Travel Notecards: AUSTRALIA

Showing posts with label AUSTRALIA. Show all posts

Saturday, 12 January 2013

Saturday morning in Australia

What is more Australian than bumping into a surf lifesaving competition as you take off for your morning walk!

©Millie Brown 2013

Millie x

Thursday, 20 December 2012

Life is a tub of raspberries...... and cherries; Adelaide hills, Australia

Raspberries.......

Cherries and raspberries in Australia are at their best in December and so what better way to enjoy them than FRESH, straight off the bush or tree.

We are lucky in South Australia to have such wonderful produce so close to the actual city of Adelaide. One has only to travel 30 to 45 minutes to be in the heart of the apple, cherry and raspberry districts.

The price of rasbberries in Australia can make people think twice about making their own jam with this delicious fruit. However, if you visit Les and Audrey Collins, Orchadists in Summertown in the Adelaide hills, you can purchase raspberries that have been put away for this express purpose, and are cheaper. The sole reason that they are tagged as 'jam' raspberries is that they are less elegant looking (a little more squished) but equally delicious. Being a lover of raspberry jam this was an exciting find!

They also have the 'perfect' looking raspberries and silver berries for your plate.

You don't PYO at the Collins' orchard, Sam from Wales is doing a brilliant job of that.

Les & Audrey Collins

Collins Road

Summertown

Ph 8390 3240

(also grow apples, cherries & pears).

Cherries......

For PYO cherries, head to Stella Creek, only another 20 minutes or so on from Summertown and 30 minutes from Adelaide.

Rows and rows of magnificent cherry trees greet you on your arrival. Head to the shed, grab your bucket (and for the busy Christmas period a hot sausage in bread at the sausage sizzle stand), before heading out to the orchard.

Not only do you get to go home with gorgeous fresh cherries but you get them at a much lesser cost than you would find at either the green grocers or the market.

Make cherry jam, pickle them and serve with duck, freeze them for the colder months, or munch on them fresh.

Quick easy dessert for any time of the year.....

For a quick easy dessert at any time of the year place cherries (leave the pips in) on a tray and freeze. When completely frozen, take them out and cryovac and place back in the freezer. They will make their very own sweet and delicious juice. Serve them with icecream.

Stella Creek Cherry Orchard

178 Plummers Road

Forest Range

Ph: 08 8389 8572

Wishing you all a very happy and safe Christmas.

Millie x

Monday, 3 December 2012

Carrick Hill, Adelaide, South Australia; welcomes Australian Artist Jeffrey Smart

If any of you are heading to Adelaide, South Australia any time soon (or even if you are an Adelaidian for that matter), now is a great time to visit the gorgeous English Manor style house known as Carrick Hill Estate.

This majestic former home of the Haywards was built after two of Adelaide's most prominent families came together in marriage, Ursula Barr Smith and Bill Hayward. It is situated only 10 minutes from the centre of the city and upon completion in 1939 became one of the Hayward's four homes.

Much of the oak panelling found throughout the house was purchased by the Haywards at a demolition sale of an English mansion in Staffordshire, England.

Ursula and Bill Hayward were prolific art collectors and lovers, and many of the artists whose work fills the house were their close friends...Artists such as Nora Heysen, Sir William Dobell, Donald Friend and Sir Russell Drysdale.

French and British art also grace the interior of Carrick Hill, as well as some of the finest 16th to 18th century oak furniture found anywhere in Australia, including a carved oak panel from France dating back to 1600.

Now until February 24th is the perfect time to visit Carrick Hill as it is currently housing part of the Jeffrey Smart exhibition, 'Master of Stillness'.

South Australian born Jeffrey Smart has been described as 'Australia's iconic master of the urban vision' and one of Australia's most important modern day artists.

The exhibition is showing concurrently across two venues in Adelaide, Carrick Hill and the Samstag Museum at the University of South Australia. Together these venues feature over 60 of his works from 1940 to 2011.

Carrick features his early work produced in Adelaide during the 1940's, while the Samstag is showing work Smart produced from 1951 onwards in Sydney and in Tuscany where he is now living and working.

Master of Stillness will also be making its way to Victoria, touring to the TarraWarra Museum of Art in Healesville, December 21 to March 31, 2013.

Carrick Hill Estate

46 Carrick hill Drive

Springfield

©Copyright Millie Brown 2012

Wednesday, 23 May 2012

Adelaide, South Australia; a city of great wine and food

I am leaving Australia in a few weeks, and have many things to accomplish before I step onto the tarmac; all of the above are my excuses for having been a little tardy with my posting lately! So here is a quick and easy one!

