Musings on Mallorca: part 3

Of course experiencing local culture is not high on every traveller's list of priorities - as we were often reminded in Mallorca. Some people simply want to lie in the sun and read a book, others just want to have fun with friends, and they don't care where they do it. But when I write, I write with a different audience in mind - one for whom experiencing local culture, language, history, art, and cuisine and so on are just as important than lying by a pool. Unfortunately, Mallorca has for too long focused its sights on promoting sun and sand - or bucket and spade - tourism. And through its efforts to make the holiday experience for sunworshippers cheap and easy, the island has lost much of its culture and destroyed some of its coastline in the process. I'm talking about the wall-to-wall high-rise hotels, the once-pretty coves now backed by ugly concrete apartment blocks, the menus in four languages and featuring beef stroganof and fish and chips, and an abundance of tacky souvenir shops, Irish bars, British pubs, betting shops, and lap-dancing clubs. This is what I don't like about Mallorca. Mass tourism in its ugliest form. And sadly, it can be a challenge to escape it. It's not a handful of towns that have given over to package tourists, as is the case in Cyprus, but a whole stretch of coastline west of Palma, another in the north, and dozens of other spots in the east and south. And don't think Mallorcans are happy about this. Most we met are not - especially the younger generation - but they seem powerless to do anything about it and admit they've lost control. Why? Because much of the development is foreign-owned. Mallorca makes a great case study for how not to develop tourism. But on a positive note, it's also a brilliant candidate for an experiment in sustainable tourism and how to turn a destination around.

Musings on Mallorca: part 2

So what did we not enjoy about Mallorca? Well, Mallorca is not for everyone. Sure, that could be said about a lot of places, but there are some destinations that few people dislike: Paris, Italy, Thailand for instance. And perhaps it's just that - despite the stunning landscapes, fascinating people, beautiful hotels and fabulous restaurants - Mallorca is not for me. Would I go there again? To work, absolutely. I'd happily go back and talk to the island's talented chefs or write about its burgeoning wine industry. Off-season though. Would I go there on holidays? No, most probably not. And for us, that's one of the criteria we use to judge a destination. If it's the kind of place where I think "I'd prefer to be lying on that beach than writing about it" or a place I make a mental note to return to one day, then I place it fairly high on my list of great destinations. But it's more complex than that. There are other things I disliked about Mallorca. Mainly, that Mallorca did not feel like Spain. Nor did it feel Catalan. Juxtaposed with Barcelona, where we spent five days after Mallorca, that was even more apparent. Barcelona is a cosmopolitan, multicultural city, immensely popular with tourists, with a reasonable-sized expat population - yet it's still retained its unique Catalan identity and essential Spanish-ness. Mallorca, sadly, has lost a lot of the characteristics that make it Mallorcan. They are still there, of course - the language, cuisine, arts and crafts, traditional customs, etc - they're just very hard to find. We located them of course - because that's what travel writers do - but I continually wondered how tourists there for a week fared. Mallorca is a place where you most definitely need to use a quality guidebook, follow some good local blogs, have a local guide, or quickly make local friends, if you want to experience the 'real' Mallorca - or as the Mallorquins like to say, 'the other Mallorca'. Unfortunately, for most tourists visiting the island, the closest they'll get to Mallorcan culture are artificial experiences (as fun as they can be) like La Granja, pictured.

Musings on Mallorca: part 1

We've finished our work on Mallorca - Terry shooting photos for three books, and me updating a travel guidebook. It was nearly seven weeks in total, and by the end of it Terry felt like a contestant on Survivor, desperate to get off the island. Did we not enjoy Mallorca? We did - absolutely - to a certain extent. We met some incredible people, both Mallorquins and expats, from chefs and sommeliers to hotel owners and bartenders. The people were definitely the highlight of our stay. We also checked in to some stunning hotels, ate some extraordinary food, and drank some superb Mallorcan wine. After that, it was the landscapes that took my breath away - the spectacular coastline with sheer craggy cliffs that dramatically drop down to the sea, crystal clear aquamarine water lapping white sand beaches, sailing boats bobbing in the sea off-shore, and the typically-Mediterranean scenery that I have always been besotted with: mountains thick with pine, cypress and cork-oak trees; terrace hillsides covered with vineyards, olive groves and citrus orchards; countryside fragrant with wild lavender, myrtle and thyme; and old villages that tumble down hillsides, dominated by monumental churches and charming cafe-filled squares, with cobblestone lanes lined with sandstone houses. And in Mallorca there was an added bonus - the ramshackle windmills scattered across the whole island. But...?

Pictured is Pollenca, one of my favorite Mallorcan towns in the north.

Snapshots from Mallorca: silly inflatables

As we travelled around Mallorca over the last (gulp) six weeks (a long time to spend on the one island), we spent a lot of time visiting Mallorca's beaches - although sadly not spreading our towels out on them. Rather, Terry was photographing them, and I was checking them out for an update of a guidebook - so every visit was a hit and run. I admit that I may well be out of touch when it comes to inflatable beach toys, but I was astonished to see the variety of blow-up beds, lounges, tubes and toys, some especially whacky, like this double tube being carried by these guys in the picture. I wondered if floating about on this thing together was something they found to be lots of fun (they looked a bit too old to me), or whether a silly inflatable was simply a cool beach accessory. Nothing quite says 'summer holiday' like carrying one of these under your arm as you traipse along the sand.

