Italy has always had a special place for us. Christina is half-Italian, but the family connection aside, Italy seems to be constantly calling to us.

We’ve travelled through a lot of this beautiful country, from Trieste and Gorizia in the north to the southern city of Naples and down to the tip of the heel of Puglia.

The romance of this country is everywhere; in its food, its customs, its language, its landscapes, and we hope the passion of Italy comes through in our stories, guides and itineraries that we’re sharing here.

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Best Experiences

Planning Tips & Resources

• How To Take A Taxi In Italy (and not get ripped off!)
• How To Get To Pompeii From The Amalfi Coast
• Find the best hotel rates in Rome
• How To Get To Lake Como From Milan By Train
• A One-Week Itinerary Around Tuscany

Latest Stories

Where to Eat and Drink in Parma, Italy

Italy is a country of gastronomic adventures. Every town and village has its own unique delicacy. However, the northern city of Parma seems to have more than its fair share.…

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7 Things You Must Eat In Parma, Italy

Italy’s deep connection with its food is never more evident than in Parma in the country’s north. Here are seven delicious dishes that are specific to this gourmand’s paradise. Sign…

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Fashion, Football And A Whole Lot More — Essential Guide to Milan, Italy

When you think of Milan, the first thing that comes to mind is probably clothes and fashion. And maybe football. But there’s so much more to this excellent northern Italian…

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Is It Worth Going To Milan In Winter? 

Known for its chic fashion sense, elegant civic parks and canals, and its magnificent Gothic cathedral, Milan is the perfect summer city. But what happens when the mercury drops and…

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The USA has just so much to offer. It not only has pretty much every climate, landscape and environment within its 50 states, its locals don’t just celebrate their history and culture, they rejoice in it.

Whether you’re hanging out in a dive bar in NYC, ploughing into a plate of burnt ends in KCMO or dropping into a roadside diner on your roadtrip across the middle of nowhere, you’re going to have a great time.

Start Here

Best Experiences

Planning Tips & Resources

• Alcatraz – How Get There And What To Do
• Find the best hotel rates in Las Vegas
• Is Hiring A Car In Orlando, Florida Worth It?
• Where To Stay in Palm Springs
• Where To Burger At Miami Beach
• A One-Week Itinerary Around Tuscany

Latest Stories

More American than apple pie? The democracy of the humble hotdog

The American Dream stands for liberty, equality of opportunity and a prosperous life born of honest hard work. But where can we find a more tangible form of this ultimate American ideal? Something simpler. Something tastier. Something we can sink our teeth into. With its foundations in the American Constitution…

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How to make the world’s best BLT in a real Prohibition speakeasy

Humble as it may seem, the BLT sandwich is a work of art in its own right, and crafting the perfect BLT a true skill. But this Kansas City Prohibition bar gets the BLT blue ribbon. We also have the secret recipe to world-beating buffalo wings. You’re welcome. Opening a…

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Could Chicago be the best city in the States? Our Essential Guide to the Windy City

It’s easy to panic when you get to a place like Chicago. There’s so much to do here you don’t know where to start and the sharp claws of FOMO can really dig into your side. Our first-timer’s guide to Chicago is here to help. Chicago is full of fascinating…

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Kansas City – BBQ capital of the world

From the capital of jazz to home of the Chiefs to having the highest waterslide in the world, Kansas City is famous for many things. But most of all, KCMO is known for its barbecue scene. Here are five Kansas BBQ experiences you can’t miss. To say we were excited…

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Explore some of our favourite destinations from here:

The post USA Sub-Sub Hub appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

So much for February being the short month of the year. It feels like these past 28 days have gone on forever. But now they’ve gone, I kinda miss them!

We certainly packed in a lot this month and even managed to squeeze in a little R&R trip up north for a few days.

As well as that, we worked out the cheeky ferry hack to the much-anticipated new Sydney Fish Markets, reviewed the brand new (and first in over 15 years) hotel in the Central Coast, learned how to make dumplings, discovered what could be the best martini (and burger) we’ve had and mixed it up in Australia’s biggest annual travel conference.

I wondered why March has crept up me so quickly!

Hope you enjoy this Flavour of the Month of Feb.

Cheers – Jim & Christina xx

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Love it or hate it – and I’ve met quite a few people with mixed opinions on this – the new Sydney Fish Markets opened for business in late January.

Many times the size of the old Fish Markets, which look quite sad and dilapidated across the bay, this $836m development is quite something. But one thing it’s lacking – and this is simply down to poor planning – is a direct ferry link and won’t be getting one for another couple of years.

But that’s not quite true.

There is a ferry to the Fish Markets that’s closer than either of the light rail stops and better than risking the site’s diminutive car park.

From Barangaroo, there’s a cute little hopper ferry, which does a loop via Pirrama Park in Pyrmont then under the Anzac Bridge to Blackwattle Bay. The trick is, don’t tap on at Barangaroo; tell the guard you’re going to Blackwattle Bay on the F10 ferry and they’ll let you through.

You pay on the boat using a credit card, then it’s a 17-minute cruise to Blackwattle Bay and it’s about a pleasant 10-minute walk round the cove to seafood heaven!

How about this for mindful travel?!

The iconic travel company Lonely Planet has released their first ever set of travel Tarot – 78 cards based on the classic Rider-Waite-Smith deck that emerged over 115 years ago, but with an eye on the horizon.

This beautifully illustrated 78-card deck blends the art of divination with the spirit of exploration, enlightening you on what to expect and how to react to a new destination, and even hints on where to go next.

Each of the cards in the deck connects to a different destination around the globe, from natural wonders and sacred sites to bustling cities and dramatic coastlines, so you can even draw a card if you’re just looking for travel inspiration.

The deck also comes with a handy 96-page booklet on how to read the Tarot set.

We love this idea. It adds a different dimension (pun intended!) to travel planning and how you see the world when you’re out there amongst it.

You can find this Travel Tarot set here at Lonely Planet or any good book shop – RRP AU$42.99.

Today, we’re heading an hour north up to the Central Coast to have a look at something pretty special.

The region’s first new major hotel in 15 years, the voco Gosford by IHG is the first stone in an avalanche of change in this much over-looked waterfront city, so we’re excited to see how it matches up to the hype.