Adelaide is my post today; a city in the south of Australia known for its churches (however, to this day I have never worked out why exactly), and more understandably for its wonderful food and wine. Here are some of the restaurants I enjoy when I am there.

Chianti Classico

For some of the BEST Italian you will find anywhere in Australia, and impeccable and warm service

160 Hutt Street

Adelaide

2 mins from the CBD

Assaggio

More fabulous Italian food

92 - 94 King William Road

Hyde Park

5 mins from the CBD

Parisi

Italian again!

A more casual option than Chianti or Assaggio

138 King William Road

Hyde Park

Grimaldis

375 Greenhill Road

Toorak Gardens

7 mins from CBD

Stirling Hotel Restaurant

In gorgeous Stirling (Adelaide Hills)

52 Mount Barker Road

Only 15 minutes from CBD

Not much is far from the CBD of Adelaide as you can tell!

Bon Appétit

Millie x

Saturday, 4 February 2012

South Australian Landscapes, The Coorong

Birdlife is abundant in this part of the world with many Egrets and Pelicans inhabiting the gorgeous and delicate environment of the coorong.

This particular Egret finds itself competing against the freshly painted jetty on the foreshore of Milang, a small town situated on Lake Alexandrina, an hour and a half drive from Adelaide's CBD http://www.milang.org.au/

If you love nature and pristine wilderness this area of South Australia is definitely worth visiting, you'll discover sand dunes, beaches and waterways all inhabited by an abundance of rare and wonderful bird life.

Millie xx

Thursday, 2 February 2012

Cassie Thring the Artist paints Hugo the dog

The most exciting part of my Christmas this year was waiting to see my parents reaction to our (my and my sibling's) best kept Christmas secret, the unveiling of Hugo......the portrait (and our present) of their much loved, very spoilt and very large dog.

To be able to commission Cassie one of South Australia's most talented and exhibited artists to capture Hugo on canvas was one of the most exciting elements of the surprise. I am a huge admirer of her incredible talent and creativity. She is not only an immensely gifted artist but is also one of the warmest and wittiest people I know. An all round great girl.

Cassie in her studio with Hugo

No need to go into detail on their reaction, but it couldn't have been a happier one. Cassie has captured Hugo to a 'tee', the special 'Hugo' expression with his soft caring eyes that we know so well absolutely shines from the canvas.

Cassie works from her studio in the Adelaide Hills, where she sculpts with clay, and works with ceramics and paint.

Visit her website here, get a glimpse of some of her unique work in both sculpture and painting, and see why she is in such high demand as an artist.

For me personally it is her distinctive sense of style and humour that emanates from her work and draws me to it.

Millie xx

Sunday, 20 November 2011

Frenchmen everywhere are flying

I had to share this with you...these guys are the flying Frenchmen, and until today (the last day of the Adelaide International three day event), I never knew they existed.

A Frenchman, an Italian and a miscellaneous, (sorry missed some of the details), travel the 'horsey' world jumping super high show jumps and all without a single horse in sight! Apparently their record is well over 1.8m high. Who would have ever known! It certainly was a crowd pleaser and with the horse masks in place, just a touch quirky!

Here they are in action.... the jumps by the way had just been raised four holes higher than the height the horses had been jumping moments earlier.

While searching google to find out more about these 'Frenchmen' I discovered Lorenzo...THE flying Frenchman. Click on the link below to take a look at the beautiful images and story of a very special relationship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it7bVioSPGI&feature=related

Saturday, 19 November 2011

International Three Day Event comes to town

Quick hop and a skip and I'm in Adelaide taking photos of their annual International Three day Event.

For me, Camera + Horses = Bliss

This event is the largest and most important Three Day Event in the Southern Hemisphere and attracts riders and horses from all over the world.

Adelaide is a great venue for this event, it may be a small city (nothing wrong with that)!, but it has so much at it's fingertips....how many other cities of the world could host a four star three day event only a minutes walk from their city centre, set amongst beautiful gums and olive groves.

A Three day Event is comprised funnily enough of three events, each one being held on an individual day. Dressage on the first, Cross country on the second (today) and show jumping on the third. It is a grueling test for both horse and rider and makes for a great spectator sport.

THE ITALIAN ENTRANT IN FULL GALLOP

These beautiful animals are truly extraordinary, their grace, sheer guts, and beauty never cease to amaze me and I could watch them all day, so tomorrow that is exactly what I intend to do.....again.

Millie xx