Snapshots from Mallorca: deckchairs and roundabouts

As we've spent a long time living in the Gulf we've seen a lot of kooky round- abouts. Al Ain in the UAE probably wins the prize for kitschiest with its giant coffee pots but Mallorca follows pretty close behind with some of the most surprising roundabouts around. One I like features a traditional stone wall and wooden fence of the kind you typically find leading to fincas in the countryside here, but the most bizarre one must be this roundabout boasting a big deckchair at Can Picafort, a busy resort town on the northeast coast where tourists moved around on family-sized pedal-vehicles on the main road and they have eateries named Pizzeria Hamburg and Taverna Bavaria. Apt? Had any experience with kitschy roundabouts? Where is the most bizarre one you've seen? Or simply the most memorable?

Snapshots from Mallorca: surprising signs

I love shooting signs on our travels. They reveal so much about a place, its culture, norms, codes of conduct and acceptable behaviour - all of which can often be in conflict, or at least very stark contrast to those of tourists visiting the place. Many churches (and mosques) throughout the world require modest dress codes of visitors. In Italy, the signs outside churches prohibit you from entering in shorts, short skirts and revealing tops. In Mallorca, the typical tourist's street 'attire' warrants this sign. If you saw people walking around the street, you'd completely understand. At Palma airport, minutes after a young male British traveller arrived and collected his luggage from the baggage carousel, he was already pulling off his t-shirt.

Postcard from Mallorca: savouring sunsets

Can you ever get enough sunsets? I can't. And it seems people in Mallorca can't either. We spent a couple of nights at Port de Soller (from where we could see the sun setting over the sea from our terrace at the Hotel Esplendido), and observed the nightly sunset-watching ritual. Locals and tourists alike take up their positions at cafe tables and benches along the promenade, or perch on the rocks on the seafront with the fishermen to take in the scene in silence. The moment the sun sinks beneath the horizon there's applause all around. We also enjoyed a wonderful sunset from our balcony at Ca's Xorc with a glass of cava in hand. As the sun sank over the mountains, creating silhouettes of the palm trees and olive groves, the whole sky turned pink, before the big ball of fire disappeared into the sea. Sigh.

Bleeding Espresso giveaways - and it's not coffee! It's our Travellers Calabria guide!

As you'd know if you follow me on Twitter, Calabrian-based blogger Michelle Fabio over at Bleeding Espresso has been running an interview with me this week about writing our Calabria guidebook, travel writing, travelling, the writing process, and our lives as travel writers. She's also running a contest to give away 5 copies of our Traveller's Calabria book. All you have to do is post a comment on her blog at the end of the Q&A and at the end of the week (tomorrow), she'll pick the 5 winners and give them a book each. So, what are you waiting for? Get over there! Here's part 1 of the Q&A, part 2, part 3, and part 4, and you can read part 5 tomorrow - last day, so don't miss out!

Pictured? The beach at Scilla - in Calabria of course.

In print and online

Check out some of our latest work In print and online, including a review of Pierre Gagnaire's extravagant restaurant Reflet at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City in the latest issue of Gulf Air's in-flight magazine Gulf Life. You can read the online version of the review here and you can also take a look at our first review of Reflet on Fodor's Hot List if you missed it last year. In the same issue of Gulf Life you'll also find some photos that Terry took of Chef Mohammed Hellal at Damascus' Four Seasons hotel. We also interviewed the Chef two years ago while we were there updating the Syria section of Lonely Planet's Syria and Lebanon guide (we had written the Lebanon section and front matter for the 2004 edition). If you're heading down under to Perth (pictured) in the near future, rip out Walk This Way: Perth and test out my walking tour around Western Australia's capital which features in this month's issue of Connect, the Business Traveler magazine of Carlson-Wagonlit; you can print up the online version here. If you ever get a chance to do it, let me know what you think.

Postcard from Mallorca: some enchanting gardens

Manor houses transformed into magical museums, remote hilltop monasteries boasting breathtaking views, and verdant botanic gardens providing relief from the sun have all captivated me far more on this trip than any beach resort. And yet I have to admit that I am one of those people who occasionally likes to spend a week soaking up the sun on a stunning stretch of sand somewhere, and who has secretly been dreaming of a holiday doing nothing but reading books by a hotel swimming pool. Probably because these are the very things I no longer have time to do, despite spending some 300 nights on average a year in hotel rooms. Yet most of Mallorca's beaches are too crowded for my taste and their surroundings are often marred by ugly hotel developments. A place that I found especially enchanting was the lush Jardines de Alfabia near Soller. While the gardens themselves are lovely, with their leafy walkways, tinkling fountains and tranquil ponds, it was the splendid residence that they're tangled around that once belonged to the Moorish viceroy of Mallorca, that I found even more compelling. Sumptuously decorated with rich brocaded furnishings and colossal works of art on the walls, it was one of those places that took you back in time for a while when the world was a very different place. Take a peek inside here and let me know what you think.

Postcard from Mallorca: the alluring interior

We've been on the road again in Mallorca, so much so that I can now say we have well and truly crisscrossed this island - by car, foot and bike. There aren't too many cities, towns, resorts and villages we haven't visited over the last five weeks and they include a lot we wished we'd never been and don't ever need to return again, as well as some we would have liked more time exploring and would happily revisit one day. But while Mallorca is a magnet for beachlovers (most of those 11 million tourists visiting each year and the almost-20% of the population of expats are here for the sun, sea and sand) we've found the interior far more alluring. Some of the beaches are certainly attractive - especially the snug horseshoe coves with aquamarine waters protected by craggy cliffs - but unfortunately unsightly hotels have been allowed to develop around many of the best stretches of sand, spoiling their natural beauty. By contrast, the rural areas remain as they have for decades - if not centuries. Stone farmhouses and sprawling fincas with ramshackle windmills dot the landscape, their gardens luxuriant with wild cacti, oleander, bougainvillea and palm trees. Often surrounded by olive groves, citrus orchards, and golden fields dotted with haystacks, they're a delight to drive or cycle through, and even better to expore on foot - although not during summer. In Mallorca, you can give me one of these bucolic landscapes to explore over a crowded beach to lie on any day.