Our room – a beautiful suite – has some lovely details and features that you can learn more about here in our full review, but it’s the bars and restaurants of this double-tower 28-floor edifice that really make the difference.

Until the voco opened in late 2025, the couple of pubs in the area – and the enormous 24-hour Leagues Club – weren’t up to the task of service the local community, let alone bringing in visitors. Having said that, the lunch we have at the airy atrium of the Hotel Gosford was actually lovely.

But with no fewer than six venues spread around its floors, the voco covers all basis.

From casual pub and pizza vibes to steaks to elevated (literally) Japanese fair at the rooftop bar, there’s plenty to choose from here.

Check out our review of the voco Gosford here and also our video walkthrough of the hotel and its venues here.

After our lovely night’s stay at the voco Gosford, we grab a lunch stop at Terrigal to catch up with our excellent friends Jess and Ben Groundwater, and their two hilarious sons.

Then it’s a couple of hours further north to our final destination: Port Stephens. We’re here for a spot of relaxation and recuperation at Christina’s sister’s little holiday house in Corlette.

Unlike anywhere else we go, we’ve been to Port Stephens so many times, we don’t feel the pressure that we usually do when we’re away from home to record and publish every single thing we get up to.

Having said that, you can see our Essential Guide to Port Stephens here, but other than that…

It’s not all beach time while we’re in Port Stephens though. We find a couple of lovely coastal walks at Lemon Tree Passage and Mallabula that not only hug the shoreline, but also snake through mangroves, woodland and parks.

The first one – the Koala Reserve and Mangrove Boardwalk – follows a 500m stretch of eucalypts that lean out over the still waters of the bay.

Birdlife along this trail is excellent and the little lizard that pops its head up as we pass is unquestionably adorable.

The second little walk is in nearby Mallabula – the Tanilba Bay Boardwalk – and is a little more rugged. From the shoreline, it soon doubles back through dense bush and trees, and leads you to the Tilligerry Habitat.

Full of all kinds of wildlife and beautiful plants, there’s also a high chance of spotting koalas in the area.

This little break really is what the doctor orders. We’re both feeling so relaxed even though we both brought our computers with us. There’s something about doing a bit of work when you’re away but under no obligation to be anywhere that doesn’t make it feel as much like work!

One of our favourite things to do in the evening is have a little drink and play some backgammon, so we’ve brought our set from home and I batched up a bottle of negronis for just this opportunity!

The sun sets on our last night here in Port Stephens and one of the resident kookaburras poses for an iconic silhouette.

It’s been a lovely few days away. Now it’s back to Sydney and whatever the rest of the month may bring.

It’s hard to believe it, but the iconic installation at Uluru – the Field of Light – turns 15 years old this year! This beautiful artwork was only supposed to be a one-year deal, but it was so popular, it became a permanent fixture.

In a nod to the wildflowers that bloom here when conditions are right, light artist Bruce Munro set up 50,000 solar-powered stems across a space covering seven football fields in front of Uluru. The nightly display has attracted over three-quarters of a million visitors over the years.

To mark this important milestone, there are a number of activations in celebration of the installation’s 15th birthday.

There’s a mural of the Field of Light in Melbourne by Anangu artist Valerie Brumby (Corner Swan and Carroll St, Richmond), VIP evenings and free Q&A sessions with Bruce Munro at Uluru and Ayres Rock Resort throughout March, and new menus for Field of Light evening events.

Realising that the Field of Light has been going so long has reminded us that the incredible drone show Wintjiri Wiru, which rises from the desert floor in front of Uluru, has also been going for three years now.

It seems like last week that we were there watching this remarkable spectacle – the largest permanent drone show in the world.

This show happens twice-nightly (three times a night during certain periods) and is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.

Check out our full story of Wintjiri Wiru here.

It’s dumpling time at our place!

Christina’s jujitsu friend Rex has brought some of his buddies and all of his teaching skills to ours to show us how to make dumplings in preparation for Chinese New Year!

Creating these tasty little bundles of flavour is both simple and difficult at the same time – especially as the glasses of wine add up. By the end of the evening there are more than enough dumplings for us to eat (something I never thought I’d ever say) and everyone gets a pack to take home with them.

Great success! And new skill unlocked!

Okay, we need to be serious for a moment.

Christina and I are out in the city tonight, but more on that later. For now, we’ve taken this rare opportunity (we don’t come into the CBD that much anymore for some reason) to check out the Gidley.

Christina has wanted to bring me to this place for ages and I wish we’d come here sooner.

First of all, the doorway is tucked in down a basement level staircase, and you have to ring the bell and wait to be buzzed in. But once inside, this place opens out into exactly what I imagine a filmset speakeasy would be like – better in fact.

Martinis here are served on silver platters and have a make-your-own-adventure feel. On the tray is a glass with a ready-poured martini which you can add whatever garnish you like: the bar has circles of orange, lemon and grapefruit peel for you to try, enormous briny olives and sweet pickled onions, so you can even create your own gibson.

There’s also a blue glass pipette full of house-made brine mixed with Talisker scotch to make just about the best dirty martini known to man.

But best of all, in an ice-filled bowl sits a little carafe with another serve of martini ready for you to have another go! This is such a great experience, you’ve got to try it.

On top of that, we order the burgers here.

Even the staff say these are the best burgers in the world. I don’t know about that, but I should probably edit my top ten burgers list to include these guys. Double patty, plenty of cheese, soft fluffy buns and so much flavour – not bad considering this isn’t the reason we’re out tonight!

For the main event, we’re at the State Theatre to see An Evening With Yotam Ottolenghi – a very thoughtful Christmas gift from Christina’s mum.

The show’s interesting enough, with Ottolenghi telling us stories about how he came to cooking, mistakes he’s made, successes he’s cherished and also plenty of recipes. He cooks a few dishes on stage too, showing us some tricks he’s developed.

And he sells his books pretty hard!

At the end of the evening, he also gives us a QR code with all the recipes he’s talked about tonight, which is a generous touch. We’ll give them a crack at some point – especially his roast chicken and potatoes, and how he makes aromatic feta.

