Author Archives
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Is Air BnB for you?
I’m planning a trip and have been spending some time on Air BnB looking for accommodation. I’m a big fan after staying in amazing homes and meeting interesting people all over the US last year. I’m surprised at how many people are… Read More ›
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Copy less, travel more
It started with Toblerone, the legendary triangle-shaped chocolate bar with chewy nougaty bits. Toblerone was made in Switzerland and, when I was much much younger, it was not easily available in places far from Switzerland. They were treats in our house, only… Read More ›
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The road to Akaroa
The man behind the desk at the rental company swivelled his computer screen to show me a photograph of a car with its roof crumpled like tissue paper. “That’s one of ours,” he said. “They didn’t have insurance.” He… Read More ›
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What we’ve got is a great big melting pot
A little girl in a pink salwar kameez sits cross legged on a rug, ice-cream slowly melting down her arm. A small group waits patiently for fresh tacos being made in a tiny red caravan and nearby a crowd gathers, drawn by… Read More ›
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Twelve Christmas Observations
Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. There is plenty to love and a whole lot to wonder at. I love wrapping presents, choosing a theme and the right ribbon and match-matchy paper but somethings are just impossible . Like finding… Read More ›
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A crazy chef served me a beef doughnut and I ate it all
It never rains but it pours they say and this week it’s raining doughnut stories. First, the bakery owned by my friends Carla and Randall Perkins, the Blackbird Bakery, was crowned best bakery in the state of Virginia by popular vote. That’s… Read More ›
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Messing about in boats in the Marlborough Sounds
It’s a weekly ritual that has been going on for almost a century. Some row out in their tiny dinghies, others arrive on horseback along the beach or appear as if by magic from the thick green bush. Dogs wait patiently because… Read More ›
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Getting under the skin of Auckland
I was sitting on a plane bound for Charlotte, North Carolina when the lady next to me started a conversation. “Where are you from?” was her first question after she heard me pronounce water with a ‘t’. As we talked… Read More ›
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Less is more
I realised that the driver of the expensive 4 x 4 wasn’t going to stop just before I stepped off the kerb onto a narrow inner city street lined with other shiny 4 x 4s and renovated villas. Perhaps I should… Read More ›
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Getting to know Marlborough: 1
After 3 months, I am still very much in the honeymoon phase in my relationship with Marlborough. I am delighted with every new discovery I make, beguiled by the charm of life outside the big city and prepared to overlook any disappointments that my new… Read More ›
