At the start of 2023, my fellow traveller and I journeyed on a Viking ocean cruise from Sydney to Auckland. It was only the second Viking cruise we had been on. Almost three and a half years after our first, and until then, only cruise – from London to Norway in 2019 – it finally happened.
On our return from New Zealand we immediately rebooked the original river cruise for 2024 and persuaded two friends to join us on it. We’d had years to research it, so we knew exactly what we wanted. Before we knew it we were on our way to join one of the river ships that we had planned to travel on in 2020, four years earlier.
Houses, so familiar from a million films and guidebooks, along the myriad of canals in Amsterdam
Seeing the future
En route from Sydney to Hong Kong, I thought that when you are flying long haul flights, there is a great emphasis on inflight entertainment. For me, I don’t really need it – flying itself is my inflight entertainment. I was also reminded of what I’d said before, when we arrived at Christchurch Airport in 2023, ready to fly home to Sydney – when we walked past the Economy queue for a Qantas Then I suddenly realised that it was not our queue and there was only one single person in the Business Class queue, and there and then I saw my future.
On this trip I thought I might finally be able to say I was having fun. Due to head colds and other medical challenges, it had been a hard slog preparing to leave. As a result, once we were on the way, even if merely the preliminary travel, I enjoyed being on the train from Canberra to Sydney to some degree, and while I was having my burger for dinner at the airport hotel the night we arrived in Sydney, there was already some sense of fun. Otherwise it had been awful – just about getting through and getting away.
En route from Sydney to Hong Kong, I thought that when you are flying long haul flights, there is a great emphasis on inflight entertainment. For me, I don’t really need it – flying itself is my inflight entertainment. I was also reminded of what I’d said before, when we arrived at Christchurch Airport in 2023, ready to fly home to Sydney – when we walked past the Economy queue for a Qantas Then I suddenly realised that it was not our queue and there was only one single person in the Business Class queue, and there and then I saw my future.
On this trip I thought I might finally be able to say I was having fun. Due to head colds and other medical challenges, it had been a hard slog preparing to leave. As a result, once we were on the way, even if merely the preliminary travel, I enjoyed being on the train from Canberra to Sydney to some degree, and while I was having my burger for dinner at the airport hotel the night we arrived in Sydney, there was already some sense of fun. Otherwise it had been awful – just about getting through and getting away.
Canals were everywhere.
‘Before we knew it we had landed in Helsinki, where the airport was brand new and sleek and light. That was also enjoyable until we discovered that there was no express queue when you are entering the Shengen Zone and some of the horror of immigration queueing suddenly loomed. It’s a wonder sometimes that anyone who doesn’t have to travel internationally, does so at all.’
The first stage of the trip consisted of a passing glimpse of Hong Kong, as we passed through several lengthy, though very efficient, security queues. I had been looking forward to this part of the trip, because we were flying on airlines I’d never encountered before and passing through places I’d never seen before A pleasurable break in the Cathay Pacific lounge, which was very impressive, made up for the queues. I would have been happy to stay there.
Before we knew it we had landed in Helsinki, where the airport was brand new and sleek and light. That was also enjoyable until we discovered that there was no express queue when you are entering the Shengen Zone and some of the horror of immigration queueing suddenly loomed. It’s a wonder sometimes that anyone who doesn’t have to travel internationally, does so at all. Howver, once aboard the Finnair flight from Helsinki to Amsterdam, it was quick and smooth.
The next morning I woke up in Amsterdam. Amsterdam was a city I had never been to before, and it was a human sized city, just as I like them. In the Museum District where we were staying – in a tiny, tall and narrow former residential house, now a boutique hotel – I kept being amazed by the architecture, then I’d even become amazed by the bricks.
Plaques in the footpath outside the former houses of those deported to the death camps in the East during the Nazi occupation. I was deeply impressed to come across one resident on her hands and knees polishing the plaques in front of her house. Lest we forget
We had been travelling with so much medication for our colds, we felt like drug mules, so finally being on the ground and settled was a relief. We topped it up from the fabulous Amsterdam pharmacies once we landed and steadily began to recover as we explored the city.
If you remember the 60s
When I mentioned to the barman at our local watering hole that we were coming to Amsterdam he said I’ve been there once – it had a lot of bridges, but he didn’t remember much else. I replied ‘if you remember the 60s, you weren’t there.’
Amsterdam - everyone had a bike and there was a bike for everyone
Having a coffee after seeing the Museum of Modern Art, I was explaining to the proprietor that I used to work in a museum. He asked me what sort and I said a museum of technology, design, and social history and I said that my office had looked down on a Catalina flying boat suspended from the ceiling of the museum. I realised that the Catalina flying boats had a particular resonance for the Dutch – after the fall of Java, they were used to evacuate Dutch citizens from the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. The planes landed at Broome, where they were strafed by Japanese fighter planes as they bobbed defenceless at anchor offshore.
When we were growing up in Tasmania, we used to visit an old Dutchman named Ernie Kellskog who had once crewed the clippers that plyed the routes from Amsterdam to the rest of the world. It’s possible he sailed from the very wharves from where our river cruise will depart in three days time.
Run down by more forms of transport than anywhere else
There are many ways to get around in Amsterdam, but it does mean you can be run down by more forms of transport than anywhere else in the world. One night we went to an old art deco cafe that had been there for 50 years. Looking around I thought it was possible that some of the clientele had been sitting in the same spot for that long as well.
‘When I mentioned to the barman at our local watering hole that we were coming to Amsterdam he said I’ve been there once – it had a lot of bridges, but he didn’t remember much else. I replied “if you remember the 60s, you weren’t there.”’
When we were growing up in Tasmania, we used to visit an old Dutchman named Ernie Kellskog who had once crewed the clippers that plyed the routes from Amsterdam to the rest of the world. It’s possible he sailed from the very wharves from where our river cruise will depart in three days time.
Run down by more forms of transport than anywhere else
There are many ways to get around in Amsterdam, but it does mean you can be run down by more forms of transport than anywhere else in the world. One night we went to an old art deco cafe that had been there for 50 years. Looking around I thought it was possible that some of the clientele had been sitting in the same spot for that long as well.
In a city full of bikes - along with every other form of transport - this sign was wishful thinking
Early in our stay, we spent hours wandering the varied rooms and halls of the Rijksmuseum, a must see for anyone, particularly someone like me who has worked in a museum. It was fascinating to watch the dense crush around the small number of iconic and over-exposed works, like the Nightwatch by Rembrandt or the Milkmaid by Vermeer, while hundreds of equally or more interesting works were ignored. I suppose it’s a sign of the power of popular culture and the media.
‘It was fascinating to watch the dense crush around the small number of iconic and over-exposed works, like the Nightwatch by Rembrandt or the Milkmaid by Vermeer, while hundreds of equally or more interesting works were ignored. I suppose it’s a sign of the power of popular culture and the media.’
During our stay I would sit downstairs in the lounge writing up my journal. I like to get up early so I can jot down all my experiences of the day before. At home I had developed a habit of getting up at 5 am. In a world of early morning departures, this stands me in good stead.
When you travel you find resonances with your own history. One night at dinner I had an opportunity to practice my French, because the woman serving us had moved from Paris with her Dutch mother. Buying lunch in a Spanish deli I mentioned I had been so fascinated with Spain when I was younger, that my mother had paid for flamenco lessons for me. It turned out the young woman behind the counter was a flamenco dancer.
A much darker history
Lurking beneath the surface of this brilliant city, as with so many other European capitals, is a much darker history. The area of Amsterdam we were staying in used to be part of the Jewish quarter and there were still echoes of its previous inhabitants, like a local art deco synagogue. You could also see the tiny brass plaques in the footpath common across Berlin. These listed those who lived in each house until the Nazi occupation, when they were dispatched to the death camps in the East.
I was fascinated by the way trade and commerce made Amsterdam such a great city and an unimaginably wealthy one. However underpinning much of the wealth was centuries of slavery and an immense level of violence in the Dutch colonies. Amsterdam belongs just as much to those from its colonies because their ancestors were the ones whose labour made the city so rich. This brutal history is whitewashed in the artwork in institutions like the Rijksmuseum, but from time to time it peeks out. There's never any harm in a bit of truth-telling and in their explanations the curators draw out this aspect of Dutch history.
‘I was fascinated by the way trade and commerce made Amsterdam such a great city and an unimaginably wealthy one. However underpinning much of the wealth was centuries of slavery and an immense level of violence in the Dutch colonies. Amsterdam belongs just as much to those from its colonies because their ancestors were the ones whose labour made the city so rich.’
Underpinning the city itself were fairly unstable, ageing foundations, so I saw several signs in windows we passed noting that someone had moved while their house was reinforced and repaired. So many coastal cities have been built on swamps, that reinforcing foundation, mitigating floods and avoiding mosquitos and the diseases they carry, became regular occurences for them.
When you stay in a city like Amsterdam, you pay a huge amount for your accommodation. The way I see it you access a huge range of local services, benefits and experiences for free when you lob into a city, so high accommodation costs are a way of contributing. It's far better than a city like Venice being forced to impose a visitor tax – even if a pathetically small one – on those daytrippers who don't stay in the city. They should up it to a proper fee.
We'd made the city ours, even if only for a brief time. We’d found local greengrocers to supply excellent fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, bakeries for lunches and coffee shops, wine bars and restaurants for everything else. It's not cheap, but you can live very well in that fabulous city. In the end, invitably we finally had to leave Amsterdam, partly because it was time to join our river cruise up the River Rhine to Basel in Switzerland. It's also because we were exhausted from too much walking and climbing museum stairs. We have run out of oomph – in fact you could say we were oomphless. That is despite the fact we discovered how great the trams are – almost too late, alas.
Hitting the water
Before we left Amsterdam, once we had boarded the ship, we walked to the Maritime Museum nearby to get even more of a Dutch museum experience. Then our first stop was a UNESCO listed site, the windmills of Kinderdijk.
It’s hard to appreciate that the millers and their families lived in the windmills. There they scooped out the water, turning vast stretches of marshland into fertile fields intersected by canals. The millers weren’t paid enough to live on, so they had to supplement their pay with fishing and growing vegetables. Given the bizarre furore over wind turbines in Australia, it was fascinating to visit the place they were invented.
UNESCO listed site, the windmills of Kinderdijk
Two days into our cruise we crossed from the Netherlands to Germany. Soon we were to dock in Cologne, the first large city since Amsterdam. Now I was able to start practicing my German (and in days to come, my French). Arriving in Germany reminded me that German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was once asked what was Germany’s greatest achievement and she replied ‘triple-glazed windows’.
‘It’s hard to appreciate that the millers and their families lived in the windmills. There they scooped out the water, turning vast stretches of marshland into fertile fields intersected by canals. The millers weren’t paid enough to live on, so they had to supplement their pay with fishing and growing vegetables. Given the bizarre furore over wind turbines in Australia, it was fascinating to visit the place they were invented.’
