With so many incredible places around the world to visit, you might wonder why Christina and I love sticking so close to home.

The funny thing is, when we’ve been overseas and have made our way home, we’re always impressed with just how good Sydney and NSW stands up against the most beautiful destinations around the world.

And while we’re always on the lookout for our next far-flung adventure (and the opportunity to get some use out of the world’s most expensive passport!), exploring our own backyard never gets boring.

But don’t worry, we’ve still got plenty of stories on some our favourite places like Lake Como.

Where to travel in New South Wales

Let’s follow the compass on our journey round NSW!

Go north

The Hunter Valley

Who guessed I’d start this guide with wine? No, I’m not surprised either! And the Hunter Valley certainly deserves as much credit as it always gets.

The oldest wine region in Australia, the Hunter has some incredible places to visit with astounding countryside and cellar doors to match.

If you don’t believe me, check out these tips on wineries recommended by long-time local and winemaster, Ian ‘Scarbie’ Scarborough of Scarborough Wines fame. These guys make the best Chardonnay you’ll ever taste by the way, and their cellar door experience is incredible.

We have a host of other reasons (not just wine… but mostly!) to visit the Hunter Valley. Check out our other reasons to visit this beautiful part of the state.

Port Stephens

Right next the Hunter Valley on the coast, Port Stephens is still (amazingly) a gem hiding in plain sight and not far from Sydney.

We’ve been coming to this pretty peninsula for years now and know the area well. Not only are there plenty of places to eat and drink, the beaches in Port Stephens are astounding. What better way to unwind after a long lockdown?

Here’s our essential guide to Port Stephens to give you a taste of what you’ll find here.

Maitland

Caught between the Hunter Valley to the south and Newcastle to the east, Maitland has long had the reputation as a ’30-minute town’ – in that it’s half an hour’s drive from both its bookend destinations.

But back in the mid-1800s, Maitland and its even smaller neighbour Morpeth were an epicentre of the colony.

There are still vestiges of those thriving times still to see now, but the real joy of this town isn’t its history; it’s the food.

There are so many remarkable places to eat here, we left after a weekend barely able to fit into our car, let alone our clothes!

Here’s where to eat in Maitland, plus our other stories on this fascinating part of NSW, whose history we’ve all but forgotten.

Byron Bay

Perhaps the biggest punctuation on the northern NSW coastline is Byron Bay. And justly so. Not just the town, but the whole area is brimming with beauty… and superb food.

You’ll find eating here very satisfying with so many venues offering local produce grown and crafted with love.

There’s a whole host of places to try here, as you’ll see from our compilation of where to eat in Byron, but there’s also so much to do here.

And of course, the whole area is so pretty – check out our Postcards story if you don’t believe me. 

Head south

Southern Highlands

Southwest of Wollongong, the Southern Highlands makes for a perfect escape from the city and a wonderful place to get away from the long lockdown.

Each little town in the highlands offers something different, as well as a burgeoning wine-making culture, though all are connected by one wonderful filament of gold: pies.

And every year, the Southern Highlands has Pie Time – a celebration of everything pastry.

Pie Time – a wonderful week in June of pie glory in the Southern ‘Pielands’ – is has this region at its best.

2020’s Pie Time is going virtual, with 1-7 June going for ‘Pie-solation’ celebrations, encouraging Aussies far and wide to pie up at home and share their pastry yarns online with #pietime and #piesolations. 

Berry

On the other side of the mountains to the highlands, this wealthy country town has been a popular stop for motorists for many years – though now the bypass misses Berry, it’s mercifully a lot quieter.

You’ll find pies to die for here too and Mt Hay Retreat up in the hills is a superb place to rest your head.

South Coast and Mollymook

The NSW South Coast has long been a popular haunt for Sydney holidaymakers, and rightly so. It’s absolutely stunning here. Pristine beaches, delightful food options, friendly locals… it’s hard not to like the South Coast.

One of the highlights of our time in the South Coast was when we stayed at Bannisters by the Sea at Mollymook. It’s a pretty little retreat in a quaint little seaside town with the other obvious asset of Rick Stein’s famed restaurant.

This iconic eatery aside, there are so many excellent food options in this part of the Shoalhaven to try. 

Other parts of southern NSW

Our last roadtrip before Covid-19 struck was down through the southern parts of NSW and into Victoria. We had decided to do our own Empty Esky in aid of the terrible bushfires that ravaged so much of the state.

That all seems so long ago now – even though it’s only a few months back as I write this.

It was, however, a blessing, as we were able to experience some amazing parts of the state that hopefully will still be the same the next time we visit.

Places like Batemans Bay and Moruya, Tumut and its wonderful brewery, the bakery at Howlong and Corowa’s distillery – you can find them all detailed here in our Empty Esky story… and you’ll find them all in person as you enjoy the beauty of New South Wales.

Enjoy the Central West

Travelling west of Sydney is such a different experience to going north or south along the coast. The landscape is so different, and the locals even more so.

Orange

One of the first places west of the Blue Mountains we ever visited, Orange is packed with truly superb food and wine. It’s a mountainous area, with a cool climate and high elevation, which makes the produce here even better.

Here’s our essential guide to Orange, NSW to get you started. 

Mudgee

Another wonderful western town that’s even friendlier than Orange and with perhaps even better wine and produce is Mudgee. There’s something about this place that really kept our hearts. We can’t wait to go back.

Here’s a hit list of where we’ll be eating when we go back plus our top tip for where to stay while you’re there. Honestly the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in… and I’m really picky!

The Blue Mountains

Arguably the most famous inland landmark of New South Wales are the Blue Mountains. This little section of the Great Dividing Range, which runs north to south some 3,500km, has so much history and beauty to it.

Here are seven ways to experience the grandeur of this landscape, which we highly recommend if you haven’t been here for a few years (it’s all been updated). And here’s where stay in the Blue Mountains too.

For more of our stories of the Blue Mountains, click here. 

The City

Of course, there’s no need to go too far if you don’t want to – or if you don’t have enough time. Sydney has so much to offer visitors and locals alike. We love a staycation here in the city, and we’ve written so much about our times here.

You’ll find everything from Sydney hotels and restaurants in the city to things to do and places to see.

But if you’re only in town for a short while, here’s what you can do in 24 hours.

And for more ideas for easy Sydney weekend getaways, check out this champion story!

If you’ve got more time on your hands and want to deep-dive into the research, here are more of our stories on places we’ve explored in New South Wales. 

Of course, we haven’t been everywhere in New South Wales… though we’re working on it. We’d love to go west and see what it’s like further inland. The farthest west we’ve been in NSW is Mendooran – a tiny town near Dubbo, where a particularly good whisky is made.

But every town between Sydney and Broken Hill has its story. And there’s time to hear them all.

Do you have a place of priority you want to visit as soon as travel restrictions lift? Tell us in the comments.

The post Where To Go In Australia’s First State – our NSW destination guide appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

When I was growing up in the UK, there used to be a show on the BBC called simply Food and Drink. In one of the sections, host Jilly Goolden would talk wine with her co-host Oz Clarke, and their descriptions of the wine they were sampling became a bit of a running joke.

Hedgerows, pencil shavings, soil and even rubber were all descriptors that I remember laughing at and that were lampooned by many a comedian of the time.

Everyone – perhaps even fellow oenophiles – thought they were taking it a bit far.

And who knows if these seemingly incongruent epithets were truly what Jilly and Oz were tasting in their glasses, the trouble is I think it put a lot of people off.

Rather than encouraging folk to try different wines and explore their flavours, the show highlighted the worst side of wine: the effected, pretentious snobbery that puts people off visiting wineries or even getting enthusiastic about flavours.

Such a shame; such a wasted opportunity.

Since then, fear of ‘getting into’ wine has faded. The reasons why people swirl the wine like a washing machine, why they sniff the wine before they taste, why they stare at the wine through sides of the glass go back to appreciating the best of the wine rather than just looking like a wanker.

But I digress.

These three wines that we’ve tried and tasted are absolutely perfect for dodging the cold months and warming yourself from the inside out.

You can watch our wine-tasting video of these three tipples on our IGTV episode here:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jim & Christina Butcher (@mrandmrsromance) on Jul 23, 2020 at 4:18am PDT

Midwinter wine-tasting – 3 reds you can bank on

While these wines aren’t your everyday swiggers – mostly because of the price point – they are great value for their quality and are perfect for a dinner party, special occasion or a birthday gift, or a sign of appreciation for Father’s or Mother’s Day.

Bay of Fires Pinot Noir 2018

Pinot Noir is a wonderful wine style that’s versatile to match with most cuisine and complex enough to drink on its own without food. And this Bay of Fires Pinot is the perfect example of that.

Intense flavours of stone fruit and gentle aniseed notes and cinnamon spices makes this Pinot Noir a refreshing yet exuberant wine. The vibrant scarlet colours and sweet strawberry aromas combine with the flavours of this wine to create a beautifully balanced, well-structured wine that lingers and impresses.

The cool climates of Tasmania create beautifully complex wines anyway, and this winery really shows this off well.

Available at leading retailers nationally at RRP $62.00.

Grant Burge Filsell Shiraz 2018

We’ve been fans of Grant Burge wines for a while now – their sparkling wine is excellent – and this full-bodied, rich Barossa Shiraz does the winery proud.

Even as you pour this wine, the colour captivates. Its dark, dark red colour with a glimmer of ruby gives up the clues of what you’re about to enjoy.

On the nose, this Filsell Shiraz has a chocolatey, warm aroma with a touch of cinnamon and vanilla. Smells of dark fruit we all associate with winter come through too, which is reflected in the taste.

Smooth, rich and dense, this wine coats the mouth luxuriantly and leaves the dark chocolate and coffee notes for you to enjoy long after you’ve finished the first sip.

Good on its own, this wine would also shine next to a hearty roast, a steak or even a good cigar. Keep it (if you can) for up to 20 years, whereby the flavours and texture of this Shiraz will develop exponentially.

Available from all major retailers and independent bottle shops at RRP $44.00.

Brookland Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

A discerning winery in the Margaret River, Brookland Valley doesn’t produce their Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon every year. They wait until the vines give out their best crop of grapes and then carefully hand-pick the harvest and open-ferment the wine – a traditional and more complex technique.

They then mature the wine in the finest French oak barrels to craft what is this winery’s flagship Cab Sauv. The result is extraordinary.

From the moment the wine hits the glass, you know you’re in for something special. Almost black, this bold yet deep wine releases rich aromas of dark chocolate, black cherry and spice.

Flavours in the Brookland Valley Reserve Cabernet are profound. Hints of vanilla and mocha blend with an savoury earthiness that only comes from a superior wine that’s ageing well. If you can hold off, this wine will get even better over the next 10-15 years.

This is a big wine perfect for a big roast or a thick-cut steak. Even a pasta or gnocchi dish with a rich, slow-cooked ragu would be amazing with this wine.

Available at Brookland Valley Cellar Door or online, and from independent retailers at RRP $70.00.

You really can’t go wrong with any of these wines – especially over the winter months. they’re hearty, comforting and warm the very soul.

The only risk with drinking them is you’ll suddenly want to become a wine expert, waxing lyrical about hedgerows, pencil shavings and soil… though hopefully not rubber!

We were gifted these wine samples.

The post Midwinter wine tasting – 3 hot reds that’ll keep you warm and cosy appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

*As it turns out, Joyce may or may not have had people’s best interests in mind when he gave this interview. It doesn’t seem that planes and flying are any safer when it comes to airborne infectious diseases like Covid-19.

Going to the airport, boarding a plane and waiting for the destination to come to us is so much part of our normal life.

Or it was.

Over the past few months, the long-haul has been sitting at home wondering when the next seat back will descend into our single-serve dinners.

All the things that used to annoy us – the drudgery of airport ziplocks, the decimal maths of currency exchange, the dismal twilight of jetlag recovery…

What I wouldn’t give for all of these things now.

But perhaps those things aren’t so far away. From the flight industry’s perspective, things are – excuse the pun – on the up.

Recently, CEO & Managing Director of Qantas, Alan Joyce spoke to Pip Harrison, MD of Tourism Australia at an industry webinar.

And what they had to say was far more positive than what we people yearning for faraway places have been feeling of late.

How safe is it to fly?

What I’d think is the biggest question in everyone’s mind is whether getting on a plane – a very enclosed space with recycled air and lots of hard ‘contaminatable’ surfaces – is a good idea with a virus as widespread and dangerous as Covid.