Postcard from Mallorca: our Palma apartment

When my co-writer and photo- grapher husband Terry and I aren't on the road doing research, and therefore don't need to move hotels every night or two, we prefer to try a few hotels in a city and then spend the rest of the time in an apartment. If we're working on a city guidebook for big cities such as Buenos Aires or Amsterdam or Milan, then we might spend a couple of months or more holed up in a place, pounding the pavements most days, writing in the afternoons and evenings, then heading out at night to try restaurants and bars. Our aim during these stints is to live like locals and get to know the locals as much as we can so we can find those hidden gems only locals and expats know about. Mallorca has been no different, except, because the island is small, we've spent just a couple of weeks in the city of Palma, and the rest of the time on the road, driving around the island. We spent two weeks in this sprawling, rustic-chic apartment in a renovated historic building in the old city owned by a lovely man (a former fashion designer) who has as much character and charm as the atmospheric accommodation he rents out. I found the place on Owners Direct, an excellent site which (along with vrbo.com) I've used all over the world and absolutely love because there's no middle man. You can check them both out here. Is renting apartments something you do when travelling? And how often would you rent and why?

Postcard from Mallorca: Palma's Old City

We've been renting an apartment in Palma's old town for the past two weeks - although we're about to head on the road again around Mallorca for five days of pick-ups of photos Terry couldn't get the first trip round due to cloudy weather. I love the streets of Palma's old city (pictured), especially at night, and I must admit I'm going to miss them, even though we've only had a short time here. While the old town lacks the buzz of other parts of Palma - there are very few restaurants in this area of the city, and just a few cafes and bars a couple of blocks away, it's the tranquility and moodiness of this part of the city that's so appealling.

Postcard from Mallorca: Valldemossa & Deia

Mallorca boasts some alluring mountain- top villages and towns that seem to tumble down the hillsides, such as Deia and Valldemossa (pictured). They have charming stone buildings, churches on the main square, and old men lingering at their favorite cafes. Valldemossa has the added attraction of a former Carthusian monastery that's famously known as the place where lovers Chopin and George Sand holed up for a few months, which Sand wrote about in incredible detail in her book "Winter in Majorca". You can visit their suite of 'cells' with gorgeous garden terraces and spectacular valley views. Deia has also been a favourite with writers and artists, and there you can visit the former home of poet Robert Graves, now a museum. It's also a very handsome place with equally stunning vistas from its windows. Surprisingly, the desks where Graves chose to write don't take advantage of them. The towns are undeniably touristy though, so there's no escaping the tacky souvenirs, tour groups and menus in four languages, but they're still enchanting and worth a visit all the same. The best way to avoid the crowds of course is to stay overnight when the tour groups have gone home and the moonlit streets are more tranquil.

Postcard from Mallorca: Reads Hotel

If you've been following me on Twitter you would have read my comments about some of the stunning boutique hotels we've stayed at, including Son Brull, Reads, La Residencia, Esplendido, Portixol and Maricel among others. Generally, we've been very impressed and what has set these Mallorca hotels apart from the rest has been their stylish decor and attention to detail, luxurious amenities (including beautiful toiletries in most), superb restaurants, enormous swimming pools and spas, an array of facilities (Read's for instance has a bike room with over a dozen state-of-the-art bikes, from mountain bikes to road bikes, and all the gear that guests can borrow), hands-on managers, and attentive staff.

We still have some time left on Mallorca, and more hotels to test out, so I'll wait until the end of the trip to give you a full rundown of the island's best, with more detailed reviews. In the meantime, here's a pic of our Arabian Nights-inspired suite at Reads, which features Moroccan furnishings and carpets the owners picked up on a trip there. One of the things I loved about Reads was the individually decorated rooms (no two are the same) and the idiosyncratic character of the property - the result of an eclectic decor that has developed over the years as the owners have gathered intriguing objects. While the building is grand, the decor is elegant and occasionally whimsical, and wandering about the rooms is as much fun as exploring a fascinating museum. More on Reads and Mallorca's other wonderful properties soon.

Postcard from Mallorca: Portocristo

As we've been on the road in Mallorca working - Terry has had a massive photo shoot and I've been updating a book - with long, busy days and no time for anything else but work, I haven't had time to blog. However, a reader has asked that I post some photos instead. So here goes, a series of pretty pictures from Mallorca (mine of course, not Terry's), that I'll call 'postcards' accompanied by shorter posts than I usually write...

There's no denying that PORTOCRISTO on the east coast of Mallorca is incredibly touristy, however, I couldn't resist including a pic of the place because the bay is so beautiful, surrounded by low cliffs, with floating pontoons you can drive from, and the sandy beach looked striking with the umbrellas lined up in rows. It was a scorching hot day as you can detect from the shadows on the sand. Unfortunately, due to Terry's tight shooting schedule and the fact I didn't have any sights, hotels or restaurants to check for my book, we spent a whole half an hour here...