The night before the four of us fellow-travellers found a table for dinner. The smallest tables are six and the previous night there had just been the four of us. Last night was busier and we found ourselves sharing with Ryan and Shona, a young couple from Las Vegas. I told them that between the two of them they lowered the average age of those on the ship considerably.
Viking Kara docked beside the bank of the Rhine
They mentioned that it had been a long flight, ten hours, at which we of course guffawed. We told them that if they came to Australia at some stage, as they planned, they’d need to prepare for longer hauls. Ryan had moved with his family from China when he was very young and he and his mother had performed together as circus acrobats. While accountancy was a more reliable form of income, he said he and his mother still had their old circus skills. They were both great company, the kind of unexpected encounters you have while travelling.
Castles, trains and wine - the Rhine was a major artery for transport and historically crucial for defence and wine
After an afternoon of viewing castles along the middle reaches of the Rhine, I had a nap. When I woke up, for a moment I didn’t realise where I was. Given there were many times in the lead up to the trip when I thought we might not make it, actually to be there, on the cruise, was a miracle. It had only taken four years from when we first intended to come.
The vineyards along the Rhine are everywhere - wrapped around the castles and train lines and looking down on hundreds of ships
Church spires as bombing markers
On several occasions, particularly in Koblenz, our tour guides mentioned that during World War 2, Allied aircraft used the spires of churches as markers for where to drop their bombs. It suddenly occurred to me that they were referring to my uncle, who was a navigator on those Lancaster bombers. In a sign of how intertwined the world is, he was a navigator on the planes that fire bombed Dresden. On the same night my mother-in-law was staying with relatives on the outskirts of the city and watched as it burned. Koblenz itself was extensively flattened by bombing during the war.
Church spires were often used as markers for the start of bombing runs during World War 2
Slipping quietly along the river, we quickly realised that the Rhine is a major industrial artery. There was a constant stream of barges on the water – some a string of barges connected together in a row – and long lines of train carriages rattling along on the banks.
Amongst the scenic castles and vineyards, the Rhine is a major transport artery and industrial hub
It had been a busy few days. The day after cruising between the string of castles along the Middle Rhine we stopped in the charming town of Speyer, which once had ambitions to rival Rome as a seat of emperors. It was the town in which the Protestant movement was born, inspired by Martin Luther and his campaign against the excesses of the Catholic church. We checked out the massive Romanesque cathedral and a much more pared back Lutheran church, sadly closed for renovation.
The Speyer Technik Museum was a superb regional museum with an astounding collection - I almost missed it, but the subject matter drew me to it
On the way back to the ship I managed to get badly lost, but not before being amazed by the sheer scale of the Technik Museum, which I almost didn’t get too, but in the end, having worked at the Powerhouse Musuem in Sydney, deep curiousity made me divert there.
‘Our tour guides mentioned that during World War 2, Allied aircraft used the spires of churches as markers for where to drop their bombs. It suddenly occurred to me that they were referring to my uncle, who was a navigator on those Lancaster bombers.’
Strasbourg was the most interesting stop and reminded us of Canberra, with its central government role for the whole cross-border region
The following day we went to Strasbourg. It was the most interesting of all our stops. Because it is an important base for the European Commission and a number of other international bodies, it felt a bit like Canberra, where we always have a sense of a diplomatic presence. On shore wandering around we were constantly stumbling about on round cobble stones or fallen chestnuts, not to mention all the stairs to climb in these tall buildings. It’s a wonder we could stand up.
Early one morning I woke to find a vast wall inches away from our window. I rushed upstairs to find we had entered our second lock. Later that night we passed through more.
Early one morning I woke to find a vast wall inches away from our window. I rushed upstairs to find we had entered our second lock. Later that night we passed through more.
'I woke to find a vast wall inches away from our window. I rushed upstairs to find we had entered our second lock. Later that night we passed through more.'
Because we hadn’t travelled for years due to the pandemic, we had lashed out and upgraded to a larger stateroom. It meant that we had two rooms, not one, and we had our washing done for free – not a small benefit, even though initially we thought we would be paying a not insubstantial amount for it. Once we had clarified the situation we were extremely relieved, because we had planned our washing schedule around expecting free laundry on board. The down side of our upgrade was that our room had bottles of white wine and red wine and if we drank them, they were replenished daily. The plus is we were contributing to draining the European wine lake.
Overwhelmingly American
We were told there were 184 passengers on our river cruise, of which four were Australians (that was our little party), two were British and everyone else was American. However at a reception for repeat Viking travellers – where we toasted with the Norwegian spirit aquavit – we discovered that there were in fact four Canadians on board. They were understandably a bit miffed to be counted as Americans.
We passed through a string of locks as we made our way up river - feats of engineering brilliance
The Americans we were travelling with were a mixed bunch. We met some fabulous ones, who clearly share many of our views of the world. Whoever I was still shocked to see how much Coca Cola was consumed – including for breakfast! At the early morning coffee station there were delicate vanilla kipfler biscuits like those my mother-in-law used to make, however the big hit with the Americans was the stodgy chocolate cookies.
On our last stop before Switzerland, we halted in Breisach, with some of our party taking a taxi to the medieval village off Colmar. That night we were to head for our final destination the following morning – Basel, our first foray into Swiss territory. We had two days there and then we would catch the train to Dijon and Burgundy.
‘We were told there were 184 passengers on our river cruise, of which four were Australians (that was our little party), two were British and everyone else was American. However at a reception for repeat Viking travellers, we discovered that there were in fact four Canadians on board. They were understandably a bit miffed to be counted as Americans.’
On our last stop before Switzerland, we halted in Breisach, with some of our party taking a taxi to the medieval village off Colmar. That night we were to head for our final destination the following morning – Basel, our first foray into Swiss territory. We had two days there and then we would catch the train to Dijon and Burgundy.
The captain of the Viking Kara personally overseeing the patient edging along with only centimetres of space on the side between the ship and the lock wall
Finally we arrived in Basel and had passed from an important stage of our trip, our much-postponed river cruise to the next phase – travelling via Switzerland to France and the French regions. Without the cruise I can't imagine we would necessarily have gone to the cities at either end. I would probably not have expected to be in Amsterdam or Basel. Yet now we had been to both, I realised that these two cities have been two of the most interesting aspects of the cruise.
Only brief but finally arrived
Our visit to Basel was brief – only two days – yet already we had managed to do so much. We walked off Viking Kara at 9.30 am and dropped off our bags at our funky hotel. I had foundand booked it way back when we intended to take the trip in 2020. Our charges were non-refundable but they paid them back anyway. As a result we were there – finally.
The Rathouse - town hall in Basel, filled with fabulous decoration and illustration - the finest town hall I have ever seen
We went to the Kunstmuseum, the main art gallery and spent hours there. What I like about my favourite galleries is that the buildings are as fascinating as the collection – and this was no exception. Then we joined a bus tour of Basel and, even though I usually steer clear of bus tours, this was very good. I had to laugh when at one point we ended up back next to the ship we had arrived on earlier that day. I realised the scale and variety of Basel and on the following two days we were able to retrace our steps to revisit some of the interesting places we passed through.
My fellow traveller was afraid she had been forgetting her German, but she had been putting in a stellar performance speaking the language – not essential because many people speak English, but useful given this was the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Still, even though my fellow traveller could speak German, she found Swiss German quite different. It was interesting being in a country which has several official languages. Add to that a European country that managed to avoid the ravages of World War 2 and it means it seemed to have a very different sense of history to other European countries.
Picnic in our room
On our final night in Basel, we had a picnic in our room – a baguette, two kinds of cheese, Swiss prosciutto, fresh figs, celeriac salad, half bottles of Barolo and Primitivo. When travelling we often pick up a light breakfast or a snack to have in our room. There was an extra incentive this time because Switzerland was as expensive as we were warned.
‘What I like about my favourite galleries is that the buildings are as fascinating as the collection – and this was no exception.’
My fellow traveller was afraid she had been forgetting her German, but she had been putting in a stellar performance speaking the language – not essential because many people speak English, but useful given this was the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Still, even though my fellow traveller could speak German, she found Swiss German quite different. It was interesting being in a country which has several official languages. Add to that a European country that managed to avoid the ravages of World War 2 and it means it seemed to have a very different sense of history to other European countries.
Picnic in our room
On our final night in Basel, we had a picnic in our room – a baguette, two kinds of cheese, Swiss prosciutto, fresh figs, celeriac salad, half bottles of Barolo and Primitivo. When travelling we often pick up a light breakfast or a snack to have in our room. There was an extra incentive this time because Switzerland was as expensive as we were warned.
Public transport in Basel was excellent - and free
Our hotel was as funky as it comes, all bare concrete with sleek oak edging and massive oak doors – and our room was large, 28 square meters, compared to 18 square meters in Amsterdam and a mere 16 square meters ahead of us in Paris (though on our previous stay in Paris in 2018 the room was 14 square meters and we loved it, though it was very squishy).
‘My fellow traveller was afraid she had been forgetting her German, but she had been putting in a stellar performance speaking the language – not essential because many people speak English, but useful given this was the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Still, even though my fellow traveller could speak German, she found Swiss German quite different.’
We discovered a tiny breakfast place around the corner in Elizabethanstrasse, where the coffee (called a cappuccino, but thankfully without chocolate) was the best we have had anywhere on our trip so far. As a result we kept going back.
It was hard to believe that that afternoon we would be in Dijon. The day before we left we did a dry run to the Central Station, so now we were prepared for the first of three train trips on this visit – Basel to Mulhouse where we were to change, then Mulhouse to Dijon – and later Dijon to Paris after our stay in Burgundy finished. Our main expedition the previous day was to see the exquisite Rathaus, or town hall, the most beautiful and finely finished of all the many I have seen, followed by an amble through tiny side lanes filled with speciality shops. If it wasn’t so expensive, this would be a city where I could easily spend more time. We’d been riding the trams for free with our complimentary Basel card and it was so easy to get around.
Turning up early
Of course we turned up early for our train from Basel to Dijon. There was already a train on the platform and the very helpful station staff looked at our tickets and said we could get on that train. When it started moving half an hour early I was concerned but after some panic in three languages, realised that even though it was going to Strasbourg, it stopped in Mulhouse, where we were to change for Dijon.
This meant we were even earlier and would have an hour wait – except, as it turned out, our connecting train was running half an hour late. It was coming from Germany and as explained by the German taxi driver who took us to the train station and a German traveller stranded with us in Mulhouse, many German trains run late because there are not enough people working on them and the infrastructure had been allowed to run down – I suddenly felt I could be in Australia. As a result we found ourselves sitting in the station cafe, drinking rosé and pastis and practicing our French. At least finally I was able to say ‘nous sont en France!’ We hadn’t been there since 2018.
‘Of course we turned up early for our train from Basel to Dijon. There was already a train on the platform and the very helpful station staff looked at our tickets and said we could get on that train. When it started moving half an hour early I was concerned but after some panic in three languages, realised that even though it was going to Strasbourg, it stopped in Mulhouse, where we were to change for Dijon.’
