Did you know that chillies are native to South America? I always assumed that they originated from Asia because of the liberal use of chilli in many Asian dishes but this is not the case. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it: Chili peppers have been a part of the human diet in the [...]

This is a story about a trip I never took. It would have been quite ridiculous if it had come off, really. Lady Luck smiled on me one grey Melbourne Wednesday when I was absentmindedly checked Facebook to find that: A: A luxury travel PR had a free spot on an international famil B: I [...]

I really f*cked something up at work today. It was an innocent mistake but the outcome was epic. It got me thinking about making mistakes in general. I have made loads of mistakes across just about every category of life. I was the one who left the duck’s cage open. I was the idiot who told the [...]

  Damascus (or Dimashq, in Arabic) in Syria is thought to be the oldest city in the world, settled as long ago as 8,000 BC.

Dirty weekends are a lot of fun but sometimes you need a clean weekend; a couple of days to breathe fresh air, drink pure water and  get lots of sleep. That’s what The First Husband and I did this past weekend at Paperbark Camp in Huskisson. Located in the middle of a wetlands on the [...]

Welcome to Berlin – the land of beer, bratwurst and bizarreness By Anna Taylor Flying in from party town Mykonos, there was little chance that I wasn’t going to be sick in Berlin, but just how sick was unexpected. On my first morning in East Berlin, I woke up feeling like an A380 airbus had [...]

This week Sydney plays host to Australian Tourism Exchange, an enormous industry conference organised by Tourism Australia. Thousands of tourism operators are in town trying to figure out how to increase their sales. Here’s a tip: DROP YOUR PRICES! Consider this: You are thinking of going on holidays. You start Googling. Lots of packages pop [...]

Q: What was St. Petersburg called for most of the 20th century? A: Leningrad.

I turned 32 this week so I have been out frolicking with wild abandon for my birthday festivities (narcissist – moi?). The problem with all the fun I am having is that it takes its toll. My eyes hurt. My face hurts. My ribs inexplicably hurt. My lungs are sooty with nicotine and my brain [...]

Finland has the most islands of any country in the world (179, 584). It also has 187, 888 lakes. Who knew?!