The venue itself is the real winner though. What a beautiful place the State Theatre is. I can’t believe I haven’t been in here before. Talk about old-world charm.

This evening, Christina and I are enjoying the excellent hospitality of our wonderful friends Peter Hook and his wife Fiona Smith. These guys are such great hosts, and they even break out one of Peter’s favourite recent discoveries: English Champagne* by Balfour Winery!

We play this sparkling from Kent against a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and I’ve must say, there wasn’t much in it. If anything, the French stuff was a little sweet. But you can see for yourself – Balfour’s 1503 Classic Cuvee is in Dan Murphy’s.

The rest of the evening is well-fuelled with more of Peter’s top picks from his cellar, impeccably matched with the trio of classics he and Fiona dish up for us: a deconstructed prawn cocktail, a sumptuous chicken cacciatore, and an apple and rhubarb crumble.

We also have the pleasure of making new friends over dinner. Nicole and Stuart Ford – who are also deeply connected with the travel industry (Nicole works for Spicers Retreats and Stuart’s grandfather started P&O!) and the six of us talk well into the wee hours.

In fact, I should make that number seven; Archie, Peter and Fiona’s adorable Brittany Spaniel keeps us all safe in exchange for pats.

*I know you’re not allowed to call it that, but who doesn’t love a bit of a wind-up. 

All the attention has exhausted Archie, so while we finish up the last drops of wine, he takes a nap on the couch. Above him you might notice one of Fiona’s extraordinary paintings. She has a passion for Australian native birdlife and manages to bring them to life in her wonderful paintings.

You can see more of Fiona’s work here.

This afternoon, we’re back in the city to have lunch with our friend and colleague Susie Westwood, and to meet Roxy Esagunde the PR and Marketing Executive for Walk Japan. The first to market in what is now a well-established travel product, Walk Japan has been offering guided and self-guided walking-focused tours of Japan for 35 years.

We’re extremely excited about the prospect of working with Roxy and Walk Japan, so watch this space for what I’m sure will be some of the most exciting travel stories from our time in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Susie has chosen the perfect spot for lunch too. We’re at King Clarence – a restaurant eponymous by location on the corner of King and Clarence Streets.

Food here is superb. A modern Asian menu that pairs well with our conversations about Japan, we enjoy dishes like wood-fired edamame with salt and vinegar togarashi, yellowfin tuna sashimi with shiso vinegar, smoked oyster cream and sesame leaf and 14-day aged duck with such a fine, crisp glaze that it crackles as you bite into it.

But the stand-out dish is surprising; the teriyaki sea perch with grilled sweetcorn, woodear mushroom and nori jam is delicate and rich at the same time, and the sauce is so good you want a jug of it to drink!

Tonight, Christina’s out with the girls! Dinner and drinks at Corner Bar in Rozelle.

This cute little bar does excellent cocktails and has a replete wine list, but its food is often overlooked. With a focus on Tex-Mex favourites, there’s a range of smashable tacos on the menu, including the all-important pulled beef birria tacos that comes with a side of beef jus dipping sauce. Well worth checking out – just make sure you go there hungry!

And so it begins; IMM by TravMedia – the biggest travel conference in Australia.

This two-day travel extravaganza starts with the Summit, the more conventional element of the conference. We’re here at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth Ballroom filled with over 400 media and PRs to hear from a mesmerising range of industry elite.

To kick things off, Katrina Ell, Senior Economist from Mastercard somehow makes a speech on economics in travel highly entertaining. Her illustration of the Misery Index, which shows how unhappy the population is based on the combined efforts of unemployment rates and inflation, isn’t funny, but her delivery is excellent. And the good news is it doesn’t look like Australia is particularly ‘miserable’ at the moment, though there seems to be a bit of an uptick.

Having said that, according to Mastercard’s statistics, 14% of Australians are planning on spending at least one month travelling in 2026, while destinations are still trending towards the usual suspects: the USA, Europe, Japan and New Zealand. Going the other way, around 17% of visitors to Australia are coming from NZ!

There has been a slight downturn in Aussies visiting the US and UK (17% and 11% respectively) due to currency strength.

And no matter what, consumers will still prioritise travel quite heavily.

Here are some other highlights from this year’s Summit programme. We hear from a panel on the progress of wellness travel as a trend, the future of AI in travel journalism, a presentation on the State of the Industry, and TV personality and footballer Claudio Fabiano talking about British Columbia.

• Wellness Travel isn’t so much about retreats and spas anymore; it’s about what you get out of the destination.
• Wellness no longer a niche travel prospect with more people than ever looking for wellness to be a baseline when they travel. It’s gone from a luxury travel concept to more of a lifestyle category.
• A high percentage of travellers are looking for ways to restore and repair, though also acknowledging that travel shouldn’t be more of a recovery session than a holiday.

AI in tourism is still a developing prospect, though it’s growing fast. Keynote speaker Nick Abrahams (AI Pioneer and Business Futurist) makes the interesting point that “the Industrial Revolution had a 20% increase in productivity. GenAI gives 30-40%”. He also explains that while “Google is a tool, ChatGPT is a colleague” and that we should treat it as such.

I’m not so comfortable with that.

As for the State of the Industry review from TravMedia’s own Julie Ott, we learn about travel trends and where people are (and more importantly aren’t) happy to go at the moment. The top reasons for hesitation are: political environment (63%), crime rates (42%), expense (32%), health risks (30%) and bad experience – whatever that means (30%).

We also hear some very interesting data in terms of how digital is still growing, but also that print isn’t dead quite yet. There are challenges of course, but people haven’t stopped consuming traditional media.

And that publishers are greedy, writers are poor and editors have no time or patience.

After lunch, we have household name Cameron Daddo interviewing Adam Schwab, Co-Founder & CEO, Luxury Escapes. We’re not sure what the point of this one is, but it’s actually fascinating.

Luxury Escapes is enormous, currently turning over $1.4 billion per annum!

It’s a company that doesn’t just book your holiday for you, but looks for ways to help facilitate the whole experience. And these holidays aren’t just super-high end trips for the 1%, there are affordable options too.

There are bricks and mortar shops around too, and Schwab wants to create a kind of Apple Store experience. It seems to be working, with the flagship store in Chadstone VIC making $100m pa (other top travel agents do about $10m) and the Bondi store making headlines too.