In anticipation of our return I had written a blog article just before we left about why France fascinates me, ‘Returning to France – liberté, égalité, fraternité’. We had two nights before us in Dijon, a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, and then we were to drive to Semur-en-Auxois for nine days in a former mansion converted to apartments. We had planned to catch up with Béatrice, the friend from the time my fellow-traveller lived for seven months in Lyon. She was coming by train to Burgundy to join us for several days.
Prices closer to ground level
We could tell that we had left Switzerland because suddenly prices were closer to what we were used to, not the astronomical levels of the land of International Settlements. I was looking forward to French wines – especially Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the signature varieties of Burgundy – but also to pastis, for me the flavour of France, though not, as I was to discover the flavour of Burgundy, but rather of the South. The flavour of Burgundy was cassis.
Beaune, south of Dijon, which we drove to from our accommodation in Semure-en-Auxois, was the centre of the wine region of Burgundy
We went to the Musée des Beaux Arts in Dijon and spent the whole morning there. As so often before, the building was as striking as the collection. It was the former palace of the powerful Ducs de Bourgogne, who fostered arts and culture and attracted creative talent from everywhere. In the afternoon we went to the Archaeological Museum, housed in an old (and crumbling) abbey – all the abbeys we had seen seemed to be crumbling.
Looking at artworks in the galleries, you realised that the middle ages were completely focused on piety and death, but I suppose life was so short and tentative that it was inevitable because life was very short. You also realised that these old cities must have to commit massive maintenance budgets for their historic sites – tourist dollars aren’t just a luxury, but our contribution. It's like New Zealand having to budget for earthquakes. It must distort economies hugely.
Wandering the streets, we had a terrific find – the restaurant where we had lunch, Cave, was a sleek offshoot of a Michelin-starred resturant, Cibo, over the road in Rue Jeannin. The lunch was brilliant. When I sat down I was a bit shocked though – I thought the price of a bottle of wine was the price by the glass and that, as I told my companion in horror, we would not be able to drink wine with our meal. For a moment I thought I was back in Switzerland. We had a fabulous friendly and knowledgeable waiter who guided us through. He had worked in Berlin where his boss communicated in English, so he spoke English well – hopefully my French was some at least partly as good as his English. After lunch, we even left with a takeaway bottle of Pinot Noir.
‘When I sat down I was a bit shocked though – I thought the price of a bottle of wine was the price by the glass and that, as I told my companion in horror, we would not be able to drink wine with our meal. For a moment I thought I was back in Switzerland.’
After a hard day pounding the museum pavement we watched German language television in our room. We tried to guess whether the program is German, Austrian or Swiss. Sometimes we are thrown because it turns out to be Dutch.
Heading out through the suburbs of Dijon
The next day we picked up our hire car and headed out through the suburbs of Dijon towards our next stop, Semur-en-Auxois. We stopped in tiny Saint-Seine-l’Abbaye and saw an ancient crumbling abbey – one of only two of that age in France – that was dissolving in the rain through neglect. We went into a tiny restaurant where the owner cooked us a fabulous galette with egg, mushrooms, potatoes and cheese, served in what amounted to her own kitchen, with glasses of local wine from the array of bottles surrounding us. After lunch she had to rush off to take her puppy to the vet, but we had a good chat before she left – unexpected encounters like that are what travelling is all about.
On the way from there, we almost drove past a sign that looked tempting, without stopping, but we turned around and diverted from the main road to see the source of the Seine River, purchased by the city of Paris in 1864.
Our apartment building in Semur-en Auxois - it felt like living in a French château
At the end of our Viking cruise up the Rhine we were given a questionnaire which I couldn’t answer because it asked if various aspects of the cruise had met our expectations. The problem is that if you have low expectations, something that exceeds your expectations can be quite average. If you have high expectations, something special will do no more than meet your expectations – how useless a survey is that? Yet such surveys are used without question by everyone.
As well as our Viking trips, especially the 2019 one from London to Bergen via the very top of Norway, there had been a few times during our travels, when our expectations, already high, had been wildly exceeded. When I booked a National Trust cottage in Port Quinn in Cornwall in 2019, I thought it looked impressive on the web. In real life it was far more spectacular. Similarly in Vaison-la-Romaine in Provence in 2018, where the house was owned by a family of designers, and it really was like living in a 19th Century museum.
As well as our Viking trips, especially the 2019 one from London to Bergen via the very top of Norway, there had been a few times during our travels, when our expectations, already high, had been wildly exceeded. When I booked a National Trust cottage in Port Quinn in Cornwall in 2019, I thought it looked impressive on the web. In real life it was far more spectacular. Similarly in Vaison-la-Romaine in Provence in 2018, where the house was owned by a family of designers, and it really was like living in a 19th Century museum.
View over the River Armancon to Semur-en-Auxois
‘There had been a few times during our travels, when our expectations, already high, had been wildly exceeded. When I booked a National Trust cottage in Port Quinn in Cornwall in 2019, I thought it looked impressive on the web. In real life it was far more spectacular.’
Where we were staying for the next nine days looked similarly impressive when I booked it, but now we had arrived, it was far better. On our first night I walked a couple of blocks through the apartment to the kitchen, then I closed the shutters – it felt like living in a French château. It was the opposite of what I have often encountered when real estate photos, using wide angle lenses and other tricks, make places look far more exciting and far larger than they really are.
The lounge in our apartment in Semur-en Auxois
Picking up a treasure map
Once we had found this terrific apartment and booked our stay, we starting practicing how to pronounce the name of the town - Semur-en-Auxois (Semyoor-on-Osswah). I picked up a map of the town from the tourism office and soon realised that what I had was a treasure map. With our map we went exploring on foot. As we walked deeper and deeper into the town, it became more medieval and more amazing. it was built in the curve of the River Armancon and has all the expected watchtowers, medieval bridges and city walls.
The Hospice in Beaune - a major medieval hospital
Now we had arrived everything started to slow down. I was having a bath one night and I thought ‘I might get out now’. Then I thought ‘on the other hand I might not’. Slowing down was going hand in hand with the slide to cooler days. Our big fear had been the heat in Europe, after some horror stories from other visitors, but that was definitely not an issue on this visit. In fact, we were very thankful that we threw in some warm clothes at the last minute. It was nowhere near as cold as our trip to Lake St Clair in Tasmania in 2019, when if my fellow traveller hadn’t thought at the last minute to take our winter clothing, we wouldn’t even have been able to step outdoors.
‘Slowing down was going hand in hand with the slide to cooler days. Our big fear had been the heat in Europe, after some horror stories from other visitors, but that was definitely not an issue on this visit. In fact, we were very thankful that we threw in some warm clothes at the last minute.’
Semur-en-Auxois was very much a working town. Large tractors rumbled along the main street. I was shocked at the amount of smoking that still went on. The bells of the churches were a regular presence. I suppose you got used to them, just as we did with the trains when we lived next to the train station in Waverton in Sydney – one day there was a train stoppage and at first I couldn’t work out why it sounded so unusual: the sound of silence. The timing of the bells in Semure-en-Auxois seemed a few minutes slow, but I suppose when you’ve been ringing for over 600 years, you’re allowed a slight delay.
We had a car, we had a vast apartment with a kitchen and we were surrounded by markets. We planned to forget eating out – generally – since we would be eating in (mainly) for the next nine days. No restaurant that we could afford could match the sort of venue and the sort of ambience we found ourselves in. As apartment dwellers at home, we hd been enjoying this sort of European living. When I look at the gilded, overwrought mirrors there I was reminded of our apartment back in Australia. I always said it was a mix of mid-century modern and French Empire.
We had a car, we had a vast apartment with a kitchen and we were surrounded by markets. We planned to forget eating out – generally – since we would be eating in (mainly) for the next nine days. No restaurant that we could afford could match the sort of venue and the sort of ambience we found ourselves in. As apartment dwellers at home, we hd been enjoying this sort of European living. When I look at the gilded, overwrought mirrors there I was reminded of our apartment back in Australia. I always said it was a mix of mid-century modern and French Empire.
The medieval gate into Semur-en-Auxois
In Amsterdam and on our river cruise we were travelling with some long-term friends from Australia, who are much more dedicated travellers than we are. We planned to catch up with them again in London at the end of our trip. However, we were keeping them updated on our adventures, so they could at least vicariously experience the places we had found after they left.
Being in these small French regional towns, which are often struggling, with many empty buildings and small business owners merely hanging on, makes me think of small regional towns in NSW, with the same issues. As always, it’s the artists and artisans, the brewers (and wine-makers) and chefs who save these places.
Degree of deterioration
In Australia, apart from our Aboriginal heritage, which is on a totally different time scale, old mainly means 19th century. Compared to the European heritage of Australia, in Europe old is way, way older. Having worked in museums, galleries and archives and having dealt with issues of preservation and conservation, we were both shocked at the degree of deterioration in so many of the churches and other historic buildings we had seen. Many of these buildings were crumbling. Usually the problem was the roof. In a wet climate, once the roof goes, everything bad starts to happen. Anything the rain and damp doesn’t ruin, the pigeons finish off.
In a small regional town I saw on a shop counter the sign of the twin vices of the French - cigarettes and wine
‘Being in these small French regional towns, which are often struggling, with many empty buildings and small business owners merely hanging on, makes me think of small regional towns in NSW, with the same issues. As always, it’s the artists and artisans, the brewers (and wine-makers) and chefs who save these places’
One day we went to the farmers market in the town square – such a fabulous feature of French towns – and then picked up our friend from Lyon from the train station. She was going to stay with us for the next few days. We hadn’t seen her since 2018. My fellow traveller shared an apartment with her when she lived in Lyon for several months in 1990. Unfortunately it was not reflected in my fellow traveller’s command of the French language.
The stairway to our apartment. The stairs reminded me of the grans museums and galleries we have walked in on the trip
Two of the most remarkable sites
Just when I thought ‘I can’t look at one more chateaux or cathedral’, we visited two of the most remarkable sites I saw on the whole trip. Firstly we went to the Abbey of Fontenay, a major UNESCO-listed complex tucked away at the end of a long valley. It played a major role in the early days of iron smelting in Europe and helped lay the basis for industrialisation.
Chateau of Bussy-Rabutin, a medieval residence that had been converted to a Renaissance chateau during the Grand Siècle
We stopped for lunch and I had a plate of beef Burgundy, which was full of bay leaves. Decades ago in Adelaide we used to cook our own version of beef Burgundy, because it was when Europe cuisines were first being discovered in Australia, so I had to have one here.
Then we went to the Chateau of Bussy-Rabutin, a medieval residence that had been converted to a Renaissance chateau during the Grand Siècle. Shades of Bridgerton, the owner had been exiled to the chateau by Louis XIV after publishing a racy and scandalous account of the amorous life of the French court. There he obviously had a lot of time on his hands, because it was the most over-decorated chateau I’ve ever seen. All these historic sites used huge quantities of water, for moats, supplying kitchens and driving waterwheels. In that respect lush green Burgundy is very different to Provence, which is drier and stonier – and much warmer.
