After the Christchurch earthquake, the grassroots movement Blog4NZ was born, aiming to support New Zealand tourism after the earthquake. For 72 hours, travel bloggers from all over the world will tell stories about a country we love. Here’s one of mine: After I had my youngest daughter, I used the opportunity afforded by Norwegian family [...]
Blog carnival: Your favourite place on earth
It’s my great pleasure to host the 10th Lonely Planet Blogsherpa Carnival. For this edition, I asked my fellow bloggers: Which is your favourite place on earth? Is it a country, a city, a village, a beach, a hut, a mountain, a hotel? Do you return all the time – or do you dream of [...]
Friedensreich Hundertwasser and his Toilet
In Vienna, you may have seen the creative and colourful Hundertwasser House. You know, the one with no straight lines, where trees are incorporated into the house. Even the floors are wavy. As Hundertwasser said: “an uneven floor is a melody to the feet”. But did you know the famous, ahead-of-his-time eco-friendly Austrian architect lived [...]
Norfolk Island: the most haunting place in the Pacific
Norfolk Island was once Britain’s worst convict colony. So bad was it, convicts sought execution as relief from suffering.
Tiny Tonga
Tonga, or Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga, is the only monarchy in the Pacific. A constitutional monarchy in theory, a bit more feudal in reality. Or at least the reality in 2003. The then king, Taufa’ahau Tupou IV was once famous for being the world’s heaviest monarch.
Sweet Samoa and Stevenson
One of the fun things about island-hopping in the Pacific is the feeling of time warp when crossing the international dateline. Leaving Fiji on 15 April, we arrived in Samoa a few hours later on 14 April, miraculously gaining a day – then promptly lost it when going to Tonga.
Family travel in Fiji
I didn’t really take to Fiji. Might have had something to do with the Pacific version of cockroaches. But I could probably be persuaded to return.
Reminiscing about the Croc man: Here’s to you, Steve Irwin
I was about to write a post about Girona, but the news about the Crocodile Hunter made me want to reminisce about another journey instead. For all his antics, it’s sad that such a presence, such energy, just stopped being. Three years ago, I lived in New Zealand with my children. While there, we spent [...]
Welcome! I'm Sophie - writer, dreamer, negotiator, wanderer, mum - in search of the world's curious places. Mostly with my daughters, sometimes solo. The girls share their take on it, too.
As seen in
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – the real Narnia
- Pets, pools and pennies at the Hemingway House, Key West
- Atlantic Canada: Lively Lunenburg
- Canada Road Trip: Vancouver to Calgary, the Scenic Route
- Cape Byron Lighthouse
- The innovative architecture of Rotterdam
- World at a Glance: Green bikes – and scooters – in Amsterdam
- Viva Bahia, a fabulous Majorca family hotel
- Greece: A guide for history buffs
- Norfolk Coast Path: horizons
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Travel Musts: What amazing colors in those pictures! I wish I co...
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Ursula: Oh my God that pool surrounded with those balinese...
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Edit: Actually those roller are technically green, their...
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Steve: The scooters look like a great way to get around (...
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bonooobong: I guess those scooters have been green technically...
