by Krista | Apr 19, 2014 | Spring
Today I am longing for the beach, the hot sun of Italy, for lazy afternoons with dear friends, so we’re heading down memory lane to Santa Maria Castellabate for a late afternoon picnic.
Of all the places I’ve been in Italy, this is one of my very favorites.
My girlfriends and I arrived in early Spring, long before hordes of Summer tourists cover every square inch of sand with towels, baskets, and book bags.
It was just us and a few locals, catching the first golden rays of Italian Spring sunshine that warms you to your very bones.
Late afternoon is my favorite time to visit for everyone is relaxing after a long day of work. No one’s in a hurry, and the luscious gold of the setting sun is pure balm to the soul.
Bare-bottomed toddlers squeal as they dip their toes in the water, leather-skinned old ladies soak up even more sunshine, and old men fold their arms over their bellies and sit back to watch the world go by.
It’s wonderful.
I like laying back on a lounger and looking up at the gorgeous old buildings surrounding the beach. They’re pitted and weathered, yet somehow, all the more beautiful for it.
Barefoot and deliciously toasted after snoozing in the sun, we decide it’s high time for something to eat and find a little shop nearby that happily sells us crusty rolls, peppery salami, and wedges of creamy cheese.
We sit back in our chairs, basking in the life and light around us as we munch our way through sandwiches that taste even more delicious after a day spent in sea breezes, hot sand, and cold ocean water.
It all feels so perfect that I secretly wish I could stop time and stay right there in that moment for just a few more hours.
But soon the sun lowers and the wind off the ocean has a nip in it, so we pack our books and towels and trudge up the sand to our waiting car.
It’s time to go home.
by Krista | Nov 7, 2013 | Spring
When Bear and I left beautiful Stonehenge, NSW, we continued our road trip up towards Tenterfield.
With our area of Queensland going through a parching drought, it was absolutely delicious to drive through the green countryside and clean, cool air of the Tablelands. And when we saw a sign for fresh cherries, we simply had to pull over.
The turn off took us to the pretty Cherry Dale Orchard.
Run by Paul and Jenny Savins, the Cherry Dale Orchard is a family owned and run business and is a lovely spot for a break on a long drive. (Click here to visit their blog and see more pictures of their farm and family.)
You can admire the lush gardens, currently festooned with all sorts of wondrous blossoms.
Or sit in the shade on a comfy bench with a rather stunning view of the surrounding hills.
The Savins have over twenty varieties of cherries plus numerous varieties of apricots, nectarines, peaches, and plums.
I really enjoyed walking over the grounds, tasting the newest crop of cherries, and stocking up on homemade cherry jam and a big bag of fresh cherries.
We’ve been treasuring our purchases over the last week, serving the jam over buckwheat pancakes topped with homemade cottage cheese and happily devouring a big ol’ pan of Cherry Clafoutis that is gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free yet absolutely scrumptious.
Traditionally Cherry Clafoutis is served warm dusted with powdered sugar, but I prefer it cold, especially on the piping hot summer afternoons we’ve been having.
What is your favorite thing to make with fresh cherries?
Gluten-free Dairy-free Sugar-free Cherry Clafoutis
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Coconut oil or butter
1 can coconut milk (or almond/rice/cashew milk)
3 Tbsp real maple syrup
3 Tbsp cherry brandy
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
6 large eggs
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
3-4 cups fresh cherries, pitted
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 F (205 C).
- Grease 9” by 13” pan with coconut oil or butter.
- Pour all ingredients except cherries into blender and blend 1-2 minutes until foamy.
- Pour batter into greased pan.
- Add cherries and distribute equally throughout batter.
- Bake 30-40 minutes until top is browned and middle is cooked through.
- Serve warm or chilled.
by Krista | Nov 3, 2013 | Spring
Bear and I were moseying along the New England Highway on our New South Wales road trip, wending our way through green hills on our way up to Glen Innes when suddenly I saw something that had my eyes bug out in amazement.
My normal response would’ve been an elated, “Look at THAT!!!” But after nearly giving Bear a heart attack with previous such startling pronouncements, I’ve learned to calmly say, “OK Bear, we need to pull over up here” and hold back on my unabashed exclamations of delight for when the car has stopped. 😉
With his heart thus beating at a normal rate, he pulled over and drove through this gate.
What I had seen from my car window was this…
…and this…
…and this. Seriously, wouldn’t YOU want to pull over if you saw such a thing? Amazing!!
We found a shady place to park then eased our creaking selves out of the car and looked around us in wonder.