Soon, Luxury Escapes are planning to bring out their credit cards, eSIMs and a full-time direct charter flight between Melbourne and the Maldives, making it an 11-hour flight.

The last session of the day is a lot of fun: it’s a panel on freelance writers with content creator Sarah Maree Cameron, our mate Ben Groundwater and his editor for The Age and SMH Anthony Dennis. It’s a bonding moment between the trio as they share their displeasure in the questions put to them by moderator and co-founder of Powerhouse Comms Chris Waite.

It’s not a complete tear-down though, and the messages are interesting, insightful and – importantly for this last moment of the conference when everyone’s hanging for a wine – entertaining.

The formalities of the conference over, we make our way to the Sofitel Wentworth’s rooftop bar for a drink. It’s absolutely pissing down, so the rooftop bar’s sadly a little redundant. We make the most of it – especially the rum daiquiri fountain – and enjoy a bit of social time with friends we haven’t seen in ages.

It’s always hard to get travel journos together; we’re famously on the move a lot.

Talking of which, getting home proves difficult. The almost 8cm of rain has caused chaos and it takes our taxi over 45 minutes and almost $80 to make the 7km drive home.

Welcome to IMM Sydney 2026. This is the important part of the conference where we get to meet travel providers and make plans for the rest of the year. Filling this vast room of the ICC are 177 tables each representing a different destination, experience, brand or RTO.

We get 15 minutes to talk to 22 of them. It’s a hectic day, but so productive.

There are all sorts of activations both with each provider (I have a crack at the VR goggles at the Travel Nevada desk) and with break-out areas.

Destination NSW has brought some tasty treats from IndigiEarth. Founded by Ngemba Weilwan woman Sharon Windsor, who has a lovely cafe in Mudgee, IndigiEarth focuses on using foraged Indigenous products in Western dishes to fuse the knowledge gap between the two. 

Her jams are so good – and you should see the food we had when we were in Mudgee – but these green ant lemon meringue tarts are sensational.

All too soon, the final meeting comes to an end and we make haste to get to the coaches; we’re going from the ICC all the way to Paddington for drinks at the all new 25Hours Hotel The Olympia.

On the site of an old movie theatre, this beautiful building has been fully restored with plenty of nods to its cinematic past, including a film library of VCRs you can borrow and play in your room!

We’re excited to see this place as our very first meeting of the day was with the lovely Comms manager for this hotel, so watch this space for a review of the Olympia.

How’s this for a before-and-after! We’re on the first coach to arrive (of course we are!) and the bar is blissfully quiet. But by the time some 350 thirsty travellers have descended, the bar is a crush and the balcony at gridlock.

It’s all a lot of fun though, and we’re all very grateful of the generous bar tab that washes away the fatigue of the day’s speed-meetings.

As far as after-after-parties go, this is pretty good. After the IMM drinks, Christina and I high-tail it to our friend’s house who is having drinks with his mates. It turns out he and his mates have very sophisticated wine cellars.

Check out the vino.

The 2013 Tulloch Chardonnay is ridiculously good and our old family friend Riccardo, who was from Tuscany, always talked about the wonders of a Brunello di Moltacino. Here’s one from 2012.

Thank you, Nim, for letting us gatecrash your party and drink all your wine!

We’ve decided to finish this strangely long February (it feels like these 28 days have gone on forever this year) with a tasty snack and wine at Cicci’s Food and Wine in Balmain.

Christina came here a little while ago with the WAGs, but this is my first time.

We score our favourite types seats: right up at the bar right in front of where the kitchen is cooking and plating, and enjoy a couple of dishes from a hugely tempting menu.

One of the specials is stracchino cheese, which is a marvellous creation. It’s a soft cheese – a bit like mozzarella – when it’s cold, but as it warms up, this stuff settles and spreads. This dish comes with pesto oil, crisp kale, caramelised onions and a few other bits.

We also spot mozzarella in carozza (basically a crispy crumbed deep-fried cheese sandwich with mortadella) on the menu. This is a little-known Italian snack that, if you ever see it on a menu, don’t miss the opportunity of ordering.

It’s the best toastie you’ll ever eat!

We hope you’ve enjoyed our highlights from February. Chat to you again soon.

Cheers – Jim & Christina xx

The post New Fish Market Tricks, New Central Coast Trips and the Greatest Martini Ever Made appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

There’s nowhere else in the world quite like Europe for travel opportunities. It’s compact, it’s diverse, it’s safe—I say each of these with ‘relatively’ as a prefix of course.

But being able to travel through so many different countries easily makes Europe the perfect place to lily-pad your way around and really maximise your time away.

The question is, what’s the best way to travel through Europe?

Bearing in mind we’re talking about travelling at speed, let’s rule out walking and cycling for the moment. I also don’t want to openly condone hitch-hiking.

You’re left with a few options:

Flying around Europe

Obviously the quickest, but also the most expensive and the worst in carbon footprint terms, flying will get you to your destination but at several costs. And with airlines constantly tightening their belts, passenger experience always suffers in the end.

For example, Ryan Air’s very restrictive luggage allowance means you’ll either need to pack light (tickets are cheap because they start with no luggage and you pay for every extra piece as you go), or pay through the nose.

Airports are also always a distance from the city, which means getting into the town or city and back out again when you leave.

Driving around Europe

When you have your own car (or motorbike if you’re game!), you have total independence. You can go wherever you want wherever you want and you never have to worry about luggage allowance or repacking every time you move.

Downsides are car rental prices—especially when you’re not returning the car to the same location—can be high, you’re at the whim of obscure local road rules (I got a ticket for driving through a piazza in Italy once!) and then there are the borders.

Not many rental companies are happy about the idea of you driving their cars across international borders—even within the Schengen Area.

And then there’s traffic of course.

I do love driving around Europe though. It’s really the only option if you want to explore a place. Our time in Tuscany, for example, we needed a car. And getting out of Paris to see more of France, a hire car is essential.

Travelling through Europe by train

We’ve always enjoyed train journeys in foreign countries ever since we found it was the best way to get from Milan to Lake Como.