Twittering from Mallorca

We're on the road in Mallorca, Spain, right now. I'm updating a guidebook and Terry is shooting images for several guidebooks. Unfortunately we're way too busy to post to our blogs. But I am twittering, so come and drop by at twitter.com/laradunston and say hi. Terry (who has finally caught the twitter bug) is also tweeting at twitter.com/terencecarter. I have lots that I want to share with you, from our favorite beauty spots around Mallorca to my mixed feelings on the island's development (is this Europe's most globalised place?) to Mallorca's best boutique hotels and the challenges we've faced finding "authentic" (yes, I know it's a loaded term) Mallorcan eateries. But, frustratingly, I just don't have time at the moment. Okay, I will share something: we've stayed in some truly stunning boutique hotel properties. And they have been so very good that I now think Mallorca's chic accommodation comprises some of the world's best sleeps. I'll tell you why in a future post, but in the meantime... my favourites (not necessarily in this order): Son Brull, Reads, Esplendido, La Residencia, Portixol, Maricel, and Ca Xorc. Check them out. Oh, the picture? That's the view from our room at Esplendido at Port de Soller. Sublime, isn't it?

Our Italy books hit the shelves!

I almost forgot to tell you... as my regular Cool Travel Guide readers know, we spent a lot of time in Italy last year researching and photographing first editions of new travel guidebooks, starting with a month in Calabria, then a month in Milan, followed by more than a month in the Italian Lakes region and Northern Italy. Our Calabria book written for the Thomas Cook Travellers series hit the shelves in late April (see this post), and our Northern Italy book for the same series will be released in a couple of weeks (you can buy it here). While we're proud of all of our Italian books - Terry shot beautiful photos for them and we put a lot of work into researching and writing them, a book that we're especially proud of (it took even more blood, sweat and tears during particularly challenging circumstances), is our book released last month on the Italian Lakes, including Milan and Po Valley Towns, which we wrote for Footprint's new Italia series. Do have a flick through them when you're next in a bookshop. And don't hesitate to let me know if you ever need tips on travel in Italy.

Our latest travel writing: in print and online

As I don't have time to blog at the moment (read why here), feel free to check out our latest writing in print and online. This month in J Mag, Jazeera Airways' in-flight magazine, you can read about walking tours with shepherds, learning to make traditional bread with a village baker, and some of the other rustic activities being offered by Northern Cyprus' first eco-village in our story 'Village People' (online version here). The same issue also features 'Where to Stay: Antalya', my overview of the best hotels in one of Turkey's most agreeable cities. We spent just over two and a half months in Turkey last year writing, including six weeks in Antalya last year renting an apartment in a restored Ottoman house in the old city. The Northern Cyprus story was researched during a trip to Cyprus (we flew to Antalya from Northern Cyprus) to update a few books and write a first edition Cyprus guide for AA Publishing. Online, you can take a look at our piece on Adelaide: Australia's most underrated city, on Viator, which is one of our final posts on a series we wrote while Down Under working on books and stories: see the full series here. The pic? That's the idyllic setting for the walks with the local shepherd that we write about in the Northern Cyprus story. Tempted?

Greetings from sunny Mallorca

That was the salutation I saw on at least a dozen emails from hotels and PRs on the Balearic island of Mallorca, Spain (also known as Majorca) while I was organizing our current trip, one in which my husband/co-author Terry is shooting thousands of images for several guidebooks and I'm updating one guidebook. Yet during the first couple of days here the skies were grey and cloudy, ruining the possibility of Terry getting good shots in the south and east coast, while yesterday the south-west coast, the last leg of our road trip, was hazy from the high humidity. The days in between were just gorgeous though, although sweltering hot, reminding us of Dubai. We've now finished the main road trip, although we'll have a few more days of pick-ups to do, and are in Palma in an apartment we're renting for a couple of weeks. As I'm busy writing now, there's no time for blogging today - which is frustrating because there's so much I want to share with you, including our stopover in Singapore, our latest news from Dubai, the Venice Biennale, and of course I have so much to tell you about Mallorca. But for now, I'm just going to have to share this vista of sunny Mallorca.

On the road again... Melbourne, Singapore, Dubai, Venice, and Mallorca

Melbourne, Singapore, Dubai, Venice... we've been doing some intensive globe-trekking these last weeks. It's this kind of constant travel that causes us to wince when people say they envy our lifestyle - while it might be fine if you're on holidays, it can be hell when you're on a gruelling work schedule. First it was Melbourne to Singapore for a couple of nights for meetings about future projects and camera-/tech-shopping (for Terry), then Dubai to catch up with friends, review Pierre Gagnaire's Reflets for Gulf Life (Gulf Air's in-flight magazine), check our mail and run some errands. From there it was Venice as guests of the UAE Pavilion (it was their first year here) for the preview days of the Biennale and to work on some food-driven travel stories. And tomorrow it's off to Mallorca for a month where Terry has a huge photo commission and I'm updating a book, and work begins from the moment the plane touches down. But who's going to listen to a travel writer complain, right? I'll update you in more detail as soon as I can.

3 days at Uluru

Hectic times with no time for blogging at the moment, so why don't you head over to Viator and take a look at our piece 3 Days at Uluru, on Australia's star attraction and one of our favorite spots in the country.

Have you been to Uluru? If so, what did you think? I went the first time with my parents in 1980, just a month before baby Azaria Chamberlain was supposedly taken by a dingo from her parents tent. It was a very different place then with a far fewer tourists, just a service station, general store and a simple camping ground close to the base of the Rock near the Aboriginal community. Now, it boasts a handful of brilliant hotels and restaurants, with loads of activities and tours. It was a completely different experience this time, but I loved both. To me, it's a magical place and an unmissable attraction, and should top traveller's lists of things to do in Australia. Is it on your travel list?

