When we were planning our Melbourne trip, my friend Jen and I were looking for somewhere special to have my birthday lunch – the day before my birthday. After much too-ing and fro-ing we settled on Flower Drum. It seems both of us have been wanting to visit it for years. Flower drum is a…
Category: Australia
Dinner with Chloe at Chloe’s Rooms Bar & Brasserie, Melbourne.
My friend Jen and I had scored $20 each way tickets from Sydney to Melbourne with Jetstar. I won’t review the flight to Melbourne as it was pretty perfunctory. When we arrive late on a Tuesday afternoon (yes – you will usually get the best fares on a Tuesday) we check into the Grand Chancellor…
Bankstown Food Tour – Taste Cultural Food Tours.
It’s like travelling through Indochina and the Middle East on this wonderful food tour of Bankstown. Even better is that the tour company is a charity, non-for-profit organisation and social enterprise, where the profits are used to provide training to asylum seekers and immigrants. Food, isn’t it one of the best ways to celebrate diversity…
The Wineries of the Megalong Valley.
We decide head out for a day and what better place to go and relax than a winery? Megalong Valley, located on the western side of the Blue Mountains, have two wineries located a short drive from each other – Megalong Creek Estate and Dryridge Estate. The wine is beautiful, the service warm and friendly…
Sydney’s Pittwater, Palm Beach And The Show Home & Away
While in lockdown, we all watched quite a bit of television – queue music from Prisoner or Orange is the New Black- if you’re like me and don’t mind watching the occasional soapie – it tends to be a bit of escapism from the everyday. Tourism has a lot to thank tv shows, movies and…
Three Pub Meals – Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
OK, so the title is a lie. Due to lockdown in Sydney and the Blue Mountains, in this post I visit two pubs and a Cafe for takeaway. I live at the base of the Blue Mountains and love to head up there on the weekends or a day I have free. If you love…
QANTAS Airways Flight QF179 – Sydney to Norfolk Island.
You’ve probably read some of my Norfolk Island posts, posts on the food, the history, and the cows. In this post I will tell you all about the flight to the island. I was able to use up some Qantas Frequent Flyer points for this trip – my shopping at Woolworths has come in handy…
Three Pubs – Rockhampton, Central Queensland.
I’m visiting a good mate who moved to Rockhampton (Rocky) a couple of years ago. Rocky has a country vibe and is known as the beef capital of Australia. I’m not a huge fan of beef but you know…when in Rome… We’re visiting three pubs while I’m here for some country fare. The first two…
Norfolk Island food review – and some fun foodie facts!
Welcome to Norfolk Island, a small island that lies some 1700 kilometres or so off the east coast of mainland Australia, almost midway between New Caledonia and New Zealand. I’ve just spent a week here… Get ready for an interesting island food ride…and some fun foodie facts. My BFF and travel tag-along (“Lets go here!”… “OK”), Ciaran,…
Norfolk Island Fun Facts – Communication.
Welcome to Norfolk Island, a small island that lies some 1700 kilometres or so off the east coast of mainland Australia, almost midway between New Caledonia and New Zealand. I’ve just spent a week here… Get ready for an interesting island ride…and some fun facts. Communication //kəmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ Noun1. The imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing,…
Norfolk Island Fun Facts – Power.
Welcome to Norfolk Island, a small island that lies some 1700 kilometres or so off the east coast of mainland Australia, almost midway between New Caledonia and New Zealand. I’ve just spent a week here… Get ready for an interesting island ride…and some fun facts. Todays post is all about POWER. Power /ˈpaʊə/ Noun:1. The ability or…
City Park – Launceston, Tasmania.
If you know me personally, I can be a bit of a monkey, all over the place but I also like things in order, symmetrical, a crooked picture will annoy me. Matty: “Could you give me directions to the closest supermarket please?” Hotel Concierge: “Sure, at the end of the street, it’s just a diagonal…
Stunning Cradle Mountain, Tasmania – “For the People, For All Time”.
Having visited the Rocky Mountains in Canada several times – I have dear family there – I was not overly excited to visit Cradle Mountain in Tasmania – I thought it’d be just a hill compared to the Rockies – It wasn’t. And there is also a wonderful little side story to the mountain the…
Central West NSW – Mudgee.
We’re off on a road trip around the Central West of NSW. First stop, Mudgee, a winery town. It’s a great place for wine lovers – or a New South Welshmen tired of constant state border closures at the hint of a sniffle. The first stop on this trip was Moothi Estate Winery just outside…
Lunch On Board The Emerald Princess
“We’ve booked an inside cabin, but with a non-obstructed view” I overheard at the check in area, Um OK, you’re going to be disappointed, I thought to myself. My love of travel extends to all forms transport and I was recently invited to take a look around the Emerald Princess, the largest of the Princess fleet…
Trip Notes: Melbourne to Sydney on QANTAS Airways QF480 and the special meals.
After a wonderful weekend in Melbourne, it was time to head back to Sydney on Qantas flight QF480, a dinner flight operated by an Airbus A330-200. Upon boarding I noticed there was a rather large contingent of school kids who had been in Melbourne competing in a Jewish Inter-Schools sports competition. After settling into my…
Would You Jump From A Plane?
A glass of wine, some food and a good movie is for me, what I like to do when on a plane. For others it might be different. My Friends Jessie and Manita recently went skydiving and here is what Jessie had to say: A couple of days ago, I conquered one of my biggest fears and went skydiving…
HARS (Historical Aircraft Restoration Society) and the Famous QANTAS 747-438, VH-OJA – Oh and Connie, VH-EAG
HARS – Historical Aircraft Restoration Society – is located at The Illawarra Regional Airport in Wollongong and just over a year ago it gained another major attraction with a retired Qantas Boeing 747-400 arriving at the museum. Back in March of 2015, I was invited with several media and bloggers to visit Qantas Headquarters in…
Golden Princess – The Food, Oh The Food.
“How come you got a Gold Cruise Card? Mine’s blue?” Said my friend Nova as we checked in for the Golden Princess. “Yeah mines blue too” Bert pipped in looking slightly confused. “‘Cause I’m a Gold member!” I replied. After my previous short cruise on the Sea Princess I was hooked. I was hooked like a…
QantasLink, Sydney to Maroochydore (Sunshine Coast), Boeing 717, Economy Class
“What time will you arrive? I’ll pick you up” My old mate Daz texted me. “I’ll be landing at 10:35” I texted back. “Ok, see you at 10:30” was the reply. “No, its 10:35!” I responded. “Yeah, 10:30!” “No, 10:35!”….. The banter went on for weeks, “10:30?” “No, 10:35!” we laughingly texted each other. The 1 hour and…
Emirates, Auckland to Sydney Business Class
“Welcome on board this Emirates flight to Brisbane” Brisbane? Am I on the right plane? “Ladies and Gentlemen, please disregard the menu stating Auckland to Melbourne, we are in fact off to Sydney” Melbourne now? “Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Dubai” Either Dubai now has a harbour with replica bridge and Opera House or I’m…
Matty Somewhere 