Amongst all this we went South to Beaune, the wine capital of Upper Burgundy and the Cotes d’Or. It was a drive of more than an hour to get there, but compared to distances in Australia, it was just down the road. It rained most of the day – that’s where all that water comes from. I bought a new umbrella to cope. Because it was getting colder, it wasn’t as crowded as the high season, but the popular attractions were busy whenever tour groups were going through. We had to dodge around them. Out on the street what always confounds me is recognising who is a tourist and who is a local.
The most beautiful villages in France
Some years back we found a terrific book, ‘The most beautiful villages in France’ produced by the association of the same name. It’s full of tiny French villages, everyone of them worth staying in. We realised that in this region there were two of them, and so we went to the first, Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. We walked all over the village and had coffee in the shop which has been producing anise sweets since 1591, Then we had lunch in a restaurant run by local farmers using their own local produce.
Then we went to the Chateau of Bussy-Rabutin, a medieval residence that had been converted to a Renaissance chateau during the Grand Siècle. Shades of Bridgerton, the owner had been exiled to the chateau by Louis XIV after publishing a racy and scandalous account of the amorous life of the French court. There he obviously had a lot of time on his hands, because it was the most over-decorated chateau I’ve ever seen. All these historic sites used huge quantities of water, for moats, supplying kitchens and driving waterwheels. In that respect lush green Burgundy is very different to Provence, which is drier and stonier – and much warmer.
‘Because it was getting colder, it wasn’t as crowded as the high season, but the popular attractions were busy whenever tour groups were going through. We had to dodge around them. Out on the street what always confounds me is recognising who is a tourist and who is a local.’
Amongst all this we went South to Beaune, the wine capital of Upper Burgundy and the Cotes d’Or. It was a drive of more than an hour to get there, but compared to distances in Australia, it was just down the road. It rained most of the day – that’s where all that water comes from. I bought a new umbrella to cope. Because it was getting colder, it wasn’t as crowded as the high season, but the popular attractions were busy whenever tour groups were going through. We had to dodge around them. Out on the street what always confounds me is recognising who is a tourist and who is a local.
The most beautiful villages in France
Some years back we found a terrific book, ‘The most beautiful villages in France’ produced by the association of the same name. It’s full of tiny French villages, everyone of them worth staying in. We realised that in this region there were two of them, and so we went to the first, Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. We walked all over the village and had coffee in the shop which has been producing anise sweets since 1591, Then we had lunch in a restaurant run by local farmers using their own local produce.
The van from the shop which has been producing anise sweets since 1591 - on returning to Australia I realised that they were being sold in the laundromat in Ainslie in Canberra
My two companions were even more excited because the film, Chocolate, starring Juliet Binoche, was in part filmed there and we photographed the house used in the film – now crumbling badly and not habitable.
We were talking in the street and were overheard by a man nearby pruning his bushes. He asked where we came from. It turned out he owned a house in the village and had arrived that day from California, where he mainly lived, for a month - the world is very interconnected, especially if you have money. He was very friendly – we speculated that perhaps he worked in the film industry.
Speaking French
Back in Semur-en-Auxois, in the tiny shop next door to our apartment, buying a bottle of Pouilly-Fousse for dinner in our apartment, I realised something – I read French reasonably well, speak a limited amount of French fine, but understand spoken French badly, there’s just too many words at once. My education was good, but it didn’t prepare me as well as I would have liked.
Back in Semur-en-Auxois, in the tiny shop next door to our apartment, buying a bottle of Pouilly-Fousse for dinner in our apartment, I realised something – I read French reasonably well, speak a limited amount of French fine, but understand spoken French badly, there’s just too many words at once. My education was good, but it didn’t prepare me as well as I would have liked.
Il pleut, il pleut, il pleut - Burgundy ws much colder and wetter than other parts of France, like Provence, where we had stayed
‘I realised something – I read French reasonably well, speak a limited amount of French fine, but understand spoken French badly, there’s just too many words at once. My education was good, but it didn’t prepare me as well as I would have liked.’
On our final day in Semur-en Auxois we went off in search of the Romans – to the archaelogical museum in Bibracte, the ancient Celtic mountain stronghold, where extensive archaelogical digs are ongoing, and then to Autun, the city which became the capital of this part of Roman Gaul. We finally had a chance to look more closely at the history of the Romans in France and in the process to look at Celtic history as well. It was quite a long day because we had to drive to the mountain site of the massive hill fort complex at Bibracte, where there was both a modern museum and extensive archaelogical sites. We saw the museum but the whole site was too massive and covered in huge forests. It would be an ideal walking trip, because the mountain is covered with trails around the site of the old settlement.
The kitchen in Chateau of Bussy-Rabutin
The Romans eventually moved their capital of this part of Gaul to Autun after Julius Caesar conquered Bibracte. He wrote part of his account of the Gallic Wars in Bibracte. Both Bibracte and Autun are surrounded by the regional natural park of Morvan (which sounds like something out of Lord of the Rings), so there are dense forests everywhere.
Building careers in hospitality
We loved our nine days in Semur-en-Auxois and Burgundy generally, catching up with our friend Beatrice and hanging out in a fabulous apartment. Our hosts suggested a reasonably priced Michelin-starred restaurant in the town, and we even managed to eat there finally before we left. It was exceptional. Apart from the food and wine what impressed me was that two young people from the town were building their careers in hospitality working there, learning English and expanding their skills – one was going to Switzerland to study as a sommelier.
I was so impressed I wrote a review for Google maps:
I don't know how I found Semur-en-Auxois, and then Maison Jazy, from Australia months before we went there, but I'm glad I did. It's one of those places that looks fabulous online, and then turns out to be even better in real life. The hosts were terrific and very welcoming. It was like living in an extremely liveable museum or your very own chateau. The place is extremely roomy, with high windows with shutters, filled with light, and warm. The kitchen is terrific and the parquetry floors – a personal favourite of mine – are amazing. We stayed nine days and could easily have stayed longer.
It's a beautiful apartment in a beautiful building in a beautiful town, not much more than an hour by car to all the sights of Burgundy (and many are only twenty minutes away). On top of that there are lots of places in walking distance in the town. There are some high quality shops and a very reasonably priced Michelin-starred restaurant, La Fontaignotte, which was exceptional and has magnificent views from its terrace.
The city of light
After dropping off the hire car and catching the TGV from Dijon, we arrived in Paris at Gare de Lyon. The first part of the train trip retraced the routes we had driven over the previous nine days. Once at our hotel we slept our first night in Paris since 2018.
The distinctive architecture of Paris streets is always cheery
On our first full day in Paris we went to lesser-known museum, the City of Architecture and Heritage. It was astounding. The major core of the museum was finely crafted replicas of historical monuments and buildings across France. Around that they had added a floor of models, drawing and photographs of a huge number of buildings, both older and contemporary. From that upper floor there were magnificent views of the Eiffel Tower. I was impressed because as soon as stepped out of the lift I saw a model of the fabled Crystal Palace in London. The Garden Place in Sydney was modelled on it and that formed the basis for the Powerhouse Museum, where I worked for many years.
It reminded me of how amazed I’s been when I’d seen the reconstructions of whole temples and city gates in German museums on the Museumsinsel in Berlin. In a world where reality and appearance, fact and fiction blur, it was a form of truth. It captured buildings at a time in the 19th Century, before they had been damaged by war and wear. It’s like a snapshot in time, as if someone had commissioned a three dimensional heritage audit. Nowadays we'd use 3D digital photography. It makes it much easier to recreate damaged buildings, like Notre Dame Cathedral after the fire. It made me think of the way that intricate documentation enabled German cities to be rebuilt brick by brick after they had been destroyed during World War 2.
‘To get there we criss-crossed the city on the underground system. I still remember how good it was from our visit in 2018. I noted that the French get up for older people on public transport. Because it was Sunday some trains were packed, but it was a great way to get around.’
The replicas allowed you to get closer to parts of buildings than would ever be possible in reality. Some of the replicas were enormous. On some replicas you could see the makeshift structure behind them – like Hollywood movie sets. It reminded me of the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics, with Powerhouse Museum curators collecting the props as they came off stage and realising how jerry-built they were, held together with tape and string.
Riding the Paris Metro was easy and comprehensive. I remembered it well.
The only shortcoming of being in France was that the coffee was so variable. We kept trying to remember exactly what dribk was the most like what we liked. I kept explaining that we wanted milk with coffee added, because everything was so strong. It's also common in Europe to find long life UHT milk everywhere. A woman I used to work once told her French waiter that Australians would only drink it if all the cows had died.
Modern-day France all over
On our first night in Paris, when we came back from dinner at the restaurant next door to our hotel, we fell into conversation with the two young men manning the front desk. It turned out one was from Belgium with a Moroccan heritage and the other was Algerian – this is modern-day France all over. I asked the man from Algeria if he spoke Arabic and he said he did – given my life-long fascination with languages, I was deeply impressed. They urged us to visit the Maghreb, the part of Arab North Africa which is a different world to what we consider as the Middle East (which should probably be called the Meddle East, given the history of detrimental Western involvement in the region).
‘We fell into conversation with the two young men manning the front desk. It turned out one was from Belgium with a Moroccan heritage and the other was Algerian – this is modern-day France all over. I asked the man from Algeria if he spoke Arabic and he said he did – given my life-long fascination with languages, I was deeply impressed.’
My fellow traveller spent much of the day tramping around high-end shops window shopping and, as a result, was very tired, I went to the resdtaurant next door to ask about ordering room service tonight. The owner asked if we could avoid the period between 9 pm and 11 pm because they had some big groups. I pointed out that as we were Australian, we’d be in bed by 9 pm.
In Paris even the everyday has significance - though as someone asked 'why didn't they get their own squares?
We chose one day as a time to regroup. I did all the everyday things travellers do – topped up our eSims, checked how excise on alcohol compared between Australia and France, checked my WhatsApp messages, researched museums and other sights to see. Then I went for a wander around the local area – it was a weird mix of cafes and restaurants, music clubs, tacky souvenir shops and bars. You had to work out the places that locals used and those that seemed to be packed with tourists – but who can tell nowadays, everyone looks like a tourist. It was definitely true that half of Australia seemed to be overseas at the time, mainly in Japan.
We have always stayed in the 6th Arrondissement, that is St Germain, but this time we were in the 5th, the Latin Quarter, which is much closer to Notre Dame and hence much more a tourist hangout. It made me realise that while the 6th is less overrun by tourists and still has much to offer, it is not as attractive as it was back when we visited last in 2018. Visiting the Marais I realised that next time we will probably stay there. It is funkier, edgier and less packaged up.