What makes an airport cool?

I've been musing about airports and thinking about my experiences at Melbourne and Perth airports last week and what made them so bad, and reflecting upon what makes an airport cool, what kind of things would actually make the experience so much more fun! The factors that make Melbourne so unpleasant are the lack of comfortable seating and places to relax, poor business and communication facilities, dismal retail and dining options, limited opening hours, a dirty environment, and a distinct lack of character. So that means my ideal airport would be exactly the opposite, and possess the following characteristics:
* an abundance of comfortable seating, from reclining chairs to chill-out sofas and ottomans, in various formations and environments to suit different moods and needs;
* state-of-the-art communications and public business facilities (not only in airline lounges), from free easy-to-access WiFi throughout the airport and desk space with powerpoints for those who want to set up their laptop and work to reasonably-priced pay-by-the-hour lounges for those with long layovers who want to get serious about working;
* a wide range of useful and engaging retail outlets, from gourmet delis and a supermarket to excellent bookshops (not only stocking airport novels) and newsagents, to quality gift stores specialising in local products, and travel shops that don't only sell suitcases, but offer up everything from travel gadgets to tech accessories;
* an array of quality drinking and dining options and no franchises for starters: I want to see clean, quality cafes, restaurants and bars, ran by independent owners who care about what they're doing, and have a desire to sell more than muffins and soggy plastic-wrapped sandwiches. I want fresh food, made-to-order, and variety. Why can't airports have stand-up Italian-style cafe bars where you can grab a macchiato from an barista who knows not to ask "Is that a short mac or a long mac?" And why not proper fine-dining restaurants or chic bistros for those of us with long waits between connections? Obviously there's a place for fast food but can we please give the McDonalds and Subways a miss and only allow quality options, like a wood-fire pizza place or a Japanese sushi bar?
* everything should be open as long as flights are operating: there are many 24-hour airports dotted around the world that can manage this, Dubai for one; there should be no reason to close anything if there are still people streaming through the airport;
* the place should be gleaming; everything in the airport should be shiny and clean, and smelling fresh and lovely - from the public seating to the toilets to the floors throughout - there's just no excuse for grubbiness at a developed city airport in this day and age;
* the airport should be well-designed; from the practical stuff (security, check-in, baggage drop, signage, transport, traffic flow) to the aesthetic (departure lounge seating, shop-fronts, dining experiences, etc), the airport should look cool. It should not only be functional - it should work and be comfortable - but it should have form and style. Airports should look chic and inviting. They should make us want to spend time in them instead of wanting to get the hell out of there the first chance we get.
What do you think? What makes an airport cool for you? My favorites include Copenhagen, Amsterdam's Schiphol, Dubai and Hong Kong, but even they're not perfect. Do you have any favorites?

The developed world's worst city airports?

What are the developed world's worst city airports? And what makes an airport bad for you? I'm convinced Melbourne and Perth's airports must be somewhere on a worst airport list. Due to bad plane and bus connections, I spent a fair bit of time at both of these Australian airports this past week, and it was painful. Perth's domestic airport seems to work 9-5 despite flights arriving and departing at midnight. It's small, has few shops, fewer eating options, and needs a good scrub. But because Perth is a city with a small population, I'm going to be a bit more forgiving. Melbourne on the other hand has no excuse. It's Australia's second largest city, a busy business/finance hub, and a major tourist destination. There's no excuse for Melbourne's Tullamarine airport to be so appalling. So what makes it so dreadful?
* Opening hours - nothing was open when my flight arrived at 5.30am, and most cafes and shops didn't open until 8.30-9am despite the airport being busy with commuters; if there are flights coming and going, then the whole airport should be open for business.
* No public lounges and few seating options – apart from the departure gates, there are few places to sit other than the airport's dismal cafes; there's not a single comfortable seat, only wooden benches and hard plastic café chairs, so plan your connections carefully or you'll have a sore bottom before you've even boarded the plane.
* No decent business facilities – can't get comfy and want to work instead? Forget about it. At Milan's Malpensa we can at least pay to work in a business lounge for the day with free internet, lots of desks, soft sofas, and complimentary refreshments. Nothing of the kind in Melbourne. Not only could I not access the expensive wireless internet service (and airport staff members had no clue either), I couldn't find any space to work and nowhere to plug in my laptop, apart from a dirty cafe. As I had a three hour wait I was prepared to pay for it too, but no such luck.
* Few enticing shops - nowhere to relax, no place to work, so you want to browse? Get that idea out of your head too. I found one average bookstore, an okay newsagent, three luggage shops, a music store that was closing down, an overpriced L'Occitane store, and a cheap fashion accessories shop (everything was going for $10). The only decent place worth killing some time was the Gourmet Traveller store.
* No appetizing places to eat or drink – of the four café/bars I found, one didn't have any food (“Saturdays are quiet” the guy said), the other had muffins and soggy white-bread sandwiches that looked like they had been made when I passed through the week before ("You're probably right!" laughed the girl when I told her), and who really wants to hang out at Gloria Jeans or Subway for godsake? And everything was expensive, from $7 sandwiches to $5 coffees.
* It’s dirty, stinky and tatty – Melbourne airport needs a good bath! From the food crumbs, hair and cigarette butts on the floors of the cafés (I thought it was non-smoking?!) to filthy, smelly lavatories with clogged toilets and dirty washbasins, this is one grotty airport. I finally found another bar just before I was about to board my plane - "Yes, this is the airport’s best bar" the bartender assured me - yet the furniture was dirty, scuffed and ripped (no, it wasn't shabby chic), the tables were sticky, drinks that had been spilled on the floor hadn't been mopped up, and there was that lovely all-pervading stench of beer.
I'm not looking forward to returning next week. So, do you have a city airport you hate? And if so, what are the factors that make it so bad in your eyes?

