OUR SCANDINAVIAN ADVENTURE - PROLOGUE

 Hello my dear readers,

It has been a long time since I touch my blog or read anything posted by my fellow bloggers.  I have no excuses or explanation to offer, I just felt that I needed to withdraw.

After a while, it all started comings slowly back to me, I realised how much I missed blogging so I decided to give myself another chance so please bear with me.

As it stands at this very moment, I haven't been taken any fashion shoots to share with you, my dear readers but I do, however have some lovely memories about our trip to Scandinavia and would love to share them with you.

So, without further ado, let me begin.

Last time my husband I have travelled overseas was in 2019.  First, it was COVID and the whole world was in lockdown but even after the borders were opened, we didn't feel safe enough to travel long distance.  However, by the start of  2025, we ran out of excuses and decided that we are ready to face the world.  The question was, where would we go? 

 As you might know or not that in Australia if you work a full calendar year, you are entitled to 4 weeks of annual leave.  It sounds like a lot, but if you live as far we do and pay as much in airfares as we do, you try to cram as much in your itinerary as humanly possible to make your money and time worthwhile.

While we contemplated our next move, one day while doom scrolling through my FB feed, I saw pictures of my niece and her family travelling through Scandinavia.  And that gave us an idea of where we should go.  The question was how were we going to do it.

We didn't feel like doing places-hopping as we used to.  We were considering joining a tour but didn't want to be among a big bunch of strangers nor being on the bus for hours on end.  So I started to search the net and shortly came across a company called Nordic Visitor that offers all sorts of tours around Europe and Scandinavia.  After a comprehensive search of their website, we settled on a fourteen day tour called Highlights of Scandinavia and Baltic Cruise.  What attracted our attention was that this tour was catered for a small group of people (up to 20).  That and the variety of the modes of transportation which mostly involves ferries and trains, while the buses were only used for city tours and dropping or picking us up from the point of arrival or departure.  

Here is the map of the tour but if you like to know more about this tour in detail such as full detailed itinerary, tour highlights, main attractions, accommodation, transportation etc, just click on this link or ask me a question in the comments section.

It was only one thing left to do:  select a date, book and pay which we happily did.

We were extremely careful choosing the dates for our trip as we learned from our first trip to Europe

Many years ago we happened to be in Europe in late July - early August and were shocked by the multitude of people everywhere.  Since I had never been in Europe before, let alone in summer, I had no idea of how busy it could be.  On the other hand, it was our honeymoon so we didn't have much choice of when to go, didn't we?  Armed with this knowledge and personal experience, after careful consideration we came to a conclusion that we should book our journey towards the end of summer. The Nordic weather would still be reasonably warm and the crowds in Europe would be mostly dispersed by then.  And let me tell you, it was the best decision ever.

However, since I had 4 weeks of my annual holidays at my disposal, we decided to have a sojourn in London before embarking on our Scandinavian adventure but that is for the next post.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

HOW I STYLED A MIDI DENIM SKIRT FOR THE OFFICE

Hello again dear readers, hope you are all well.

I put this outfit together with the help of brand new and not so new pieces.  Let me tell you about my new purchases.

First is a black midi denim skirt from Marcs.

The maxi denim skirts have been have been spotted down 2024 NYFW spring/summer ready-to-wear runways and were go-to-items among Sydney fashionistas over the cool months of autumn and winter and even in the earlier months of spring.  

The majority of shops stock skirts made out of blue denim in various shades from the darkest to the lightest cut straight with the front split.  I have tried so many of them to find the one that I look good in but failed.  For starters, this cut does not suit my body shape at all, also the true blue denim does not appeal to me.  

I was looking for a skirt that would look equally good in the office and on the streets.  Then one day browsing through the rack of a Marcs stand at David Jones department store, I found a skirt that matched all my parameters: it was made of black denim and has a flattering design lightly curving around the hips before flaring out though a fluted hem.  It suited my body shape perfectly and due to its black colour and silhouette I figured that I can wear it to the office too.

The second new addition to my closed is a white V-neck singlet from American Vintage.  I have quite a few white t-shirts but they all have a round neckline.  It goes very nicely when you wear it with a scarf.  I bought it in black too 👍😃.

And last but not least, is my new leather belt from a brand called Very Troubled Child.  My daughter bought it for me when she was on holiday in New York during her stuvac, Millennials slang for student vacation.  

You might also notice a big silver ring on my second finger, it is called The Bone Ring by Elsa Peretti for Tiffany and was a wedding anniversary gift from my husband.  

My Sandro jacket, Ferragamo shoes and LV red patent handbag have been living in my closet for much longer than I care to remember, proving once again that quality goods last a lifetime.

As for my Guy Laroche silk scarf, it belonged to my late mother-in-law who absolutely adored scarves and were given to me after her passing and now I feel privileged to share this passion with her.

Thank you for reading my blog, please leave your comments in the section below, your opinion is important to me 😍

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

THE RETURN OF AN ABSENT BLOGGER

 Hi everyone, hope you are all well

It has been a long time since my last post. After a long hibernation, I finally managed to shake off the winter slumber and decided to get back on the horse or in my situation, back to blogging.  I can't actually put my finger on why I completely withdrew from the blogger-sphere.  It just happened, one day I woke up and felt that I want nothing to do with it.  I tried to rationalise my feelings but it was nothing there to work on.  Let's just call it hibernation and move on 😄.  Surprisingly, seems like my mojo has come back thanks to return of spring and hopefully it will stay for a long time.

