate to someone's property in Oslo!

Homes with a view

When we were in Oslo about three weeks ago, we took a ferry to the Viking museum. On the way, I spotted a couple of lovely houses - all with a spectacular view.

The first one is my favourite (but no playing football in that garden..!).

I wouldn't mind this one, either.

I wonder if this house has a lift? Either way, the tower is quite cool. (And I love the colour of the sky!)

Would you like to live in one of these houses? Or have a beautiful apartment in the city?

When we were looking for a place to buy, we decided on the latter. We didn't want to climb stairs!

I know I'm in a foreign country when...

... I don't recognise the sweets...

... hot dogs are exotic (this was on the children's menu. My son refused to share, it was that tasty)...

... and I find interesting things like moose snacks at the airport! I'm guessing this is the Scandinavian answer to the beef jerky. Moose jerky, anyone?

What about you?

My trip to Norway (part 2)

Following on from yesterday's post about Oslo...

I don't think I've ever seen so many sculptures in one city. There were works of art everywhere in Oslo...

... and many, many more in the famous Vigeland Park. There was a fantastic playground, too, so if you have children, head there. Spot the bird on the statue's head!

We had another yummy lunch of fresh prawns in the park. Couldn't get enough of the stuff! This was labelled as a 'small course' - but it was more like a main course for at least two people!

A trip to Oslo would not be complete without seeing a Viking ship so we took a ferry to the museum...

... and we also went to the Munch Museum to see Edvard Munch's masterpiece, The Scream. Security was tight, probably because the painting was stolen in 2004 (and found two years later).

To be honest, I found his paintings a bit scary.

The picture hunting was supposedly a game for children but it was difficult! There were stickers (each showing a tiny detail of a painting) for eight different paintings - we had no idea which painting to look for in which hall or even how many per hall. The Scream was in Hall 4 (top right); you can see that the sticker only showed a bit of the background. And this was easy because I knew the painting! Of course I ended up doing all of it - there was an incentive, you see: a little present if you got the answers right! (turned out to be two postcards) It was an 'interactive' way of visiting a museum and I liked it! 

For dinner we went up to Ekerberg Restaurant where there was a spectacular view of the city and harbour. We decided to eat inside because the restaurant had proper food (on the terrasse they only had fast food). Sadly, it wasn't that good.

And what was worse... we wanted to have a drink on the terrasse afterwards and I tried to order a Bellini... but they didn't have any more peach nectar! Booooo! Still... it's worth going there for the view.

These were the highlights of the trip. I hope it was interesting for you! I'll be showing more photos in separate posts.

My trip to Norway (part 1)

Hi, I'm back! I told you I was going away for a couple of days... well, I was in Oslo! The sun was shining, the seafood was delicious and I had a really nice time. I wanted to share some of my photos... so here we go.

There was still Eurovision fever (hosted by Norway this year)... at the airport.

This is the Royal Palace. I was really surprised that there were no gates... just a couple of guards dotted around the place. You could walk right up to the building and touch it (not that I did). I guess Oslo is so safe that there is no need for Buckingham Palace-type security.

All of the locals were making the most of the amazing weather - grilling, picnicking and partying outside!

We had coffee and ice cream at the supposedly famous Grand Café. There was a moment of confusion when a group of people carrying the Swedish flag paraded past (remember we were in neighbouring Norway) - I still don't know what it was about! (let me know if you do!)

The highlight was dinner. We went to an amazing seafood restaurant called Solsiden. It's apparently only open in summer (at least at this location). The view was fantastic and the food was absolutely gorgeous. If you're ever in Oslo, you should definitely go there. We still managed dessert and a sip of Aquavit afterwards.

To be continued tomorrow!