There’s a certain romance to it that doesn’t exist on the road and has diminished so much from flying.

Plus it’s better for the environment, it’s usually cheaper, you don’t need to worry as much about luggage—though lugging lots of bags through busy stations is never fun. And best of all, most main stations in European cities pop you out right in the middle of town. No need for shuttle buses, tricky transfers or dodgy taxis.

If you do find yourself travelling through Europe by train but you don’t want to drag all your luggage around with you, the good news is there will always be somewhere to leave your luggage. This saves you lugging it the whole way through the city while you are sightseeing.

Check out radical storage to see if there are any by your chosen destination.

Recently, we flew in to Frankfurt from Australia then caught a train in our own private first class carriage to Vienna for €140. Yes, it took longer than flying—it was about an eight-hour trip—but we saw so much more than the tops of clouds.

From Vienna, we took a two-and-a-half-hour train to Budapest, which cost just €19 for the two of us. Also, flights out of Budapest to the UK—our next destination—were cheaper than pretty much anywhere else in Europe.

One other presiding factor that makes train journeys through Europe so attractive is just how reliable they are. And though they may not be quite as punctual as, say, Japanese trains, but they’re not bad; but they’ll always turn up.

As you can guess, we’re big fans of train journeys—though if you want a real train traveller, check out this guy’s YouTube channel.

But holistically, the best way to do it is to mix it up.

We saw so much more of Puglia when when we visited Italy in 2017 because we used all three modes and it’s what we’ll do again for sure.

The post Trains, planes or automobiles—what’s the best way to travel through Europe? appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Broad sweeping vistas, craggy mountain peaks and braided rows of vines striating the land, the Hunter Valley is a wine-lover’s dream.

But when we first visited the Hunter Valley, we didn’t really know much about vineyards, cellar doors or—to be honest—wine in general. Jim had been to a couple of wineries in WA years before and I’d visited some with my parents before I was old enough to enjoy their main purpose.

We also didn’t know a lot about the Hunter Valley and found it quite confusing.

Thanks to the patience of a few winemakers and their families like the Scarboroughs, Whispering Brook and the good people at Bimbadgen, we have a much better understanding of the region and even have some of their favourite wineries to share with you.

Here’s a quick video of what it’s like to explore some of the Hunter Valley’s finest cellar doors.

12 Hunter Valley cellar doors you can’t miss

1. Bimbadgen Estate, Pokolbin

With its iconic spire, entrance looking down on the winery floor and award-winning restaurant Esca, Bimbadgen is a real landmark of the Hunter Valley.

Find a seat at Bimbadgen’s tasting room or in the garden and enjoy their excellent sparkling, Semillon and Shiraz, and wood-fired pizzas.

2. Comyns & Co Wines, Pokolbin

Just next door to our favourite cafe Enzo in Peppers Creek Village, owner-winemakers Scott and Missy Comyns have created a cool yet comfortable vibe in their new cellar door.

Their wines represent the small-batch parcels of premium Hunter fruit best shown in their Shiraz and Semillon wines.

3. Gartelmann, Lovedale

This pretty cellar door and its veranda overlook a small lake and its busy eatery—The Deck Cafe. The wines are beautifully made; bright, lively reds, well-structured whites and some very moreish stickies. Pro tip: for an elevated experience, ask for Luke to conduct your tasting.

There’s also a smallholding with pigs, tiny horses and fluffy chooks.

4. Glandore Estate, Pokolbin

Although the cellar door is beautiful, with its exposed beams and sweeping deck overlooking the garden and vines, and the wines—particularly the Chardonnay and Shiraz—are truly delicious, it’s Picking Day that really sets this winery apart.

Get amongst the vines to harvest the vintage, stomp grapes, play games of bocce and feast on a lunch banquet. You can find out more here.

5. Margan Wines & Restaurant, Broke

Its stunning cellar door and private tasting room amongst the wine barrels sets Margan apart, as does its excellent wine selection. Semillon, Albarino and aromatic vermouth are delicious here.

Margan’s restaurant is one of the best in the Hunter. Its aim for lowest possible food miles puts the micro-farm on the property into good use and adds another dimension to this winery.

6. Oakvale Wines, Pokolbin

Across the road from Glandore Estate, Oakvale is one of the oldest, most highly-regarded wineries in the region. Its Semillon, Chardonnay and Cabernet Shiraz are stand-outs, and the Sparkling Bellini is a cheeky fun number.

7. Scarborough Wine Co, Pokolbin

The preeminent Hunter Valley winery and our personal favourite, this is the winery to whom we owe our love of the Hunter.

The cellar door is the Scarborough family’s old family home, renovated to bring you views over the Broken Back Mountain Range while you taste the best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir you’ll find in the region.

8. Tintilla Estate, Pokolbin

Maxing out the rustic vibe, this cellar door set on a deck overlooking the vines, always has one of the Lusby family on hand to talk you through the wines. Their range of fortified wines is well worth visiting.

9. Petersons Wines Broke Road, Pokolbin

Often when you think of Petersons, it’s fun bubbles and hens parties—which is great because that’s who they’re aiming at.

But rather than going to the bigger cellar door—Petersons House—on the corner of Broke Road and Wine Country Drive, carry on about a kilometre down Broke Road. Their smaller cellar door is cosy and quiet, and has some absolutely astonishing aged sparkling Semillon (and aged reds too actually) that will confound you.

10. Vamp by Lisa McGuigan Wines, Pokolbin

If you’re looking for a cellar door that’s completely different to any other you’ve ever visited, Vamp is for you. Far from the bright, light timber and vista-driven cellar doors you usually find, Vamp is a luxe trip to antiquity.

Created by visionary and fourth-generation wine-maker Lisa McGuigan, black walls are decked with Medieval hardware and chainmail, a circular tasting bar of polished steel and bottles are labelled with silver embossed emblems, this is a cellar door like no other.

11. Whispering Brook, Broke

From the long driveway through the vines to the cosy rural cellar door to the rows of olive trees out the back, this is a winery straight from the hills of Tuscany or Provence.

And specialising in Portuguese varietals, Whispering Brook doubles down on its European vibe with its annual Olive Long Table Lunch—a beautiful banquet set between the boughs of the vineyard’s olive groves.

12. Wild Wren Wines, Pokolbin

Light and airy, this happy little cellar door in the midst of the Peppers Creek Village is a fair representation of the wines that they pour: approachable, bright and beautifully made.

It’s also worth tasting their gin as well, which is served in a jigger for you to pour as you wish, to sample with and without tonic.

Bonus: The Wine House, Pokolbin

If you’re short of time, want to find rare or limited edition wines, or would like to explore the Hunter wineries that are too small to have their own cellar door, the Wine House is your place.

We visited the Wine House during the Hunter Valley Wine and Food Festival in June for their Grange vs the Hunter experience, where you have a ‘taste-off’ with Grange up against four of the best Shiraz the Hunter Valley has to offer. Really good fun.

Readers’ recos

Over the years, we’ve had so many readers write in with their recommendations for which Hunter Valley cellar doors to visit. Here are a few of them:

Christine Eccles: “Travertine Wines (beautiful setting and fantastic Fiano and Chambourcin), Ivanhoe Wines for its reds and view, Moorebank Private Estate for its Sheila Shiraz, Muscat and homemade lemonade, and Krinklewood Biodynamic: great French setting and great wine.”

Sonia: “First Creek Wines—brilliant wines at a very understated cellar door.”

Naomi Cranfield: “Mistletoe wines are gorgeous especially the Hunter Rose.”

Sue: “My new favourite is Tamburlaine Wines—organic and preservative free. Might sound a little cliche, but they actually taste better!

“The staff at the cellar door were extremely helpful and knowledgeable and did not push to sell in any way. The wines are extremely well priced. Not a sit down and sip wine all afternoon experience, but I will never go to the vineyards again without calling into my favourite vineyard.”

Do you have any favourite Hunter Valley cellar doors you want to tell us about? Leave your reco in the comments below.

The post Better By The Dozen – 12 Hunter Valley Cellar Doors You Must Visit appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

From the top of St Mark’s tower to the steps of the Rialto Bridge, Venice is one of those rare places in the world that feels like a living museum – or more accurately a living gallery.

It’s little wonder so many poems, books, films and paintings have Venice as the central character.

A sea of terracotta rooftops, waterways stitched with tiny bridges, and streets and canals so narrow there’s barely space for the buildings to breathe. It’s easy to get lost as you wander, but that’s where the real fun of Venice begins.

Getting lost in Venice – finding the city’s heart

I’ve been to Venice several times now – with my family, on my own and together with Jim – and each time I see something new. Even travelling the same path you’ll notice different things, meet new people and take away a whole other side to Venice.

And the most important thing to remember is getting away from the main tourist areas of Venice doesn’t mean you’re away from the most beautiful parts.

In fact, most of the time that’s quite to the contrary, and you’ll have it all to yourself as well.

We’ve shared our 5 things you must do in Venice and we stand by those, but we really wanted to focus on that extra tip of allowing time to wander.

We recommend avoiding the heaving summer crowds and try to plan your visit for autumn or spring instead. If you do visit in winter, you’ll find some places are closed, but you’ll have the city to yourself.

So put away your map, take your vaporetto ticket and put on comfortable shoes. Venice is a romantic city that needs more than a guided day trip to really experience it.

And if you can’t get to Venice right now, here are our Postcards from Venice.

Have you been to Venice? What was your fave spot? Tell us in the comments!

PS. You may also like these posts on Italy –

• How to find the real Italy
• The best way to get around Venice
• How to order coffee in Italy
• How to spend a week in Tuscany
• And for more of our Postcards From… series, click here.

The post See the the world’s most romantic city – Postcards from Venice, Italy appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

I wonder which came first. Have Australia’s wine regions always been beautiful or do the vineyards create their own beauty? Perhaps both.

Perhaps it’s the two contrasting beauties of those precise blocks of iconic parallel lines mixed with a lacework filigree of rivers and streams rolled out across verdant hills.

Either way, the Hunter Valley and its assortment of extraordinary wineries that gather around the sharp brinks of the Broken Back Mountain Range create an idyllic scene.

Margan Wines – the farm within a farm within a world-class winery

Lisa and Andrew Margan started their eponymous wine estate in 1996. But Margan Wines is only the bit of the iceberg we can see. A college romance, a life in France and many vintages with other famed Hunter Valley wineries have brought Lisa and Andrew to this point.

That and a passion for agriculture, hospitality and the environment.

And these three pillars that the Margans have built their world on show so clearly from the moment you turn into the tree-lined drive of their estate.

From farm to kitchen

As your eye leads along the rows and rows of twiggy grapevines with their sentinel rose bushes standing guard, you notice a plot set aside.

Instead of the ordered regiments of Semillon, Chardonnay, Barbera and Merlot is a battalion of disparate troops – a misfit army going about its day.

Within the compound, chickens march around their parade ground scattered with low citrus trees while lines of snow peas and silverbeet hold formation nearby.

Barracked in a long arched greenhouse, seedlings and micro-herbs stand by ready for deployment to the restaurant kitchens.

This crack team is Margan’s garden – a farm in miniature really.

You can take a tour of this fascinating element of the winery to see many of the ingredients that will go into the exquisite dishes of the restaurant. They’re dishes that have earned Margan a hat from the Good Food Guide and many other accolades besides.

The farm is also an important part of Lisa and Andrew’s ongoing campaign to be truly carbon neutral. Low food miles goes a long way to that aim.

From scale to tail

We visited Margan Wines as part of the Hunter Valley Wine and Food Festival – a month-long event that runs every winter throughout June.

So after our tour of the kitchen garden, we headed inside the elegant yet friendly walls of the winery, and through huge studded doors.

This is the private tasting and function room, lined with wine barrels and special vintages. But we weren’t there for a tasting or a wedding.

Before us was a long table set with a stove and cooking paraphernalia, and the friendly yet somehow imposing face of Joey Ingram, Margan’s head chef.

Chef Joey was here to show us the art of breaking down a whole salmon and using every part of it. Demonstrating years of skills learned from such institutions as Tetsuya’s. Joey made the whole process look very easy.

He also showed us how to create a home-smoker to impart flavour into the fish and explained how everything – even the tiny muscles and scraps left between the ribs of the salmon skeleton – can be extracted and used to amazing effect.

But best of all was the knowledge that the loin of salmon he smoked in front of us would make up a part of our degustation lunch to come.

Lunch at Margan Wines

Feeling suitably educated (and somewhat awed), we made our way to the cellar door’s pretty veranda and our table for lunch.

The lawn spread out in front of us and the hectare or so of the kitchen garden beyond decorated with statues, hedges and olive trees, we could have easily been in Provence or Tuscany.

However, looming in the background, the craggy face of Yellow Rock watched our meal. Part of the Yellomundee Regional Park, this lookout and its connection to the Broken Back Range is an important part of the the Hunter Valley landscape.

But at this very moment not as important as our delicious food.

This five-course degustation began with a bowl of stracciatella cheese, grilled pumpkin, kale and black olive oil. This was pared with the crisp elegant Margan Ceres Hill Chardonnay.

Next was hand-rolled gnocchi, pancetta, Swiss chard and beurre noisette with the winery’s classic Fordwich Hill Semillon.

We were excited by the next dish, which we’d seen Chef Joey begin: coins of smoked salon loin with yacon, celery and parsley. It was so tasty and oddly pleasing to feel like we were somehow part of the dish’s creation. This came with a glass of Ceres Hill Albarino – a variety from the Iberian peninsula that’s gaining a lot of popularity in the Hunter.

Our last savoury dish was a wonderfully tender duck breast with witlof, beetroot and parsnip, served with a Ceres Hill Barbera.

Finally and really showing the kitchen’s artistry, a dessert of ashed brie mousse, pear sorbet and poached quince each shaped into perfect quenelles. The young Botrytis Semillon was perfectly matched with this dish.

As we relished the last few drops in our wine glasses, there was a sense of deep satisfaction as we looked out over the little garden, knowing that most of what we’d just eaten had come from this spot.

Even the fish comes from the nearby coasts of Newcastle and Port Stephens, and only from suppliers that fish ethically for non-scarce species.

One of the (many) satisfying moments of visiting a winery’s cellar door is being able to look out at the vines and know that’s where your glass of wine comes from.

Just think of how much more satisfying it is to be able to see where your food came from too.

Margan – winery, restaurant and kitchen garden

1238 Milbrodale Road,
Broke NSW

The degustation and tour of the kitchen garden can be booked directly with Margan Wines all year round.

However, the whole experience, including the Scale to Tail cooking masterclass with Chef Joey Ingham, is only available during the Hunter Valley Wine and Food Festival.

We visited Margan Wines as media guests with Hunter Valley Wine Country.

The post Life on the Farm at a Hatted Hunter Winery – Margan Wines in Broke, NSW appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

The concept of a Colourwalk is simple and the beauty is in the simplicity. With camera in hand, all you need to do is walk outside and look for a colour.

Capture photos of that colour as you go and it becomes the thread that connects your images throughout your travels.

This creative practice is also an incredible mindfulness tool. It keeps you in the present and helps you to train your focus during everyday activities.

While we use colour walks as a photography tool; friends have also reported it’s a brilliant game for kids too. They use the colour search to keep little ones interested during long walks.

So maybe we’re just big kids after all.

How to create your own Colourwalk:

1. Take your camera or phone
2. Walk outside
3. Choose a colour
4. See where the adventure takes you!

A colour walk is the perfect activity for when you’re not feeling particularly creative too. It takes the stress out of coming up with a photography series idea and lets your eye wander.

How to choose a colour for your Colourwalk

There are so many ways to choose your Colourwalk focus:

• Pick your favourite colour
• Pick the brightest colour you can see
• Pick the most obvious colour
• Pick something rare
• Let your location show you what the most popular local colour is

You see, the colour isn’t what’s important.

What matters is that you switch your focus from the surface-level things you can see and look for the invisible colour threads that are woven through your location.

Even rare colours can prove popular once you’re tuned into them.

It’s also ok to spot multiple colours on your walk. Make it a rainbow Colourwalk. Or you can look for one and your friend can look for something different.

The real joy is in seeing something you’ve never seen before.

Even if it’s an area you’ve been to before, switching your focus on a colour walk makes you notice things you’ve overlooked in the past.

Colourwalks and travel photography

For your travel photography, this means you can effortlessly create a series with the colour connecting your images.

Or maybe the colour of a certain object catches your focus. My love of doors is no secret and photographing the same thing makes for a beautiful photography series too.

And even when you’re travelling in your own backyard, you will see new details in your neighbourhood streets that you’ve never noticed before. It’s this mindfulness element that elevates a colour walk from a regular activity to a creative outlet.

Everyone is creative and choosing a Colourwalk is a great way to build your creative muscle. Even in a modern neighbourhood, looking for black or white can train your eye to notice the beauty in the details.

And a colour walk is not just limited to architecture.

The clothing on the people you see and the nature around you can add into your photographic series.

To really see the full impact of your colour walk, edit your images into a video or collate them into a gallery or a folder on your phone so you can see the colour thread that links them together.

What city would you like to go on a Colourwalk in?

The post What is a Colourwalk? How to take your travel photography to the next level appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Marking the halfway point between the venerable city of Florence and the ancient Italian stronghold of Rome, Orvieto is the perfect punctuation to a driving holiday through Italy.

But the two-hour road from Florence is full of hilltop towns, each offering its own wonderland of the ancient world still alive in modern-day Tuscany. So what’s so special about Orvieto?

Well for starters, Orvieto is not Tuscan. It’s in Umbria, the region sandwiched by Tuscany to the north and Lazio south.

Just as the every Tuscan town has a different feel and personality, so Orvieto feels very different from them all. Though there are similarities.

The duomo at the heart of Orvieto is reminiscent of the striped cathedral in Siena, and its beautiful walled outlook high above the vistas of the central Italian plains is as just as stunning as Certaldo, Volterra or San Gimignano.

But there’s something else here that sets Orvieto if not apart then certainly adjacent.

Exploring Orvieto, Umbria

Climbing to the top of what once was a volcanic peak, the walls of Orvieto open to welcome you in. There are a few ways to get to one this ancient town’s gates. You can either hike or drive, or on the town’s northeastern side, you can ride the funicular train to the summit.

Once inside the walls, the city squeezes you between narrow cobbled lanes into flagged piazzas and leaves your neck sore from gazing at the grand walls of the duomo.

But it’s what’s beneath your feet that’s the real treasure here.

Under Orvieto – the volcanic caves of the Etruscans

Near the doors of the great duomo, you guide takes you down age-worn stone steps deep beneath the city.

You see, the city of Orvieto has been around for over a thousand years. Its first inhabitants – the Etruscans – created tunnels and chambers in the soft rock of the volcano for storage, olive pressing, fresh water access and escape passages in case of attack.

It turns out the Etruscans were wise to do so.

When the Romans came to take the city, the Etruscans closed their doors and holed up. The siege lasted a whole year but the locals were able to survive thanks to their wells and the pigeon lofts they’d built into the rocks.

Descendants of those pigeons still inhabit the caves you visit on the tour and you can also see the wells every house in the original city had. Some of the current houses still have access to their private caves too.

Unfortunately the Romans finally lost their patience with the siege and stormed the city utterly destroying it and its human inhabitants.

Though there’s no sign of the city left above ground, these caves and tunnels tell a different story.

The 45-minute tour really is intriguing and gives an insight into this mysterious history of the now-extinct Etruscan race that still very little is known those people.

You can book your tickets to the Pozzo della Cava here or at the ticket office in town – though pre-booking is a good idea to avoid missing out. They only take small groups at a time.

After the tour

Back above ground, you seem to look at the town differently, knowing what’s under it and what went on here so many hundreds of years ago.

If you time things right, your very welcome post-tunnel spritz will be accompanied by platefuls of snacks. Umbria, like Tuscany, enjoys a very hearty aperitivo hour.

And if you’re still hungry after that, there are some amazing bars and little cafes worth looking at, and let’s not forget the salumerias with their cured sausages, cheeses and wild boar proscuito hanging in the windows.

It’s a lovely way to watch the sun go down with a selection of local produce, sitting on the walls of this ancient city.

Where to stay in Orvieto

We’ve always found staying within the walls of European cities quite bad value for money. And you don’t usually get much space either.

Christina found a little family-run hotel less than five minutes from the town. Villa Aquafredda is a converted homestead and has big comfortable rooms, and amazing views over to Orvieto and across the plains. There’s even an outdoor pool if you fancy a dip.

Perfect for a night or two, it means you can easily have a full day in Orvieto without having to travel too far from your accommodation.

The post What’s hiding under the mountain – Orvieto, Italy appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

On the second Saturday of June every year, the world celebrates the best thing you can do with juniper.

World Gin Day has been officially celebrated since 2009, but in reality, we’ve been blowing up the balloons and hanging the bunting for this wonderful spirit for a lot longer than that.

3 world-class gins for World Gin Day

Gin has seen an amazing resurgence in popularity in recent years and with it some amazing new craft distilleries doing wonderful things with gin.

So here are very different gins and some ideas for what to do with them.

Karu Distillery’s Lightning Navy Strength Gin

Tucked away at the feet of the Blue Mountains, NSW, Karu Distillery is run and owned by the excellent Ally and Nick Ayres – you can find out more about them here.

Their navy strength gin, Lightning, is a powerful yet well-structured gin, full of bright citrus, earthy herbs and zingy spices – many of which Nick and Ally grow onsite at the distillery.

And if you’re not sure what navy strength means, you can read all about it here.

There are so many things you can do with this gin, including drink it neat with a dash of water just like scotch. As a gin and tonic, this gin really shines, and we’ve got another top tip about G&Ts a bit later.

But you can also cook with this one. Here’s our recipe for Gin and Lemon Custard Tarts you seriously have to have a go at.

Warner’s Distillery’s Rhubarb Gin

Warner’s Distillery is an English gin also made by a husband-and-wife team. Tom and Tina Warner created their Rhubarb Gin using actual rhubarb juice, which turned the gin pink.

This pink gin trend took off based on their creation and is now a world phenomenon. But this was the first one.

Warner’s Rhubarb Gin actually makes an excellent boozy twist on the classic Eton mess dessert, which you can read all about here, but it also makes a delicious sour too:

– 50ml Warner’s Rhubarb Gin
– 25ml lemon juice
– 20ml sugar syrup
– dash of Angostura bitters
– 1 egg white

Shake everything over ice until the shaker is icy, then double strain into a glass, empty the ice and ‘dry shake’ again for another 10 seconds.

Pour into a coupe glass or a small tumbler and garnish with a lemon twist.

Smooth and velvety from the egg white, sharp and sherbety from the sugar and lemon, and a fresh pop of juiciness from the rhubarb, this version of the classic sour is excellent.

Bombay Sapphire

A household name, Bombay Sapphire is a truly international gin. Although it’s distilled in Hampshire, its ingredients come from far and wide – an ambassador for World Gin Day indeed.

Juniper from Tuscany, coriander from Morocco, lemon peel from Spain and cubeb berries from Java (plus another six botanicals) all go into this beautifully balanced gin.

And because it’s so well balanced, this is a real multitool for any home bar, and this Winter Fizz is a great place to start:

– 45ml Bombay Sapphire
– 20ml red vermouth
– 10ml lemon juice – strained to remove pulp
– 100ml tonic water
– orange twist to garnish

Build over plenty of ice in a collins glass and garnish with the long strip of orange.

The Cure tonic syrups

I love tonic syrups and these are amazing.

A lot of the time, the tonic water you buy in the shops – even the good stuff – is too powerful or doesn’t match the gin you’re using.

But tonic syrups – a bit like cordial – mean you can choose the strength of your tonic and these ones even give you different flavour profiles to put with your gin. These syrups are spot on for G&Ts and cocktails like Winter Fizz above. In fact drinking them without gin – especially the Aussie Bush syrup – is great too.

Made in Sydney by bartenders who struggled through the pandemic lockdowns, The Cure tonic syrups bring a bit of that professional cocktail bar feel home.

You just add the amount of soda water you want to the syrup and away you go. Since Christina got these for my birthday, our Sodastream’s been on double shifts!

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