Pictured? Not Melbourne or Perth - that's Koh Samui's airport in Thailand, which is actually pretty darn cute.

The appeal of Perth: endless sunshine, blue skies and a bearable "lightness of being"

I've just returned to our temporary home and office (my uncle and aunt's house at Bendigo, north of Melbourne) after almost a week visiting family in Perth, Western Australia, the country's most isolated capital. And as much as I love it here, returning has been a shock to the system. While we had clear blue skies, daily sunshine and temperatures in the mid-high 20s (Celcius) in Perth for a week, here it's grey and cloudy, it feel like it hit 0 degrees last night (and probably did) and we're well and truly rugged up in the winter woolies, and stoking the fireplaces every night. While I was busy seeing my family and still worked every day, I somehow felt rejuventated and reinvigorated from being there. It's not only the weather, but it's the water everywhere - from the Swan River that meanders through the city, lake-like in parts, to the beautiful beaches of Cottesloe and Scarborough where we stayed a few days. There's a "lightness of being" (thanks, Milan Kundera) to Perth that you don't find in grey old Melbourne or even gorgeous Sydney, no matter how beautiful that city is - and I think it's because they're big, fast, polluted, high-density, traffic-heavy cities. There's a lot to be said for small, slow-paced, clean, low-rise, low-key, and laidback cities like Perth. I've spent a fair bit of time in them on this trip and I'm increasingly finding them more appealling. I think it's a shame that the vast majority of travellers to Australia have a few sights and a couple of cities on their lists to tick off - Uluru (Ayers Rock), the Great Barrier Reef (Qld) and Kakadu National Park (NT) tend to comprise the top three sights, and the big cities of Sydney and Melbourne mark the main entry and exit points. Far fewer foreign travellers make it to Australia's other cities, the highly underrated cities of Darwin, Adelaide and Perth. Yet I'm finding them far more alluring.

P.S. I've just written a story on Perth for Carlson Wagonlit's business travel magazine Connect; I'll let you know when it's out.

From here to there and back again

Do you ever get the sense that you haven't been anywhere after you've travelled somewhere? And yet when you return you feel as if you have been 'away'? I did a whirlwind trip to Perth this week to spend time with my Mum for mother's day (last Sunday in Australia) and her birthday (the day after) and to see my sister, brother-in-law and my niece and nephews before we leave Australia again in less than two weeks. It was one of those trips where I feel as if I've spent more time travelling than I spent 'there'. Which is not the case at all. Although I did spend most of a day getting 'there' and a whole night returning 'here', including a couple of hours on a bus and several hours killing time in the airports at each end. Travel days like these - when you spend a whole day travelling and yet you're still in the same country - remind me of just how vast Australia actually is - more so than all those ten hour days on the road we did in the outback during this neverending research trip. Why is that, I wonder?

Australia's Top End: part 1

Check out our latest piece on Australia's Top End on Viator, which is running a series of posts by Terry and I on destinations we've covered and things we've loved during our road trip Down Under. Here's a bit of a taster, but read the full blog over at Viator, where you can also book tours to these places.

The tourism machine of the tropical Top End (the northern half of Australia's Northern Territory) is just now shifting into top gear as the spectacular storms of Banggerreng (the ‘knock ‘em down storm season’, as the Aboriginals call it), become less frequent, marking the end of the Wet Season (October-April). National Park staff begin to grade recently-impassable roads, clean up previously-flooded camping sites, and remove new residents (saltwater crocodiles!) from the swimming holes and the region teems with life. This is by far the best time to visit the Top End, so where should you go?
1. Kakadu National Park - Australia’s largest National Park (all 20,000 square kilometres of it!) is World-Heritage listed for a reason - for its impressive natural and cultural values. The natural significance comes from its myriad ecosystems and extraordinary diversity of flora and fauna, while the cultural importance comes from evidence of more than 40,000 years of continual inhabitancy by local Aboriginal tribes, including stunning rock paintings.
2. Arnhem Land (pictured) - designated an Aboriginal reserve in 1931, you can only visit Arnhem Land with a permit or with tour operators who have the confidence of the local elders, such as Sab Lord who runs Lord’s Safaris. Sab grew up with the local indigenous people and Aboriginal artists such as Thompson lead some of his tours. The Injalak Arts and Crafts Centre is excellent, and the 91,000 square kilometres of wilderness is staggeringly beautiful.
3. Litchfield National Park - 100km south of Darwin, this popular park boasts numerous waterfalls, natural waterholes, intriguing magnetic termite mounds that resemble a graveyard full of tombstones, and the striking sandstone pillars of the Lost City.
4. Tiwi Islands - Bathurst and Melville islands, just 80km north of Darwin, are home to the Tiwi Aborigines and a tour here (the only way to visit) allows you to experience an Aboriginal community, and learn about their history, culture and ‘bush tucker’.
5. Territory Wildlife Park - this exceptional wildlife park, 50km from Darwin, features a range of Territorian habitats, including wetlands, monsoon vine forest, and woodlands, nocturnal houses, aviaries and walk-through aquariums, as well as presentations such as “Tucker Time at the Billabong” and “Birds of Prey”.