The privilege of being born speaking English
I realised how privileged we are to have been born speaking English. On our first night in Paris, the restauranter where we had dinner commented that with all languages other than English, people learn them because they are interested in them. They learn English because it rules the world. We have to thank the Americans for that – internationally no-one speaks English because Australians speak it. It makes life a lot easier when travelling, even if you lose something in the process. On previous visits to Germany we had wanted to practice our German, but the young Germans wanted to practice their English. The two young people making their way in the hospitality industry in Semur-en-Auxois were a prime example.
That night we caught the Metro back to near where we had been during the day to eat at a restaurant I had read about in Australia – Potager de Charlotte. We have both always been fascinated by the potager (kitchen) gardens of French tradition and were keen to try this French approach to vegetable cuisine. It was very good and gave us lots of ideas for our own cooking at home. Unfortunately it was a challenge getting across Paris on peak hour Metro trains packed far more than I have ever experienced and then trudging through relentless rain. Perhaps it’s good for the farmers – unless they are washed away. The following day was forecast to have no more than showers (and a few thunderstorms) – luxury.
On our last day in Paris we went to the Louvre. I hated it. Even tnough it had a fabulous collection, it was too much, badly organised. It reminded me of nothing so much as a massive multi-level Metro station, moving commuters from one cultural destination to the next. When we exited, we were funnelled into a giant shopping mall – from consuming one product to consuming different ones. I saw that with a clone in Abu Dhabi, the Louvre had copied the Guggenheim example in Spain and franchised itself. I had a similar reaction to the British Museum but this was worse. I much prefer smaller museums, with, more focused specialist collections, like the Victoria and Albert in London or some of the museums on the Museuminsel in Berlin – or all those fabulous regional museums.
Avoiding queues
On previous visits to Paris I had avoided the Louvre because of the queues. I did the same with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This time we booked online from Dijon. We had a specific entry time, but when we arrived I discovered that this meant simply it was the time you started to queue – a massive queue longer than any I have ever seen. In the end the line moved reasonably quickly but it was worse than the queue to enter the European Union when we were in Helsinki on the way to Europe.
We enjoyed our hotel, though we’ll probably stay in a different location next time. You realise how much the hotels depend on the American market. There was a New York Times prominently displayed in ther foyer and during our stay they kept putting Coke in the fridge in our room. I kept putting it in the cupboard – not everyone in the world drinks Coke. It was like the Viking cruise to New Zealand in March 2023. Because we’d been holed up at home for a couple of years due to the pandemic, we lashed out and upgraded. Our cabin included daily refills of the drinks fridge – we told them to rip out all the Coke and bring us nothing but gin.
To celebrate our last night in Paris we went to a Japanese restaurant, Wakaze, almost next door to our hotel for dinner. It was incredibly funky, though tiny. It’s speciality was sake. It was a good way to round off our visit. Farewell Paris, au revoir.
We finished our European visit in London, as our overseas visit drew towards it’s close. As an apt rounding of our trip we caught up with our travelling companions from the very start of our European visit in Amsterdam and on our river cruise. We stayed with them in their apartment in Islington and already we had been to dinner in a terrific local restaurant and I had seen canals and narrowboats aplenty.
Forest of wind turbines
On our way to London we were gliding through the French countryside, through extensive forests of wind turbines – my favourite. I went off in search of the cafe but gave up because it was many carriages away. I realised why we booked First Class. On Eurostar the standard carriages are really tightly packed. We also had lunch (with wine!) I only wish you got this on the TGV trains. Because of the time difference it took two hours and eighteen minutes hours on the train. It only took one hour and eighteen minutes on the clock.
I couldn’t help but be struck by the amount of Coke the American passengers across from us drank, with white sugar in their coffee as well. For many people this is also becoming the Australian diet. At least the people behind us were drinking water – though they did supplement their salmon dish with Doritos.
We have always stayed in the 6th Arrondissement, that is St Germain, but this time we were in the 5th, the Latin Quarter, which is much closer to Notre Dame and hence much more a tourist hangout. It made me realise that while the 6th is less overrun by tourists and still has much to offer, it is not as attractive as it was back when we visited last in 2018. Visiting the Marais I realised that next time we will probably stay there. It is funkier, edgier and less packaged up.
The privilege of being born speaking English
I realised how privileged we are to have been born speaking English. On our first night in Paris, the restauranter where we had dinner commented that with all languages other than English, people learn them because they are interested in them. They learn English because it rules the world. We have to thank the Americans for that – internationally no-one speaks English because Australians speak it. It makes life a lot easier when travelling, even if you lose something in the process. On previous visits to Germany we had wanted to practice our German, but the young Germans wanted to practice their English. The two young people making their way in the hospitality industry in Semur-en-Auxois were a prime example.
The Seine is everywhere
After lunch in a seriously good bistro, my fellow traveller checked out fashion, so I walked to the Museum of Arts and Metiers, which is a museum of science, technology and industry. It made me realise how seriously obsessed and slightly crazy inventors and scientists have been to have come up with such complex marvels over the centuries – much like artists in many ways.
‘Il pleut, il pleut, il pleut.’ Yesterday was continuously wet all day. While it rained all day, it was a steady, even rain, thankfully without wind. For some inexplicable reason, on the wettest day of our stay, we chose to walk the longest distance we had covered during this visit to Paris.
‘I realised how privileged we are to have been born speaking English. On our first night in Paris, the restauranter where we had dinner commented that with all languages other than English, people learn them because they are interested in them. They learn English because it rules the world. We have to thank the Americans for that – internationally no-one speaks English because Australians speak it. It makes life a lot easier when travelling, even if you lose something in the process.’
‘Il pleut, il pleut, il pleut.’ Yesterday was continuously wet all day. While it rained all day, it was a steady, even rain, thankfully without wind. For some inexplicable reason, on the wettest day of our stay, we chose to walk the longest distance we had covered during this visit to Paris.
The Musée Cognacq-Jay - a tiny museum of decorative arts in the Marais
One morning we walked past the Louvre (where we were booked the following morning – my first time there) to see the Museum of Art and Design next door. As we walked towards it in the pouring rain, it suddenly occurred to me that we had been to it on our last visit to Paris in 2018. On that visit, we went through it with a fine tooth comb, so I thought we could go somewhere else instead. That turned out to be Galeries Lafayette. On a rainy day everyone in Paris was in a museum – or in Galeries Lafayette.
Rediscovering ‘plonk’
After all that soggy walking, we decided to get the Metro back. After that I needed a quiet drink. It has always intrigued me that the Australian word 'plonk' derived from Aussie diggers during World War 1 mispronouncing 'vin blanc'.
Rediscovering ‘plonk’
After all that soggy walking, we decided to get the Metro back. After that I needed a quiet drink. It has always intrigued me that the Australian word 'plonk' derived from Aussie diggers during World War 1 mispronouncing 'vin blanc'.
Queuing for entry to the Louvre - we had a specific entry time, but this meant simply it was the time you started to queue – a massive queue longer than any I have ever seen
‘I much prefer smaller museums, with, more focused specialist collections, like the Victoria and Albert in London or some of the museums on the Museuminsel in Berlin – or all those fabulous regional museums.’
The Louvre - a massive multi-level Metro station, moving commuters from one cultural destination to the next
Avoiding queues
On previous visits to Paris I had avoided the Louvre because of the queues. I did the same with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This time we booked online from Dijon. We had a specific entry time, but when we arrived I discovered that this meant simply it was the time you started to queue – a massive queue longer than any I have ever seen. In the end the line moved reasonably quickly but it was worse than the queue to enter the European Union when we were in Helsinki on the way to Europe.
In Paris there were still reminders of th Paris Olympics - and of Olympics long before that
We enjoyed our hotel, though we’ll probably stay in a different location next time. You realise how much the hotels depend on the American market. There was a New York Times prominently displayed in ther foyer and during our stay they kept putting Coke in the fridge in our room. I kept putting it in the cupboard – not everyone in the world drinks Coke. It was like the Viking cruise to New Zealand in March 2023. Because we’d been holed up at home for a couple of years due to the pandemic, we lashed out and upgraded. Our cabin included daily refills of the drinks fridge – we told them to rip out all the Coke and bring us nothing but gin.
‘We had a specific entry time, but when we arrived I discovered that this meant simply it was the time you started to queue – a massive queue longer than any I have ever seen. In the end the line moved reasonably quickly.’
To celebrate our last night in Paris we went to a Japanese restaurant, Wakaze, almost next door to our hotel for dinner. It was incredibly funky, though tiny. It’s speciality was sake. It was a good way to round off our visit. Farewell Paris, au revoir.
The view of the Eiffel Tower and the City of Light from lesser-known museum, the City of Architecture and Heritage. It was apt given the museum celebrated French architecture through the ages
Forest of wind turbines
On our way to London we were gliding through the French countryside, through extensive forests of wind turbines – my favourite. I went off in search of the cafe but gave up because it was many carriages away. I realised why we booked First Class. On Eurostar the standard carriages are really tightly packed. We also had lunch (with wine!) I only wish you got this on the TGV trains. Because of the time difference it took two hours and eighteen minutes hours on the train. It only took one hour and eighteen minutes on the clock.
I couldn’t help but be struck by the amount of Coke the American passengers across from us drank, with white sugar in their coffee as well. For many people this is also becoming the Australian diet. At least the people behind us were drinking water – though they did supplement their salmon dish with Doritos.
The restoration of Notre Dame was in its final stages and it reopened soon after we arrived home. The crowds were already enormous - it's hard to imagine what they would be like once it was open again
After two and a half weeks in France, I found myself half thinking in French. I found myself reflecting on the fabulous visit once we had left. Generally – but not universally – the coffee in France was pretty bad. Staying close to Notre Dame, and constantly seeing it’s towers, we were reminded of watching the news about the cathedral catching fire and my fellow traveller and her mother sharing their shock at the breaking news.
‘Surrounded by the ghosts of the past while we were in Europe, I felt a great sense of respect, but also enormous sadness. The plaques about those who died in the two great wars and those ripped from their homes and deported to the death camps of Eastern Europe were everywhere. Around those reminders of what could so easily come again, life goes on and it’s more interesting, diverse and fast-moving than ever.’
Plaques about those who died in the two great wars and those ripped from their homes and deported to the death camps of Eastern Europe were everywhere - this is on the wall of the library in Semur-en-Auxois.
Surrounded by the ghosts of the past while we were in Europe, I felt a great sense of respect, but also enormous sadness. The plaques about those who died in the two great wars and those ripped from their homes and deported to the death camps of Eastern Europe were everywhere. Around those reminders of what could so easily come again, life goes on and it’s more interesting, diverse and fast-moving than ever.
London was getting colder and autumn was well underway. We realised were going to get a shock when we stopped off in Bangkok for a couple of days on the way home. We started off the day walking along the towpath of the Regent Canal to the Towpath Cafe, our friends’ preferred coffee place, which was a fabulous local institution. We sat there watching the narrow boats (and more joggers than I could count – but it was a Saturday).
