Destinations

Places to see!

Our wilderness cruise.

Our Three-Hour Tasman Island Wilderness Cruise

During our stay on the Tasman Peninsula, we spent a morning taking the Pennicott Wilderness Journey’s three-hour, award-winning adventure cruise which leaves from Port Arthur. A few years back, we took their Bruny Island cruise and had a great time taking in some spectacular scenery and a wealth of wildlife. We still have very fond memories of that cruise. So when we...

Hiking Hartz Peak in the Hartz Mountain National Park

On a warm Tasmanian summer day, we headed out to the Hartz Mountain National Park with our friends. The park is located in South East Tasmania, eighty kilometres South of Hobart. It offers many nice walks but the one we really wanted to tackle was the Hartz Peak hike. The Hartz Peak hike is 3.7 kilometres one way and is classified as a grade four hike. There is a...

Cape Pillar

The Top 10 Things to do on the Tasman Peninsula

The Tasman Peninsula is a popular part of Tasmania known primarily for its main attraction, the Port Arthur Historic Site. Of course, while you absolutely must visit Port Arthur, you shouldn’t stop there! There are so many things to do on this small peninsula that you’ll want to spend at least a few days enjoying the sights. Here are the top 10 things you shouldn’t...

Stunning views from Cape Hauy.

Hiking Cape Hauy: A Great Tasmanian Hike

Cape Hauy is located on the Tasman Peninsula, just over an hours drive from Hobart. It is the last cape on the “Three Capes Track”, one of Tasmania’s newest walking tracks. If you don’t have time to hike the whole of the Three Capes Track (which takes four days), hiking Cape Hauy is a great alternative. This sign marks the start of the hike. Fortescue Bay The...

The Daibutsu-den

5 Reasons You Should Visit Nara

There are so many great places to visit in Japan that it’s hard to see them all in one go. But if you’re visiting either Kyoto or Osaka, a great side trip is to the city of Nara. Nara is less than an hour away by train from either of those places and is a beautiful place to visit. You may have heard of Nara before; two things make it very popular, the wild...

The Golden Pavilion

10 Things to do on Your First Trip to Kyoto

Kyoto is another great city to visit while in Japan. Japan’s former imperial capital has a population just shy of one and a half million people, making it much smaller and quieter than Tokyo. The main reason to visit Kyoto is to soak up its fascinating culture and history. Kyoto is also the best place in Japan to go temple hopping. Why? Because it has over sixteen...

Beautiful view of the lagoon and Mount Otemanu.

Bora Bora: Our honeymoon in paradise

If there was one thing I knew for sure as a little girl, it was that my honeymoon would be in Bora Bora. Maybe it had something to do with being French, as most French people consider French Polynesia a distant paradise. With its stunning, crystal clear waters, beautiful beaches, palm trees and iconic overwater bungalows, it sure looks like paradise on earth. But it...

A day trip to Kamakura from Tokyo

If you want to escape the crowds of Tokyo, another popular outing is a day trip to Kamakura. Kamakura has so many temples that it is also known as the Kyoto of East Japan. From Tokyo, it takes between one to one and a half hours by train to reach Kamakura, depending on which train line you use and your point of departure. We were staying in Shinjuku and simply hopped...

Lake Ashi

A Visit to Hakone with the Hakone Free Pass

During our week long stay in Tokyo the bustling capital of Japan, we took a day trip to the popular town of Hakone. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous Mt Fuji. Because leaving Japan without seeing Mt Fuji would be a real shame. We’d seen so many amazing photos of this imposing mountain that we couldn’t wait to finally set eyes on it for ourselves. From...

The other side of the river. Tarn.

A Day in the Episcopal City of Albi

The day after visiting Toulouse, “The Pink City”, we made our way across to Albi, “The Red City”. Albi is set on the banks of the Tarn river, about forty minutes drive from Toulouse. Its episcopal old town, located right in the middle of Albi became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2010. The episcopal old town is built almost entirely from Languedoc-style red bricks...