Australia's Top End: part 2

Here's part 2 of our piece just posted on Viator on Australia's Top End. Read part 1 here and the full piece on Viator:
6. Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve - the result of an abandoned experimental rice project, this lush dam is a paradise for bird-spotters, with plenty of jacanas and egrets, and the omnipresent magpie geese.
7. Windows on the Wetlands - the impressive Windows on the Wetlands Visitors Centre, 60km from Darwin, gives a great introduction to the northern coastal wetlands. Situated on one of the highest points on the Adelaide River floodplain, there are outstanding views and the chance to spot wallabies, buffalo and feral pigs, especially early morning or late afternoon.
8. Jumping Crocodile Cruises - one of the most popular aspects of a Top End tour is a jumping crocodile cruise. While crocodiles can and will jump to get food (and we’ve seen them do it in the wild), we’re not sure that encouraging them to jump at these extraordinary heights is such a great idea, but it certainly makes for an incredible spectacle.
9. Termite Mounds - the otherworldly termite mounds (enormous ant hills) are found all over the Top End, but one of the best places to see them is in the Litchfield National Park, just after the town of Batchelor. The massive ‘cathedral’ mounds which can be up to 4m high and the ‘magnetic’ or ‘meridian' mounds that resemble tombstones are quite a sight.
10. Adelaide River - Adelaide River played a significant role in WWII as a supply base and today the tiny hamlet with its handful of historic sites is a peaceful place, particularly the perfectly manicured lawns of the town’s war cemetery where many air raid victims are buried.

Food reviewing, photographing chefs and reflections on ragu

As I'm a tad too busy to blog at the moment and have limited internet access (I've done a quick trip to Perth for my mother's birthday and Mother's Day and to see my sister and her family), why don't you drop over to my husband Terry's blog Wide angles, wine and wanderlust and check out his latest posts on restaurant reviewing (and how we deal with less than satisfactory experiences), the art of photographing chefs, and his various reflections on ragu, the real name for 'bolognese', for starters, in its most authentic form, it's made with tagliatelle, not spaghetti.

Pictured? Not ragu of course, but another divine dish from chef Rebecca Bridges at EVOO at Sky City in Darwin - a restaurant that was a joy to review and a chef who was a delight to interview and photograph.

Top things to do in Kakadu: part 2

And here's part 2 of our Top things to do in Kakadu; visit Viator for more our more detailed story:
6. Jim Jim Falls - this is one set of falls that requires real effort to get to – it’s a bumpy four-wheel-drive, four-hour return trip from the Kakadu Highway, but the rewards when the water is flowing freely are definitely worth it. The falls are at their spectacular best right after they open again after the Wet season ends, around April-May.
7. Twin Falls - you need a high-clearance 4WD (there are deep creek crossings) and a seasoned driver behind the wheel to get to these spectacular falls, but once there, access up Twin Falls gorge is by a boat shuttle service where a boardwalk takes you to the lovely waterhole.
8. Maguk - also known as Barramundi Gorge, this is a fine natural waterhole to visit, even at the driest period of the year – because unlike many others it doesn’t run dry - there is a wonderful walk awaiting visitors through a tropical monsoon forest that thankfully provides some shade, and swimming here is a real treat.
9. Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre - this engaging cultural centre has a circular design based on the shape of a Warradjan (pig-nosed turtle) and the interpretive displays are quite wonderfully immersive, providing excellent details about local aboriginal life in Kakadu, with some fine storytelling.
10. Bowali Visitors Centre - another very worthwhile glimpse of life in Kakadu is at the park’s main visitors centre, which is also the national park headquarters – Kakadu is jointly-managed by the Aboriginal people and the National Parks and Wildlife department. Once again, engaging interpretative displays, entertaining exhibits on flora and fauna, and a recreation of the Kakadu habitat, make this worth a couple of hours of your time.

Top things to do in Kakadu: part 1

Take a look at our latest piece on Viator, Top Things to Do in Kakadu, to find out why World heritage-listed Kakadu National Park is probably Australia’s best-known national park and one of the country's top sights. It's considered a ‘must-do’ on most travellers’ epic around-Australia journeys, but we think it’s a destination in its own right. This colossal park – over 20,000 square kilometres of it! – boasts fascinating flora and fauna (brilliant birdlife!), ancient Aboriginal art, and diverse range of striking landscapes. And now is the best time to visit - the Wet season is ending so the waterfalls are at their most spectacular, and the heat isn’t too debilitating yet. So here's a taster of the top ten things to see and do at Kakadu - visit Viator for more details.
1. Ubirr Rock - most people know Ubirr from its scene-stealing performance in the Crocodile Dundee movie; the rock galleries here reveal that local Aboriginals have known about the place for tens of thousands of years, with renderings of fish and marsupials, and stick-like Mimi spirits, and stunning views to enigmatic Arnhem Land.
2. Yellow Waters - taking a cruise on the calm waters of Yellow Waters lagoon is a real highlight - the wildlife is staggering and the lagoon is a lush ‘birdhouse without borders’ that you float through. There's also the visceral thrill of seeing saltwater crocs - do an early-morning or late afternoon cruise for the best show and most comfortable temperature.
3. Guluyambi Cruise - the laconic humour of the Aboriginal guides makes this boat tour a delight, along with lush scenery, birdlife and plenty more saltwater crocodiles. On our visit at the end of the Dry season we lost count of how many crocs we saw – you need to keep your limbs firmly inside! The insights into Aboriginal mythology, bush survival skills and traditional life are fascinating, and it’s an Aboriginal-owned and operated venture.
4. Nourlangie Rock - the indigenous art on the rock ‘galleries’ make this a real highlight - the protected Anbangbang Shelter paintings show evidence of occupation going back over twenty thousand years; they represent stories that reinforce traditional laws and social beliefs.
5. Gunlom - also known as Waterfall Creek, it's worth the relatively challenging climb (in the heat anyway) to reach the first level waterhole, where the natural ‘infinity pool’ is as photogenic as Kakadu gets and you’re rewarded with a dip to break the mirror-like reflections - after the obligatory photo shoot.