This particular boulder is known as the Balancing Rock. How on earth is it staying put?
We had so much fun trekking all over the Stonehenge Recreation Ground, delighting in the massive boulders erupting out of the gently undulating plateau.
Stonehenge Recreation Ground is located just south of Glen Innes, New South Wales and takes its name from nearby Stonehenge Station, the first property owned by a white settler, a Scotsman named Archibald Boyd. He was led to the area by William Chandler and John Duval, two stockmen known as ‘the Beardies’ because of their long beards.
The Land of the Beardies Festival is held here annually and features a beard-growing competition. That cracks me up. 🙂
It is such a beautiful place and a great spot for a mid-road-trip break since it has picnic areas and toilets and plenty of room for cooped up travelers to stretch their legs.
I loved exploring this area of Australia known as Celtic Country, and would love to return for the Australian Celtic Festival in Glen Innes in May.
Do you have an affinity for Celtic things like I do? If so, what is your favorite Celtic event, place, or experience?
by Krista | Oct 31, 2013 | Spring
As Bear and I packed up to continue our New South Wales road trip, we headed up into the hills leaving the smoky valley behind us.
I rifled through our collection of audio books, pulled out a new Phryne Fisher mystery and popped it in. Then we settled in for the ride with a bit of dark chocolate and a handful of rosemary roasted Brazil nuts.
Only twenty minutes down the road we spotted a miraculous lookout sign and pulled over to see what we could see. I say miraculous for we have found that while Australia has breathtaking natural beauty around nearly every bend in the road, there are next to NO pullouts from which an appreciative viewer can enjoy it. It is most distressing to a passionate photographer like myself who would dearly love to stop every few kilometers to capture stunning mountain ranges, jewel-like alpine lakes, and the fabulous architecture. Sigh. Tis most distressing.
We decided that should I ever win the Lotto, I’m going to make it my mission to spend part of the loot on building lookouts across Australia.
The road just past the aforementioned sign led us to the top of a nearby hill and we clambered out to find ourselves surrounded by fantastic classic cars. We chit-chatted with the owners who were delighted by the not-yet-finished classic car on the back of our trailer, Bear’s 1971 Datsun Coupe. (Yep, he loved my Lucy so much that when he found a similar one in even better condition for a great price, he nabbed it! We now have two Datto Coupes that we’re fixing up. :-))
When the chatting about motors and whatnot was finished, we moseyed up steps set directly on a massive rock, and took in the stunning views from the Moonbi Lookout.
The air was wonderfully cool up there with luscious breezes that felt like summer. Smoke from New South Wales forest fires still smudged the horizon and made us feel so grateful that we only deal with floods in our part of Australia.
I’d love to return one day when the fires are out and the smoke has cleared. You can see the tops of the Blue Mountains in the distance even now, but I can imagine the views are amazing when the air is clean.
I’d also like to see it after the summer rains when everything is wonderfully lush and green. It must look like an Australian version of Scotland or Ireland then.
Eventually we moseyed back to the car and continued on our way. Once we got over the ridge the smoke cleared and we were greeted with clean, cool air, so fresh and invigorating. Down came our windows as we rolled along taking in glimpses of pastoral beauty.
Next time we’ll explore something I never expected to find in Australia…Stonehenge.
Do you have a favorite lookout near where you live?
by Krista | Oct 29, 2013 | Spring
This past weekend Bear and I got went on an adventure – a madcap 2000 km road trip from Queensland to New South Wales and back again to pick up Bear’s car, Duc. We had fully intended to do the wickedly long trip in one straight shot, but after 22 hours of driving, Bear surprised us with a mini-vacation and turned our road trip into a holiday.
It was so much fun!
The cab of our ute was full to bursting with all sorts of healthy snacks to keep us going while we drove through the gorgeous New South Wales countryside. I roasted Brazil nuts with rosemary and sea salt, made venison meat balls, curried eggs and flourless tahini cookies, sliced good strong cheese and nitrate-free sausage, and filled containers with fresh snow peas, tomatoes, peaches, nectarines, and Lebanese cucumbers. We were set!
The first half of our trip was spent in total darkness as we drove through the night to arrive in Milperra by 6 a.m., so we entertained ourselves with audio books from the library and I kept Bear awake with numerous cups of raw cocoa mochas.
Once Duc was loaded onto our trailer we headed north again, through the smoke-filled Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley, still hazy from nearby forest fires.
By the time we arrived on the outskirts of Tamworth, we were knackered and very, very happy to pull over to crash in a motel for the rest of the day.