Speaking of spring, we are in the second month of it already but the weather is still like a yo-yo.  One day we are all heading to the beach and the next are shivering in our t-shirts and thongs as we Australians call flip-flops 😎.

My husband and I are not big beach lovers anyway, we both prefer the walks along the coast or cooler weather so we can go for long walks along the coast for a breath of fresh ocean air and be closer to nature or do something totally different and embark on one the of the urban walks discovering new neighborhoods and their surroundings.

Last Sunday we chose to have a city walk between Barangaroo and The Rocks.   Barangaroo is an area of Central Sydney within walking distance from CBD named in honour of an Aboriginal woman, the second wife of Bennelong, who was an interlocutor between the Aboriginal people and early British colonists.  Historically it was important land for Aboriginal People prior to colonial settlement.  With the arrival of Europeans, the indigenous people were driven off this land and what was once their hunting and fishing grounds, was redeveloped into multiple shipyards.  Over the years, as the ships became bigger, more capacity was required to accommodate them thus new bigger shipyards were require to accommodate them.

Thus this area has become abandoned and been hardly used until about twenty years as the State Government designated the site for redevelopment into parklands and also commercial space.  It took many years of planning and designing, not everything went according to plan and there are some bits and pieces needed to be finished but the whole development looks absolutely amazing.  

Today it is a thriving hub busy with all sorts of activities.  Its three high-rise towers are the home for myriads of offices, the residential apartments cost mega bucks, multiple dining venues offer food from all around the world.  There is a hotel with a casino on its premises and award winning restaurants such as 3-Michelin star Oncore by Claire Smyth where we went to celebrate my husband's seventieth birthday last year.  And right next to this bustling precinct there are beautifully landscape parklands and vast areas of public land for all of us to share and enjoy.

It is a short Metro ride for us to get there which is great because finding parking in this city has become an absolute nightmare.

We alighted at the station, and within minutes we were on a walking path that snakes gently following the shape of the shore and as we walked and watched the bustling ferries, private yachts  and tug boats darting up and down the bay with the neighbouring suburbs beckoning across the water the smoothing lapping of the water accompanied our stroll.

Once we left the parklands, we found ourselves directly under the Harbour Bridge in the historic neighbourhood  The Rocks.  You can read more about this fascinating part of Sydney in one of my previous posts here.

It was rather a long walk and we felt quite hungry.  The Rocks is full of places to eat, from fine dining to pub staples.  We settled for the latter.  I love pub food, the portions are big while the prices are not.  Besides, you get this lovely atmosphere where everyone feels like they belong, especially after a glass or two of wine 😊.

I had good time writing this post.  Hopefully, it will stay with me for a long time.  Can't wait to see what you my dear bloggers have been up too.

Catch up with you soon

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

SUNDAY WALK AROUND CAMELLIA GARDENS

Hello everyone, hope you are all well.

I know people who love winter but I am not one of them.  I didn’t like it back when I was living in Ukraine and although Australian winters are not even remotely as cold, I still don't like it. 

I am convinced that Australians in general are in complete denial.  You’ve probably seen pictures on social media of men and women walking around dressed in shorts, t-shirts and a pair of thongs (flip-flops) on their feet totally ignoring the fact that the temperature outside is no higher than 15 degree Celsius.  Believe me, Sydney’s winters are cold and unpleasant.  

Even when you live near the coast like I do and the temperature is a few degrees warmer, it does not make much of a difference.  For me, the biggest problem is that our dwellings are not properly insulated like the homes in Europe or North America.  

There is no double glazing on the windows and the frames are quite often are not sealed tightly, there is no central heating that keeps your home warm all the time.  If you live in a building that is 40 years or older, they don't even have built-in air-conditioners, you have to install your own which is quite costly or get yourself an electric or oil heater.  Unfortunately, they have to be on all the time because the moment your turn them off, the temperature in the room drops and the air inside your home is about as cold as it is outside.

Of course, you can let them run all night but be prepared for a very high electricity bill.

However, like everything else, there are two sides to each coin.  As much as I prefer warmer months to winter colds, there are few things that I love doing in winter.  Number one – the mulled wine, that is love, is back on the menu and two – visiting parks and gardens that contrary to the continental winter are alive and blooming.

Previously, I shared with you our visits to Breenhold Gardens  and Nooroo Gardens during winter months. Today’s post is about visiting Camellia Gardens.  The beauty of this place that you don't need to drive to Blue Mountains like we did in the past, they are situated within the city limits and it only took us about half an hour to get there.

These gardens are over 50 years old and are recognised by the International Camelia Society as a "Camelia Gardens of Excellence".  They are very popular not just amongst the locals but with tourists alike.   Apart from for its picturesque grounds, you can also find a period looking cafe where you can pre-book your afternoon tea with scones and jam or just have lunch on the veranda overlooking the gardens.  The kids love chasing the ducks and at certain times you can actually feed them.  

There is a calm and clean stream tickling along and you can see ducks and other birds swimming up and down the stream. 

The best time for visiting the Gardens is in autumn or winter because it when the Camellias are in season.

Luckily for us, the day when we chose to go there was sunny and quite warm so there was no need for a jacket. 

All and all we had a very nice relaxing outing, having a nice break from the busy activities of our everyday lives.

Hope you had a nice weekend too.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

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