The flourishing of garden tourism - and it's growing!

How often do you amble about a public park or visit a private garden when you travel? Whether you're heading overseas on holidays or doing a staycation at home, are parks and gardens high on your list of things to do? While I spend my fair share of time strolling green spaces when researching guidebooks, I hadn't really considered the popularity of garden tourism until the horticultural tourists visited my aunt and uncle's place last weekend. But garden tourism - whether it's visiting historically significant botanical gardens, famous places in gardening history, or parks and gardens that are simply lovely places to while away some time - is huge. And while it isn't new - wandering the gardens of stately homes and palaces and picnicking in parks was a popular activity of the grand tourists who started traipsing around Europe in the 17th and 18th century; and some of those who stayed on were responsible for some of the Italian Lakes' most impressive gardens (more on those in another post) - and garden tourism is growing.

In the UK, garden tourism takes up the largest patch of turf that makes up Britain's leisure economy - about 10 million people per year stroll Britain's 3,000 or so public gardens, while 40 million visit historic properties such as the National Trust and English Heritage houses with gardens. In France, around two million visitors amble around 1,000 gardens each year. Garden touring is popular in New Zealand too where gardens are one of the top 10 attractions and activities of visitors to NZ from the UK, Australia, Japan, US and Germany. In Canada, there are about 140 gardens open to the public, and in March this year the Canadian tourism bodies decided to put the development of garden tourism, garden festivals and garden trails high on their agenda. Research shows that one-quarter of Canadian and American tourists reported having visited gardens on their travels and expressed an interest in doing so on future vacations. So why the growth in garden tourism I'm wondering? Is it a reflection of our interest in all things green and in sustainable tourism? Are we all dying to get back to nature and parks and gardens provide the most accessible options? Or does the rise in reality television and home and garden shows have something to do with it? What do you think?

Garden tours and the blossoming of thoughts on things green

As the garden tourists strolled my aunt and uncle's grounds last weekend, I began to see the light - well, I'd spent a week reflecting upon dark tourism after all - but I began to see the light reflecting through the trees and shrubs in the garden here in new and different ways. I tried to see them not as a writer or photographer, but simply as someone who appreciates gardens. I started to give some thought to why specific trees might have been planted and why they were located in certain places. I tried to recall how a particular flowering shrub looked when we first arrived a few months ago, how it looked when we were here last year, and how it appeared now. Was it even flowering? Why of course not, because different things flowered at different times of year. So I began to appreciate the arrangement of the garden, and how, while it looked wild and natural, it really was rather cleverly thought-out, the way it directed people here and there, provided places for them to explore, spots for them to sit and reflect. I began to see the flowers themselves. Normally my eyes are mainly drawn to bold colour and unusual textures, but now I began to become intrigued by everything and notice things I hadn't really paid attention to before. I saw perfect flowers which had just freshly opened and were revealing themselves to us in all their youthful beauty for the first time. I spotted sturdy buds about to blossom, and began to wonder when they might make their appearance. I even got a little excited at the prospect. But then I began to think: now the horticultural tourist probably knows exactly what a certain flower will look like when it opens. But surely that would take away the element of surprise? And then it occurred to me: like a film theorist who understands narrative structure and can determine how a movie will end but still enjoys seeing the story unfold, part of the joy of creating a garden and watching everything grow must surely be about seeing how everything comes together and having your satisfactions met? Like travellers who research and plan trips, organizing itineraries, and booking hotels, activities and tours, gardeners must also delight in developing expectations of their garden with the hope of having them met. So then I began to think about the horticultural tourist, and I wondered what their goals were when they set out to visit gardens. What did they hope to gain from moseying around gardens like that of my aunt and uncle's? Was it purely for the aesthetic pleasure or was there something more? What did they think about? And what were their aims when they planned a trip away to see gardens?

Can gardens tell stories?

I know that gardens can contain secrets (I was a little girl once) but can they tell stories? Can gardens reveal narratives to a person who knows how to read them? Or have I simply been reading too much into the cultivation of gardens and horticultural touring? (You need to read my last post first.) I know that the birch trees in the garden here at Tamara and George’s house are a reminder for my uncle George of our family's Russian heritage and the years he spent in St Petersburg as a young man, studying medicine, falling in love, and discovering Tarkovsky. I am imagine as George strolls his garden – “like the lord of the manor”, Tamara says – that those slender silver-branched trees that rustle moodily in the wind act like an aide-memoire prompting Russian recollections. Or perhaps just impressions. Well, that’s what I’d hope. And I’m sure the many trees, plants and flowers Tamara has planted – all of which Tamara calls “she”, as in “See how beautiful she’s looking!” – must provoke memories for her too. But what about for the strangers who visit gardens, like the horticultural tourists who ambled about here last weekend – does the garden tell them stories too, do you think?