Turns out Tamworth is the Country Music Capital of Australia and when we saw the gigantic gold guitar out front of the Golden Guitar Motor Inn, we embraced our inner dorks and simply had to stay there.
We could’ve stayed at a quaint bed and breakfast or a posh hotel with entertainment options, but sometimes you just want a clean, quiet place where you can stretch out in air-conditioned comfort and do absolutely nothing.
This place did the trick, and they totally won me over when they handed me a bottle of milk for my afternoon tea, and invited us down later for complimentary wine and beer. Yep, that’s my kind of hospitality.
It was early afternoon so we luxuriated in long, hot showers (is there ANYTHING better than a hot shower after umpteen hours in the car?), took naps, and cozied up on the couch with strawberries, tea, and dark chocolate.
Not bad at all.
For dinner we craved cold drinks and comfort food and found both at the local BBQ joint: Bibs and Ribs. Amused by the crocodile decor – including crocodile head toilets that, when opened, revealed the open jaws of a tooth-filled croc mouth – we eased our aching selves onto wooden seats and sipped cold beer (Bear) and an icy mojito (me). The drinks eased our aching joints and stressed muscles and when our food arrived we were so relaxed we could hardly stay awake long enough to eat. But fish and chips and BBQ chicken can tempt even the most tired traveler, and we happily tucked in. We strolled back to our motel and were sound asleep by 7 p.m. and slept a solid 12 hours.
There’s nothing like good food and good sleep to set you to rights, and the next morning we were back to our perky adventurous selves, ready to head out on the open road to see what we would see.
I can’t wait to tell you about our adventures, from stunning lookouts and a cherry tree farm to Australia’s version of Stonehenge.
What is the best road trip you’ve ever taken?
by Krista | Oct 24, 2013 | Spring
“Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn?
Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends?
Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven’t the answer to a question you’ve been asked,
or the hush of a country road at night,
or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak,
or, most beautiful of all,
the moment after the door closes and you’re alone in the whole house?
Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully.”
Norton Juster
Sometimes the world seems a very noisy place. There are so many causes, opinions, and philosophies clamoring for our attention and response. And sometimes I need to pull away for awhile to get my equilibrium back.
I love those treasured quiet moments where all the voices are quieted, including my own, and I can just rest. I create them whenever I can.
In the car while waiting for Bear to run an errand. Such times are wonderful for rolling the windows down, closing my eyes and soaking up sunshine and deliciously cooling breezes.
On the farm right after Bear has dashed off to work with his bag full of papers, lunch, and the detritus of a school teacher’s responsibilities. This is my time to take a deep breath and luxuriate in absolute peace before the farmyard erupts in bleats, cackles, hoots, and quacks as everyone demands a good feed.
During this time I like to do something special just for me. Sometimes it’s reading a few pages from my book or making raw cocoa dandelion mocha. Earlier this week I made fresh-squeezed juice with white nectarines and apples and headed out to my kitchen garden for a sit in the early morning sunshine.
The sun felt so good and I loved just sitting, admiring the flowering thyme and cheery nasturtiums, spotting the first strawberries of the season, not worrying one iota about weeding or watering or getting seedlings transplanted to the big garden.
Soon enough the work of real life beckons and I’m busy writing an article or setting up a photo shoot or trekking through the fields with the goats. But even in those times of busyness, even a few quiet seconds observing a fluffy dandelion head sparkling among the grasses can make a huge difference.
It does me no end of good to take these little moments to restore, refresh, to remind myself that even when life gets crazy and hard and scary and sad, there is beauty and goodness just waiting to nourish a weary soul.
What do you like to do in your quiet moments? XO
My girlfriends and I arrived in early Spring, long before hordes of Summer tourists cover every square inch of sand with towels, baskets, and book bags.
Late afternoon is my favorite time to visit for everyone is relaxing after a long day of work. No one’s in a hurry, and the luscious gold of the setting sun is pure balm to the soul.
I like laying back on a lounger and looking up at the gorgeous old buildings surrounding the beach. They’re pitted and weathered, yet somehow, all the more beautiful for it.
Barefoot and deliciously toasted after snoozing in the sun, we decide it’s high time for something to eat and find a little shop nearby that happily sells us crusty rolls, peppery salami, and wedges of creamy cheese.
We sit back in our chairs, basking in the life and light around us as we munch our way through sandwiches that taste even more delicious after a day spent in sea breezes, hot sand, and cold ocean water.
But soon the sun lowers and the wind off the ocean has a nip in it, so we pack our books and towels and trudge up the sand to our waiting car.
