Latest Blog Posts for Melbourne Ramblings

• onsen etiquette
  on Apr 24, 2015 in travel japan onsen onsen etiquette
  If it’s your first visit to Japan, you might be put off visiting an onsen because you are not sure of the correct practices or etiquette. Don’t be. Onsens are casual places for Japanese people, and once you have a grasp of the basics you...
• onsen town
  on Apr 19, 2015 in travel adventure japan kinosaki kinosakionsen onsen yukata
  First thing I realise is that I’m going to get the footwear thing wrong. We arrive at our beautiful little ryokan on the main drag of this little hot springs resort town, and immediately our sturdy, Gore-Tex lined walking shoes are spirited awa...
• a valued customer
  on Apr 11, 2015 in culture & music life & style travel birkenstocks dai maru etiquette japan obi osaka shinsaibashi shopping yukata
  It’s a source of real irritation to me that, no matter how much you spend in an Australian shop, no matter how high-end, the likely greeting by the shop assistant at the till will be “Just these today?”. Once I was shopping for a wh...
• tokyo to osaka
  on Apr 2, 2015 in travel flashpacker flashpacking japan kyoto osaka shinkansen tokyo train
  The Japan Rail officer on the opposite platform performs a brief balletic ritual as the Shinkansen pulls away exactly on time. In precise and well-practised gestures, he ostentatiously points at his shining silver watch and then at the departing trai...
• total eclipse of the heart
  on Mar 19, 2015 in Uncategorized
  Last time I witnessed a full solar eclipse was back in Ireland. It was August 1999 and it was billed as “the astronomical event of the Millennium”: probably the most-viewed eclipse event in human history. I was back from my world travels,...
• walking on very long beaches
  on Mar 12, 2015 in australian life health & wellbeing altona Australia beach beaches candolim carlton dollymount England fairhaven goa india ireland malahide melbourne ocean grove portmarnock st. kilda TAS VIC walk walking
  I‘ve always loved walking. For twenty years or more it’s been my main source of exercise, and never more so since I moved to Australia. For me, an hour’s brisk walk (and I walk at six or seven kilometres per hour) clears my mind, resets my brai...
• adventure
  on Feb 21, 2015 in change the world adventure future Lego past
  Today I went on a new adventure. I reconnected with my origins and marveled and how far I’ve travelled since then. I drew pictures of my past and built Lego models of my future, in the hope of making the present more meaningful. I ignored the &...
• what’s important?
  on Feb 20, 2015 in change the world health & wellbeing grammar important
  In no particular order: Integrity. Armour (killer heels; a good suit; the perfect lipstick). Loyalty. Having a vote. A sense of place. Grammar. A feeling of self-worth. Good red wine. Freedom to travel. A nice cup of tea (or coffee, if you must). Gra...
• down memory lane
  on Dec 23, 2014 in celebrations family business ireland travel christmas dublin dublin bus guinness henry street liberties
  On the eve of Christmas Eve, I stroll up the street where I grew up to catch the bus into town for the first time in more than a decade. The 78 bus is gone now, replaced by the number 40 that crawls through working class suburbs west of the city, ove...
• where in the world?
  on Aug 7, 2014 in travel adventure Australia barbados beach Canada Cornwall England Hawaii Jamaica lake Malta mountain Norway Portugal Scotland snow Switzerland Tasmania tropical USA waterfall weather
    Tagged: adventure, Australia, barbados, beach, Canada, Cornwall, England, Hawaii, Jamaica, lake, Malta, mountain, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, snow, Switzerland, Tasmania, travel, tropical, USA, waterfall, weather...

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