One of the few photos of food, because most are personal,but I had to include this: creel caught Hebridean langoustines in a restaurant in Islington in London
We had eaten out quite a lot, so for a chance we went to the Islington Markets to buy ingredients for a pleasant night at home, with a home-cooked meal of chicken with tarragon, Vermouth and cream, accompanied by roasted Brussel Sprouts and shallots and rainbow chard and peas with prosciutto, followed by a lemon posset for dessert.
The Museum of the Home
Towards the end of our trip we walked to a fabulous museum, the Museum of the Home, based around former almshouses for the poor established in the 18th Century. Like many of my favourite museums on this trip it was very different to any of the others we saw. It was heavily engaged with its local community and had some superb displays produced by photographers working with local groups.
Political cartoon still of relevance today in the Museum of the Home
Shopping the Islington Markets to buy ingredients for a pleasant night at home
I couldn’t believe we were staying in London for such a brief period. We weren’t originally going to come to London, but our friends who we went on the river cruise with mentioned they would be here, so we added London on and ended up with an extra bonus stop – unfortunately not as long a stop as it deserved.
On Regents Canal in Islington, London I was able to indulge my long-running fascination with canals and narrowboats
Still, it had been a very full on, varied and active trip and in some ways, I was finally ready to go home. In 2019 we ended up in Berlin in summer heat at the end of an eight week trip and it was too much – even though two weeks of it had been on a very relaxing ocean cruise.
As our final outing on this trip we went to a new exhibition, Silk Roads, at the British Museum. It explored the complex, vast and overlapping networks of commerce, conquest, religions, culture and language between East and West (and North and South). We hadn't been back to the Museum since 2019 and it was a much calmer experience than the Louvre (though rainier). Then we went to lunch in Soho and had a brief glimpse of central London.
Worth doing well.
The main thing we wanted to do in London will now be postponed to a later trip because if a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing well. Next time I intend to spend a whole day at Kew Botanic Gardens. Because of my fascination with how the creative sector plays a key role in the economic world, I also became fascinated with the way the Victorians unlocked the economic potential of the natural world. Kew was at the heart of that. In Adelaide there is a Museum of Economic Botany and in Singapore in the UNESCO-listed Botanic Gardens, there is an Economic Garden. Kew collected vast numbers of seeds and other plant specimens from round the world and provided the plants in bulk that established the rubber industry in South East Asia and helped fight malaria.
‘I couldn’t believe we were staying in London for such a brief period. We weren’t originally going to come to London, but our friends who we went on the river cruise with mentioned they would be here, so we added London on and ended up with an extra bonus stop – unfortunately not as long a stop as it deserved.’
As our final outing on this trip we went to a new exhibition, Silk Roads, at the British Museum. It explored the complex, vast and overlapping networks of commerce, conquest, religions, culture and language between East and West (and North and South). We hadn't been back to the Museum since 2019 and it was a much calmer experience than the Louvre (though rainier). Then we went to lunch in Soho and had a brief glimpse of central London.
Worth doing well.
The main thing we wanted to do in London will now be postponed to a later trip because if a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing well. Next time I intend to spend a whole day at Kew Botanic Gardens. Because of my fascination with how the creative sector plays a key role in the economic world, I also became fascinated with the way the Victorians unlocked the economic potential of the natural world. Kew was at the heart of that. In Adelaide there is a Museum of Economic Botany and in Singapore in the UNESCO-listed Botanic Gardens, there is an Economic Garden. Kew collected vast numbers of seeds and other plant specimens from round the world and provided the plants in bulk that established the rubber industry in South East Asia and helped fight malaria.
The heart of London on a brief foray into the centre
Finally we headed off to Heathrow Airport, where we were staying the night before a 7.30 am Finnair flight the following day to Helsinki, then Bangkok. I remember when I first travelled overseas in 1989, I ended up in London in November as it became dark and cold. It wasn’t quite there yet (at ’peak bleak’, as our friend Jo aptly put it), but for someone who dislikes the heat, I thought I might be reconsidering my position.
On the long (and expensive) taxi trip to Heathrow Airport for our flight to Helsinki we passed some unexpected places. First up was the new apartment tower being built to replace Grenfell Tower, the apartment building that so shockingly caught fire in 2017, with a huge loss of life. It had a massive sign atop it ‘Grenfell Towers – always in our hearts’. We also meanered through a suburb with all its place names derived from Australian towns and cities – ironic since an endless list of place names in Australia are borrowed from Britain.
‘I became fascinated with the way the Victorians unlocked the economic potential of the natural world. Kew was at the heart of that. In Adelaide there is a Museum of Economic Botany and in Singapore in the UNESCO-listed Botanic Gardens, there is an Economic Garden. Kew collected vast numbers of seeds and other plant specimens from round the world and provided the plants in bulk that established the rubber industry in South East Asia and helped fight malaria.’
On the long (and expensive) taxi trip to Heathrow Airport for our flight to Helsinki we passed some unexpected places. First up was the new apartment tower being built to replace Grenfell Tower, the apartment building that so shockingly caught fire in 2017, with a huge loss of life. It had a massive sign atop it ‘Grenfell Towers – always in our hearts’. We also meanered through a suburb with all its place names derived from Australian towns and cities – ironic since an endless list of place names in Australia are borrowed from Britain.
Narrowboats and canals - can ther ever be too many?
On the trip to Europe over five weeks ago, I would have expected that because we were merely transiting through both Hong Kong and Helsinki, and not leaving the airport, we wouldn’t have to repeatedly go through security, but I was wrong – flying Business Class might save you from boarding queues, but that’s the full extent of it. International travel seems to be very inefficient in many respects.
It was also complicated in Helsinki because we had to go through a very slow and laborious immigration process to enter the Schengen zone, the whole European Community region. What it did show me was that since you have to go through the whole process, no matter what, a stopover makes even more sense. Next time I think we will seriously consider stopping over in both Hong Kong and Helsinki.
A different story
On the way back it was a different story. Once we had been through security at Heathrow, we segued seamlessly onto our Finnair connection from Helsinki to Bangkok. Helsinki Airport and the Finnair lounge made Heathrow look like a slum. Heathrow was less attractive because one of the travellers in the waiting lounge had a ‘Make America Great Again’ cap. Apart from the message Itself, to my mind anyone who wears a cap with a slogan on it is a tosser.
Despite that we had a good time the night before we flew out, even though the flight was at 7.30 am and required a long walk to the terminal (which we rehearsed when we first arrived – luckily). We sat in the Runway Bar and watched the planes take off and then bumped into a couple of terrific like-minded Canadians, originally from Essex and Scotland, who we ended up having dinner with.
A different story
On the way back it was a different story. Once we had been through security at Heathrow, we segued seamlessly onto our Finnair connection from Helsinki to Bangkok. Helsinki Airport and the Finnair lounge made Heathrow look like a slum. Heathrow was less attractive because one of the travellers in the waiting lounge had a ‘Make America Great Again’ cap. Apart from the message Itself, to my mind anyone who wears a cap with a slogan on it is a tosser.
Despite that we had a good time the night before we flew out, even though the flight was at 7.30 am and required a long walk to the terminal (which we rehearsed when we first arrived – luckily). We sat in the Runway Bar and watched the planes take off and then bumped into a couple of terrific like-minded Canadians, originally from Essex and Scotland, who we ended up having dinner with.
Bangkok skyline as night settles in
When we first arrived in Bangkok (at 5 am) I was worried that this could turn out to be a sad let down at the end of the trip. Bangkok was hot and humid, crowded and chaotic and Singapore was definitely more our sort of place. My trepidation was compounded by a simple mistake. When we arrived in Dijon from Basel, I was so used to eye-wateringly expensive prices that I thought the price of a glass of wine in the magnificent restaurant we discovered was so high that we wouldn’t be able to have wine with our meal at all. Then I realised that what I had been looking at was the price of a bottle.
In our hotel in Bangkok, my fellow traveller had worked out that to convert prices in Thai baht to Australian dollars, you dropped the final zero and halved it. I didn’t use her formula for a while and when I did I mistakenly started removing the zero and then doubling it. With a sinking heart I thought we wouldn’t be able to eat at our hotel – which turned out to be super luxurious. Thai currency is one of those frightening ones where everything costs thousands – but thankfully it was a toothless tiger.
This was compounded by the fact that the day we arrived was the last day of Buddhist Lent and all alcohol sales were banned throughout the country. After getting up at 4.30 am to fly out of London and arriving at 5 am in Bangkok, I would have welcomed a stiff drink – though I must admit that on their flights Finnair are very generous with their drinks.
‘The day we arrived was the last day of Buddhist Lent and all alcohol sales were banned throughout the country. After getting up at 4.30 am to fly out of London and arriving at 5 am in Bangkok, I would have welcomed a stiff drink.’
In our hotel in Bangkok, my fellow traveller had worked out that to convert prices in Thai baht to Australian dollars, you dropped the final zero and halved it. I didn’t use her formula for a while and when I did I mistakenly started removing the zero and then doubling it. With a sinking heart I thought we wouldn’t be able to eat at our hotel – which turned out to be super luxurious. Thai currency is one of those frightening ones where everything costs thousands – but thankfully it was a toothless tiger.
This was compounded by the fact that the day we arrived was the last day of Buddhist Lent and all alcohol sales were banned throughout the country. After getting up at 4.30 am to fly out of London and arriving at 5 am in Bangkok, I would have welcomed a stiff drink – though I must admit that on their flights Finnair are very generous with their drinks.
Cooking by the canal on the Chef's Tour of Old Siam
However, after sorting all this out, thankfully I enjoyed our brief stop in Bangkok. The Thai were very welcoming and generous – and amazingly tech-literate. They are so into the modern digital world, they expect you to photograph your food – and post it.
Tiny ramshackle restaurants
The Chef’s Tour absolutely topped the visit off. We went to so many markets and tiny makeshift restaurants, jumped on a canal ferry and a tuk tuk and a bus, and ate so many varied amd marvellous dishes. Our guides, Annie and Champion were like a well-oiled machine, ensuring everything was organised in advance and guaranteeing that the food was fresh and fabulous.
The marvellous Chef's tour of Old Siam
Some of the tiny ramshackle restaurants where we ate had elderly chefs who had cooked for the Thai royal family. Apart from the guides, there were only four people on our tour – the other two were a young extremely funky Brazilian couple of vloggers who had been on food tours by the same company in other countries. I decided to recommend it to everyone – there's no other way you could see such a range of places with such quality control.
Food and flavours aplenty on our food tour of Bangkok - canal ferries, buses and tuk tuks
‘Getting to Europe was pretty traumatic because we were both getting over colds. Combined with the long queues for security in Hong Kong and Immigration in Finland, it meant we didn't get to enjoy the new things I was excited about with this trip, like our first flights on Cathay Pacific and Finnair and our first visit, however brief, to Hong Kong and Finland.’
Before we left Bangkok we ventured on a taxi trip of almost an hour to see the Grand Palace. It was astounding – it deserved several UNESCO listings, not just one. Getting back was a challenge without wi- fi but a marvellous woman at the National Museum let us hotspot her phone. Note to self – never try to get by without broadband connectivity, no matter how brief the visit.
The Grand Palace, Bangkok - not one UNESCO-listed site but a cascade of them
Our last flight was a late night one from Bangkok to Sydney, on our way home. It had been stormy and rainy in Bangkok, with thunderstorms and it was predicted to get worse. I thought briefly that it was good for the farmers – then realised only if they were rice farmers, which they probably were. Luckily the weather ha been perfect for our Old Siam Chef’s Tour the previous day, which was like nothing I had ever done before.
Mentally converting prices
In Sydney we ended up back at our favourite hotel, The Fullerton – we stayed there so often, they’d upgraded us. We planned to have a quiet night before catching the train to Canberra at midday the following day. We went out for a quick bite of our favourite Wagyu burger at the bar at the fabulously Art Deco Rockpool Bar and Grill last night and I found myself starting to mentally convert the prices, then realised we no longer had to. We were both looking forward to seeing what Canberra would look like after six weeks away.
Mentally converting prices
In Sydney we ended up back at our favourite hotel, The Fullerton – we stayed there so often, they’d upgraded us. We planned to have a quiet night before catching the train to Canberra at midday the following day. We went out for a quick bite of our favourite Wagyu burger at the bar at the fabulously Art Deco Rockpool Bar and Grill last night and I found myself starting to mentally convert the prices, then realised we no longer had to. We were both looking forward to seeing what Canberra would look like after six weeks away.
Looking down on clock towers - back in Sydney
Getting to Europe was pretty traumatic because we were both getting over colds. Combined with the long queues for security in Hong Kong and Immigration in Finland, it meant we didn't get to enjoy the new things I was excited about with this trip, like our first flights on Cathay Pacific and Finnair and our first visit, however brief, to Hong Kong and Finland. Thankfully the ability to lie down and sleep made long haul flying a totally different experience.
Our travel tends to alternate between international journeys and our much-loved regional road tours – the best of both worlds. We were about to leave Sydney after an extensive trip involving planes, trains, cars and ships. We had already started to plan our next trip – one of our regional road tours, this time to Inverloch in Gippsland for my brother’s 70th birthday. This was to be followed by a quick sprint to Melbourne and then a drive straight to Murrumbatemen for another 70th. All in all, as enjoyable as it all was, we were starting to feel like stopping still for a while.
Our travel tends to alternate between international journeys and our much-loved regional road tours – the best of both worlds. We were about to leave Sydney after an extensive trip involving planes, trains, cars and ships. We had already started to plan our next trip – one of our regional road tours, this time to Inverloch in Gippsland for my brother’s 70th birthday. This was to be followed by a quick sprint to Melbourne and then a drive straight to Murrumbatemen for another 70th. All in all, as enjoyable as it all was, we were starting to feel like stopping still for a while.
© Stephen Cassidy 2025
See also
See also
Travelling light-The largest islands in the Pacific
‘I’ve been to New Zealand only twice – once on a brief stop in Auckland on the way to Tahiti in 2014 and then on a longer trip around the North Island at the end of 2016. On the first trip my fellow traveller was in New Zealand because she wanted to visit Tahiti, whereas I was in Tahiti because I wanted to visit New Zealand - though, mmm, as everyone commented, Tahiti was nice. On the second visit, we had planned to continue on to the South Island – till it became clear this would be biting off more than we could chew. Then, finally, six and a half years later, we were going back to New Zealand – and this time we would visit the South Island. We had sold our house after 12 years and we were on the road again. We were on the train to Sydney. On Tuesday we would board a Viking ship for a two week cruise down the East coast of Australia, across to New Zealand, finishing in Auckland. Then it would be four weeks of trains, ferries and hire cars as we got to know one of our favourite countries even better’, Travelling light-The largest islands in the Pacific.
‘I’ve been to New Zealand only twice – once on a brief stop in Auckland on the way to Tahiti in 2014 and then on a longer trip around the North Island at the end of 2016. On the first trip my fellow traveller was in New Zealand because she wanted to visit Tahiti, whereas I was in Tahiti because I wanted to visit New Zealand - though, mmm, as everyone commented, Tahiti was nice. On the second visit, we had planned to continue on to the South Island – till it became clear this would be biting off more than we could chew. Then, finally, six and a half years later, we were going back to New Zealand – and this time we would visit the South Island. We had sold our house after 12 years and we were on the road again. We were on the train to Sydney. On Tuesday we would board a Viking ship for a two week cruise down the East coast of Australia, across to New Zealand, finishing in Auckland. Then it would be four weeks of trains, ferries and hire cars as we got to know one of our favourite countries even better’, Travelling light-The largest islands in the Pacific.
All aboard – travelling with the descendants of the Vikings
‘Once I had never been on a cruise and never imagined I would ever go on a cruise. That all changed when I visited Scotland in 2017. I became fascinated by the degree to which Scotland and Northern England were connected to Norway. A cruise to Norway on a Norwegian ship seemed highly appropriate. When I saw Viking Jupiter sitting high on the Thames, waiting for us to board I knew I had to come to the right place. The year before last, in September 2023, having recently returned from what was only my second journey with Viking Cruises, with another one planned the following year, I wanted to send the company some feedback about our experience. This is an expanded version of what I sent them back then, with another cruise under our belt since and a further one booked for 2026’, All aboard – travelling with the descendants of the Vikings.
‘Once I had never been on a cruise and never imagined I would ever go on a cruise. That all changed when I visited Scotland in 2017. I became fascinated by the degree to which Scotland and Northern England were connected to Norway. A cruise to Norway on a Norwegian ship seemed highly appropriate. When I saw Viking Jupiter sitting high on the Thames, waiting for us to board I knew I had to come to the right place. The year before last, in September 2023, having recently returned from what was only my second journey with Viking Cruises, with another one planned the following year, I wanted to send the company some feedback about our experience. This is an expanded version of what I sent them back then, with another cruise under our belt since and a further one booked for 2026’, All aboard – travelling with the descendants of the Vikings.
Returning to France – liberté, égalité, fraternité
‘As we prepare to visit France yet again later this year, I had to ask myself why I find it so fascinating. Part of the reason is the influence French culture has had in so many areas. Part of the reason concerns a story told about Zhou Enlai, the former Premier of China. Asked by Kissinger what he thought were the long term effects of the French Revolution, he replied ‘it’s too soon to tell’. Even though it seems he was referring to the student uprising of May 1968, the truth is his answer could more accurately be a reference to the original French Revolution. I am very fond of a long term view – which seems particularly Chinese’. Returning to France – liberté, égalité, fraternité.
‘As we prepare to visit France yet again later this year, I had to ask myself why I find it so fascinating. Part of the reason is the influence French culture has had in so many areas. Part of the reason concerns a story told about Zhou Enlai, the former Premier of China. Asked by Kissinger what he thought were the long term effects of the French Revolution, he replied ‘it’s too soon to tell’. Even though it seems he was referring to the student uprising of May 1968, the truth is his answer could more accurately be a reference to the original French Revolution. I am very fond of a long term view – which seems particularly Chinese’. Returning to France – liberté, égalité, fraternité.
Travelling light – Into Northern seas: UK, Norway, Denmark and Germany 2019
‘Neither I nor my fellow traveller had been on a cruise before, but suddenly we were sailing from London to Bergen, retracing the steps of the ancient Vikings. When we were in Scotland in 2017, we became entranced by the centuries of exchange and movement between Northern England and Scotland and Norway. We saw a cruise that travelled from Edinburgh to Bergen and became quite excited about the idea. Before you knew it, we were booked to sail from London to Edinburgh, then across the Norwegian Sea far above the Arctic Circle to the Northern-most tip of Norway before working out way down through the fjords and passages of the Norway coast to Bergen, the second largest city in Norway. We hadn’t even been discouraged by the fact that earlier that year another Viking cruise ship was nearly wrecked when one of its engines failed in a huge storm and passengers had to be lifted off by helicopter above raging seas’, Travelling light – Into Northern seas: UK, Norway, Denmark and Germany 2019.
Travelling light – Island on fire: Tasmania 2019
‘On an island you’re never far from the sea – that is unless the island is huge, like Australia. In tiny Tasmania, perched like an afterthought at the foot of Australia, even the mountains in the centre are not far from the ocean raging around them – just as in the distant homeland from which those who settled it came. On the main island, though, everywhere is a long way from everywhere else. Two islands, very different in size, in many ways with both similar and different histories. Both on fire. But this not just about the fires – it’s about what happened in front of the fire, the life lived in a time of warming and burning, even if it sometimes felt like a rehearsal for the end of the world’, Island on fire.
‘On an island you’re never far from the sea – that is unless the island is huge, like Australia. In tiny Tasmania, perched like an afterthought at the foot of Australia, even the mountains in the centre are not far from the ocean raging around them – just as in the distant homeland from which those who settled it came. On the main island, though, everywhere is a long way from everywhere else. Two islands, very different in size, in many ways with both similar and different histories. Both on fire. But this not just about the fires – it’s about what happened in front of the fire, the life lived in a time of warming and burning, even if it sometimes felt like a rehearsal for the end of the world’, Island on fire.
I smoke baby cigars
‘Smoking baby cigars in the dark of the backyard. Like some Cuban presidente haranguing the crowd with reminders, I proffer a list of romantic anniversaries, our May 4th movement, our July 12th uprising – our moment when everything became new’, I smoke baby cigars.
Cut back to black
‘Cut back to black, thin chill drizzle mid-winter – infinite regression on petrol’. Also called ‘Revhead heaven’, Cut back to black.
Coming back to these stones
‘Coming back to these stones – in the sandy dry reaches of the Coorong in South Australia’s South East birds flicker across the flat water like beads of run-away mercury’, Coming back to these stones.
Landscapes in a rear vision mirror
‘Heading at a moment's notice into Broken Hill, breaking several traffic laws on the Barrier Highway, in the rear vision mirror the land kept switching colours’, Landscapes in a rear vision mirror.
Stopping by Lake George
Cut back to black
‘Cut back to black, thin chill drizzle mid-winter – infinite regression on petrol’. Also called ‘Revhead heaven’, Cut back to black.
Coming back to these stones
‘Coming back to these stones – in the sandy dry reaches of the Coorong in South Australia’s South East birds flicker across the flat water like beads of run-away mercury’, Coming back to these stones.
Landscapes in a rear vision mirror
‘Heading at a moment's notice into Broken Hill, breaking several traffic laws on the Barrier Highway, in the rear vision mirror the land kept switching colours’, Landscapes in a rear vision mirror.
Stopping by Lake George
‘Lake George is a vast stretching freshwater lake, with no outlet. It is only diminished by evaporation. Many stories are told about Lake George, a still point of the turning earth, with all the quiet of the eye at the centre of a hurricane’, Stopping by Lake George.See other work from the Conversations group exhibition, Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, 2004 – a collaborative exhibition of writers and visual artists.
State of origin
Multimedia piece developed with visual artist, Deborah Faeyrglenn, State of origin looked at where we come from, where we go next and where we truly belong. In this work the writer and visual artist combined word, image and computer technology to make visual music. Words and images moved across the computer screen, with no fixed address, State of origin.
The lost art of conversation
Installation, developed with visual artist, Deborah Faeyrglenn, on words, meaning, reflection and infinite (or at least, partial) regression. Three tall thin vertical mirrors stand against the wall, covered in bursts of words. Three matching paper shadows flow out from the wall along the floor. Words on the mirrors flutter and blur into shadows, The lost art of conversation.
balloon
A fictional narrative work in the form of a website, the website as writing. About the adventures of a refugee from the big city who sets up the High Country Thought Balloon Company. A series of brief vignettes about the characters, situations and stories which intersect the path of the balloons as they soar across the skies of the Southern Tablelands and Snowy region. It is about changing perspective, balloon.
Malacoota Inlet
‘Shutdown in a flat, wet land, the line beween sea and sky where grey meets grey, where stricken yachts come in’, Malacoota Inlet.
Sitting on twigs
‘Sitting on twigs in the flat lands, in a piece of country loaded with meaning, like a tightly coiled spring’, Sitting on twigs.
An everyday life worth living – indefinite articles for a clean, clever and creative future
‘My blog “indefinite article” is irreverent writing about contemporary Australian society, popular culture, the creative economy and the digital and online world – life in the trenches and on the beaches of the information age. Over the last ten years I have published 166 articles about creativity and culture on the blog. This is a list of all the articles I have published there, broken down into categories, with a brief summary of each article. They range from the national cultural landscape to popular culture, from artists and arts organisations to cultural institutions, cultural policy and arts funding, the cultural economy and creative industries, First Nations culture, cultural diversity, cities and regions, Australia society, government, Canberra and international issues – the whole range of contemporary Australian creativity and culture’, An everyday life worth living – indefinite articles for a clean, clever and creative future.
‘My blog “indefinite article” is irreverent writing about contemporary Australian society, popular culture, the creative economy and the digital and online world – life in the trenches and on the beaches of the information age. Over the last ten years I have published 166 articles about creativity and culture on the blog. This is a list of all the articles I have published there, broken down into categories, with a brief summary of each article. They range from the national cultural landscape to popular culture, from artists and arts organisations to cultural institutions, cultural policy and arts funding, the cultural economy and creative industries, First Nations culture, cultural diversity, cities and regions, Australia society, government, Canberra and international issues – the whole range of contemporary Australian creativity and culture’, An everyday life worth living – indefinite articles for a clean, clever and creative future.
Beyond a joke – surviving troubled times
‘We live in troubled times – but then can anyone ever say that they lived in times that weren’t troubled? For most of my life Australia has suffered mediocre politicians and politics – with the odd brief exceptions – and it seems our current times are no different. Australia has never really managed to realise its potential. As a nation it seems to be two different countries going in opposite directions – one into the future and the other into the past. It looks as though we’ll be mired in this latest stretch of mediocrity for some time and the only consolation will be creativity, gardening and humour’, Beyond a joke – surviving troubled times.
‘We live in troubled times – but then can anyone ever say that they lived in times that weren’t troubled? For most of my life Australia has suffered mediocre politicians and politics – with the odd brief exceptions – and it seems our current times are no different. Australia has never really managed to realise its potential. As a nation it seems to be two different countries going in opposite directions – one into the future and the other into the past. It looks as though we’ll be mired in this latest stretch of mediocrity for some time and the only consolation will be creativity, gardening and humour’, Beyond a joke – surviving troubled times.
‘I’ve been a little out of touch with what’s been happening in the world of Australian creativity and culture because for all of February and early March this year I was visiting Aotearoa New Zealand, on a journey that originally started in November 2016 and was then resumed over six years later. While I was away the Labor Government announced its new National Cultural Policy and soon after I arrived back I received bad news of a loss from the tight group of friends and colleagues who had helped form my cultural world-view so many decades earlier – when we spoke the language of community, the language of culture and the language of changing the world for the better’, Absent without leave – ocean crossing in an (almost) post-pandemic world.
Industries of the future help tell stories of the past – Weta at work in the shaky isles
‘After three weeks travelling round the North Island of New Zealand, I’ve had more time to reflect on the importance of the clean and clever industries of the future and the skilled knowledge workers who make them. In the capital, Wellington, instead of the traditional industries that once often dominated a town, like the railways or meatworks or the car plant or, in Tasmania, the Hydro Electricity Commission, there was Weta. It’s clear that the industries of the future can thrive in unexpected locations. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. These skills which Weta depends on for its livelihood are also being used to tell important stories from the past’, Industries of the future help tell stories of the past – Weta at work in the shaky isles.
‘After three weeks travelling round the North Island of New Zealand, I’ve had more time to reflect on the importance of the clean and clever industries of the future and the skilled knowledge workers who make them. In the capital, Wellington, instead of the traditional industries that once often dominated a town, like the railways or meatworks or the car plant or, in Tasmania, the Hydro Electricity Commission, there was Weta. It’s clear that the industries of the future can thrive in unexpected locations. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. These skills which Weta depends on for its livelihood are also being used to tell important stories from the past’, Industries of the future help tell stories of the past – Weta at work in the shaky isles.
My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world
‘My nephew just got a job in Wellington New Zealand with Weta Digital, which makes the digital effects for Peter Jackson’s epics. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. This is part of the new knowledge economy of the future, with its core of creative industries and its links to our cultural landscape. Increasingly the industries of the future are both clever and clean. At their heart are the developing creative industries which are based on the power of creativity and are a critical part of Australia’s future – innovative, in most cases centred on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally. This is transforming the political landscape of Australia, challenging old political franchises and upping the stakes in the offerings department’, My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world.
‘My nephew just got a job in Wellington New Zealand with Weta Digital, which makes the digital effects for Peter Jackson’s epics. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. This is part of the new knowledge economy of the future, with its core of creative industries and its links to our cultural landscape. Increasingly the industries of the future are both clever and clean. At their heart are the developing creative industries which are based on the power of creativity and are a critical part of Australia’s future – innovative, in most cases centred on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally. This is transforming the political landscape of Australia, challenging old political franchises and upping the stakes in the offerings department’, My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world.
‘We are all used to being astounded as we see growing evidence of how widespread contact and trade was across the breadth of the ancient European world and with worlds far beyond. The Romans and the Vikings and many after them all roamed far and wide. This is the stuff of a hundred television documentaries that show just how interconnected the ancient world was. Connection, not isolation, has always been the norm. Seaways were bridges, not barriers – a way to bring people together, not divide them. Now important archaeological work confirms just how widespread that cross-cultural, international network was across the whole of Northern Australia, long before the British arrived’, The Asian Century was underway long before the British arrived.
History all around us – the long term practical impact of cultural research
‘Cultural research has long term impacts in terms of our developing body of knowledge which stretch far into the future. Researchers are finding stories in our major cultural collections that were never envisaged by those originally assembling them – a process that will continue long into the future. The collections of our major cultural institutions are becoming increasingly accessible to the very people the collections are drawn from and reflect. In the process they are generating greater understanding about some of the major contemporary issues we face’, History all around us – the long term practical impact of cultural research.
‘You don’t have to be part of ‘Indigenous affairs’ in Australia to find yourself involved. You can’t even begin to think of being part of support for Australian arts and culture without encountering and interacting with Indigenous culture and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and individuals who make it and live it.’ The Magna Carta – still a work in progress.
‘I’ve travelled around much of Australia, by foot, by plane, by train and by bus, but mostly by car. As I travelled across all those kilometres and many decades, I never realised that, without ever knowing, I would be silently crossing from one country into another, while underneath the surface of the landscape flashing past, languages were changing like the colour and shape of the grasses or the trees. The parallel universe of Indigenous languages is unfortunately an unexpected world little-known to most Australians.’ The hidden universe of Australia's own languages.
Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent
‘As the global pandemic has unfolded, I have been struck by how out of touch a large number of Australians are with Australia’s place in the world. Before the pandemic many Australians had become used to travelling overseas regularly – and spending large amounts of money while there – but we seem to think that our interaction with the global world is all about discretionary leisure travel. In contrast, increasingly many Australians were travelling – and living – overseas because their jobs required it. Whether working for multinational companies that have branches in Australia or Australian companies trying to break into global markets, Australian talent often needs to be somewhere else than here to make the most of opportunities for Australia. Not only technology, but even more importantly, talent, will be crucial to the economy of the future’, Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent.
‘As the global pandemic has unfolded, I have been struck by how out of touch a large number of Australians are with Australia’s place in the world. Before the pandemic many Australians had become used to travelling overseas regularly – and spending large amounts of money while there – but we seem to think that our interaction with the global world is all about discretionary leisure travel. In contrast, increasingly many Australians were travelling – and living – overseas because their jobs required it. Whether working for multinational companies that have branches in Australia or Australian companies trying to break into global markets, Australian talent often needs to be somewhere else than here to make the most of opportunities for Australia. Not only technology, but even more importantly, talent, will be crucial to the economy of the future’, Flight of the wild geese – Australia’s place in the world of global talent.
Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity
‘When I was visiting Paris last year, there was one thing I wanted to do before I returned home – visit the renowned French bakery that had trained a Melbourne woman who had abandoned the high stakes of Formula One racing to become a top croissant maker. She had decided that being an engineer in the world of elite car racing was not for her, but rather that her future lay in the malleable universe of pastry. Crossing boundaries of many kinds and traversing the borders of differing countries and cultures, she built a radically different future to the one she first envisaged’, Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity.
‘When I was visiting Paris last year, there was one thing I wanted to do before I returned home – visit the renowned French bakery that had trained a Melbourne woman who had abandoned the high stakes of Formula One racing to become a top croissant maker. She had decided that being an engineer in the world of elite car racing was not for her, but rather that her future lay in the malleable universe of pastry. Crossing boundaries of many kinds and traversing the borders of differing countries and cultures, she built a radically different future to the one she first envisaged’, Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity.
Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future
‘After ABBA, in an unexpected break from its traditional way of building national wealth from natural resources, Sweden managed to discover a new source of income. It was not as you would expect coal or oil. Rather than oil what it had discovered was song royalties, part of a fundamental change in the nature of modern economies which transformed them from relying solely on natural resources, transport and manufacturing to make creative content a new form of resource mining. Examples like theirs point to potentially major opportunities for the Australian music industry to become a net exporter of music,’ Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future.
‘After ABBA, in an unexpected break from its traditional way of building national wealth from natural resources, Sweden managed to discover a new source of income. It was not as you would expect coal or oil. Rather than oil what it had discovered was song royalties, part of a fundamental change in the nature of modern economies which transformed them from relying solely on natural resources, transport and manufacturing to make creative content a new form of resource mining. Examples like theirs point to potentially major opportunities for the Australian music industry to become a net exporter of music,’ Music makes the world go round – the bright promise of our export future.
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