Also, with everything changing so quickly, how do we know we’ll be able to recover any lost money from flights that have suffered at the hands of a sudden surge in infection rates?

Probably the most interesting and heart-warming information from Alan Joyce on this was that of the hundreds of thousands of people who have flown since the Covid-19 pandemic started, there hasn’t been a single person-to-person transmission.

Joyce puts it down to the unique landscape of aircraft:

For a start, everyone’s facing the same way, which cuts down infection rates straight away. Also the cabin air is refreshed every five minutes and flows through medical-grade filters. significantly, the air circulates from top to bottom – away from your face and mouth.

And apart from the new cleaning protocols many airlines have now put in place, Qantas is also making face masks, hand sanitiser and alcohol wipes available to all passengers.

This is part of the new Fly Well programme Qantas has initiated, which also focuses on flexibility of bookings should anything happen to the flight you’ve paid for.

Where can we fly?

In a word: ‘here’.

We’re all looking at where we can go and what we can do, and thankfully, Australia is packed with incredible travel experiences. Our tips on travel in NSW and short trips from Melbourne spell that out. 

And Qantas’ pricing for short domestic flights makes ‘backyard travel’ even more enticing:

Alan Joyce even hinted at a possible $19 price for Sydney-Melbourne, which would certainly quench demand when borders all open.

But for now, intra-state flights are in the Qantas crosshairs – the bead settling on routes like Sydney-Ballina ($39), Brisbane-Cairns ($69) and Perth-Broome.

Down the line, as things like travel bubbles form and the much hoped-for vaccine develops, Qantas will prioritise bringing back international flights using their smaller 787 and 330 planes first.

When safe to do so, flights to Chicago and Dallas – new direct routes Qantas started earlier this year – will start, followed by the UK, then Asia.

The ultra-long-haul services flying direct to the UK and US as part of Project Sunrise will no doubt also be in demand when we can all travel internationally again.

So flying is safe and borders are opening, but who wants to fly?

According to Joyce, demand is huge: “98% of frequent flyers want to travel in the next 12 months”, and 50-60% of Qantas’ frequent flyers say that NZ is a viable destination as and when travel there opens up.

And if there’s any doubt as to potential numbers, Alan Joyce painted this picture of how Australians really do love to travel:

“Pre-Covid, our outbound tourism was roughly the same size as our inbound tourists coming in. The outbound tourists… would have gone overseas, now they’re looking at where they’ll travel. And I think destinations like Cairns, like Broome, will be of immense interest to people.”

What has been the damage to the air industry?

With over half of all the world’s aircraft grounded, and 220 Qantas planes currently out of service, things have never looked as bleak for the industry.

This is – in a terrible way – good news for us. Airfares are set to be low when the world comes back online to help with the boggling cash burn the industry is suffering.

The bigger European airlines have a cash burn of $300-400 million… per week, while US carriers are watching around $800m p/w go down the drain.

By comparison, Qantas has a $40 million per week burn to deal with, but it’s no wonder they want to get planes up in the air again.

In fact, Qantas has moved from 5% to 15% capacity of their domestic flights and are looking at getting to about 40% by July.

It’s no understatement that this crisis has been crippling for the industry. It’s remarkable that there are any airlines still running.

Travel is still an option – especially for Australia.

With luck and caution, we’ll be seeing international tourism come back to life soon. In the meantime, exploring Australia is your best option. There’s so much to see in this beautiful country.

If you’re not sure if travel in your own state is safe or allowed, check out the interactive Tourism Australia travel map, which keeps you up to date with travel prospects and safety.

The post How safe is it to fly – and where can we go? appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

It’s been a while since our last Weekly Edition – mostly because we haven’t really been doing much! But we’ve put together a few highlights from the past month or so that Christina and I have been in lockdown. 

This Weekly Edition has some great meal ideas if you’re running short of new things to cook at home, plus our cocktail classes we’ve been running remotely and some hot tips on gins you should try.

And of course there’s the small matter of my birthday to talk about, not to mention Mother’s Day, plenty of outings to our back yard and I remove most of my beard… on purpose.

We hope you enjoy this catch-up.

Cheers – Jim & