The Tucker Box Shiraz from Regional NSW, vintage 2013, was an interesting drop. Worthy of a mention is its strong raspberry characteristics and tannins. Watch the wine tasting review below.
Amalfi Coast Italy Europe Summer Vacation Sorrento Positano Isle of Capri The Amalfi Coast in Italy is the summer vacationer’s dream location – with little seaside towns perched on cliffs overlooking the ocean, delicious local seafood dishes to try, and endless European summer sunshine, it’s heaven on earth. Whether you get a heady dose of the beauty of the Amalfi coastline in a day or a long weekend, or whether you spend a whole summer exploring the tiny towns and beaches at your leisure, a visit to the region is well worth it! One recommended route along the Amalfi Coast…
Pikachu Game aka Pokémon Go Glossary. Hacks and Cheats for Newbies Part 2. POKÉ BALL – The red and white ball tool for catching wild Pokémon. It’s very easy to run through theses, so make sure to hit every Pokéstop you can to collect more for free. TIP: When throwing Poké Balls, it is possible to slightly curve the ball to receive extra XP if you catch it. Occasionally a throw will earn you a modifier—“Nice,” “Great,” or “Excellent”—which will earn you 10, 50, and 100 extra XP POKÉDEX – Your pocket inventory of all of the Pokémon kinds you’ve…
The Pokémon Go Glossary. All the Pokémon Go Tips and Tricks You Need to GO Catch ‘em All! Pokémon Go Tips Glossary Part 1 CANDY – Rewards for catching Pokémon. Candies for a particular Pokémon are shown in the same colour as the Pokémon and can only be used for that Pokémon and its evolutions. They are required to Power Up a Pokémon or to Evolve it. See: Evolve, Power Up. TIP: Male and female Nidorans share a name but nothing else. Each has its own type of Candy that cannot be used for a Nidoran of the other gender.…
San Antonio Missions’ Hidden History: The Silent Storytellers that Stand in Plain Sight in Texas, United States (USA) – You’ll Never Guess What Each is Known For If you’re up for a Spanish expedition via the San Antonio River Walk, you’re in luck. Many San Antonio visitors know of of the city’s most famous Spanish mission, the Alamo, infamous for housing the last stand of those ill-fated Texas 200. But San Antonio is also home to four other missions! All five are accessible via San Antonio’s extensive River Walk and offer visitors tremendous insight into the history of the region.…
Pokémon Go Top 20 Tips for Newbies If your country is about to have a Pokémon Go release, here are some quick tips to get you started and up to level 5 in a very short time. Getting Started 1. Get an up-to-date phone. We tested the game in Australia on a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Edge and Samsung Galaxy S5 and found that the Note 4 Edge crashed regularly, lagged, or otherwise stopped you from catching the Pokémon with your Poké Balls. S5 crashed too but there was more control over the balls and it didn’t crash as much. 2. Get a…
The London Underground Visitors to London quickly come to realize that the London subway system or “the Tube” aka The London Underground is the heart of the city. London runs on the backs of these trains. Or, should I say, in their bellies, and has for over a hundred years. If that surprises you, you’ll never guess some of these other facts about the underground train system that keeps the city going. The First of Its Kind Construction on the first line of the London Underground began in the mid nineteenth century to connect the different railway stations around the…
Ostia Antica Roman Archaeological Site Italy Europe Ostia Antica is a huge archaeological site on the coast just outside of Rome, and it is home to the ruins of one of the best-preserved ancient Roman cities in the world. On par with the ancient Roman archaeological sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, Ostia gives present-day visitors a taste of daily life in a busy, trade-oriented Roman city that was occupied over 2000 years ago. A day trip to Ostia Antica is highly recommended if you have a week or more in Rome, and if you’re a history / archaeology / Classics…
The Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and its record-breaking attraction. You’ll never guess what it is! The Golden Gate Park is San Francisco, California’s largest park. The park, which spans over 1,000 acres, stretches nearly halfway across the San Francisco peninsula, from the University of San Francisco all the way to the coast, and is by far the largest amount of continuous green space in the city. When visiting the Golden Gate Park, one is immediately immersed in a myriad of lively attractions and activities frequented by millions of tourists and locals year-round. The park is home to scores…
Berlin Museum DDR Museum Germany Have you ever wondered what daily life was like for ordinary people living in East Germany? If you have, the DDR Berlin Museum is for you. Western perceptions of this former socialist, Soviet-controlled German state are filled with images of poverty, limited freedoms, and old fears of a communist uprising. However, despite the political circumstances, life was surprisingly different on the “other” side of the Berlin Wall. If you visit the Berlin Museum (DDR) you will feel like you were back there. Modern-day Berlin bears few scars of the near total destruction it suffered during WWII.…
O Crab Sydney Crab Restaurant Crab House and Craft Beer Bar I was absolutely amazed by the service at O Crab in Chatswood, Sydney, a fantastic crab restaurant. We went there to enjoy a pot of crabs, prawns, vegetables and seafood chowder, along with some delicious craft beer, and we weren’t disappointed. Crab Restaurant Tools! What really impressed me about this crab restaurant was what they gave us to eat it with. In tourist places like Darling Harbour or Cockle Bay Wharf, when a pile of seafood is served, you’re usually just given a lemon water bowl to rinse your…
Don’t Travel Italy Without Knowing These Top 5 Cultural Norms If you’re keen to travel Italy, you might want to get acquainted with some of the Italian cultural norms and customs in order to prevent an awkward cultural faux pas or a misunderstanding during your visit. Learning about a new culture is one of the most interesting parts of travelling, and Italy is especially fascinating because of its famous coffee and food culture! Italian Coffee Culture Italians take their coffee extremely seriously! If you’re visiting Italy for the first time, a great introduction to Italian coffee culture is a visit…
Valentine Cafe Glenwood Sydney Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Sometimes there are hidden gems in the outer suburbs too. One of those hidden gems is known as Valentine Cafe and it is hidden away at the edge of a sports centre in a suburb an hour from Sydney City known as Glenwood. I found Valentine Cafe quite by surprise while on the hunt for food. I’m not good with motion sickness though I’ve found that a full stomach and looking ahead are the best solutions for my body type and, after visiting a friend in Glenwood, was eager to find a food place…
Food to Try During Your Italy Travel Adventure Italy is a country that is world-famous and dearly loved for its simple, yet utterly delicious food. With some of the best pizza, pasta, meat dishes, fish, seafood, breads & baked goods, pastries, sweet treats, coffee, and wine, a trip to Italy is a absolutely a trip to culinary heaven! A few superb, expensive meals in Rome are an absolute must if you can afford it, but if you’re on a budget, don’t worry – there are many fantastic, affordable food options that will also sate your appetite and leave a smile…
The Little Prince Wollongong Wine and Craft Beer The Little Prince is right at the end of Globe Lane, just off the main shopping mall strip in Wollongong. We found it from the Burelli Street end. Stylish and sophisticated exterior with tree limbs poking through the interior, and interesting use of wood made this a really nice place to chill. I could see myself sitting, drinking and writing in a corner somewhere. We were impressed with the heating too. We had no idea Wollongong would be that cold in June and really didn’t want to go anywhere else. (Then again, it’s…
The Three Chimneys in Wollongong It was a little difficult for us to find The Three Chimneys. One of the things about Wollongong that is slightly disturbing is that many of the streets don’t have signs. It’s really not designed for tourists. Either we need a mobile GPS indicator showing us exactly where we are, or we need to continually ask directions. So, finding our way from Five Barrels Brewing to The Three Chimneys was a bit nerve wracking in the dark on a rainy night with slippery footpaths. Still, Google Maps didn’t let us down and we made it…
Five Barrels Brewing Craft Beer Wollongong There are a number of bars in Wollongong that we have visited and many of them offer different experiences. Great views, lots of space for seating etc. We avoided the more well-known ones to instead focus on three that look great but probably need a bit more exposure. These are all good in their own way, and the numbering is not in any particular order. Check them out! 1. Five Barrels Brewing Our first stop was Five Barrels Brewing. This place is far away from the main shopping areas, down past a number of…
Taste of Manly Food, Wine and Sustainability Festival We decided to check out the much cheaper option of the Taste of Manly, the Food, Wine and Sustainability Festival in Manly, Sydney. Just $10 per person for a plastic wine cup and $5 per cup of wine. We could remain within our budgets and still have a great time. The Taste of Manly Festival was a fun, well-organised event with lots of happy, well-behaved people, sampling some amazing wines. We had the opportunity to sample a 2007 Semillon from Mount Pleasant which had just started to release its aged personality, and…
Travel to Italy and visit The Colosseum in Rome The Colosseum is one of Rome’s most iconic and popular landmarks, with around 4 million tourists visiting it per year! Most people who travel to Italy know about the Colosseum and the glory days of ancient Rome – the gladiator fights, bloodthirsty crowds, and grand, monumental buildings – but did you know these surprising and interesting facts about Rome’s biggest amphitheatre? The Colossus of Nero The building that we know as the “Colosseum” was first known by the Roman people as the Flavian Amphitheatre, as it was built by the emperor…
Sushi Studio Japanese Restaurant Sushi Studio Japanese Restaurant is usually booked out. It’s rare to be able to just walk in and get a table. You would not be able to figure that out simply based on the entrance. A standard, basic restaurant sliding door entrance with common white Formica top tables in a minimalist eating area makes this look more like a glorified food court than the premier Japanese sushi gastronomy fantasy that it really is. The place is legendary among other sushi restaurant chefs and you are likely to find other restaurant owners and sushi experts dining here too. So, not…
Pinotage and South Africa South Africa is world-famous for its excellent wines, historic vineyards, and elegant wine-tasting experiences. The making and enjoyment of fantastic wine is an integral part of South African culture, and locals are eager to share their adored wines with tourists visiting Cape Town and surrounds, with a passion for introducing pinotage. Most South African wine is made from foreign grape varietals (e.g., Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, etc) that are grown locally, but the country does have one proudly South African grape varietal. Through experimentation by horticulturists and a dash of sheer luck, the red wine-grape varietal…
Flinders Bay Shiraz The Flinders Bay Shiraz has surprised me! My favourite wine for the past couple of years has been a shiraz from the McLaren Vale region, vintage 2008 if possible, from just about any brand. Coming close on the heels to this one would be the Barossa Valley Shiraz of the same vintage (though 2011 is starting to taste great!) So, I was a bit unsure about trying a shiraz from the other side of Australia. However, the cute blue kujira (whale) on the label and the interesting and rare blue lid won me over. Flinders Bay produces award winning wines and,…
Pumphouse Bar Review Check out my review of the Pumphouse Bar, a craft beer bar in Darling Harbour, Sydney. Ideal for a winter drink! I’ve posted my review on WeekendNotes here.
Apfelwein (Apple Wine) in Frankfurt am Main Germany Europe Germany, Europe, is known for its excellent beer crafting and brewing heritage, and for having some of the very best beer brands in the world. When planning a trip to Germany, one usually thinks of the Oktoberfest in Munich, huge Steins (beer mugs) overflowing with foam, and cheerful beer-maids serving rowdy patrons. Frankfurt am Main is surprising in that its famous drink is Apfelwein, or “apple wine!” Summer in Frankfurt is the best time to enjoy a glass of apfelwein in the sun, on the grassy embankments alongside the Main River.…
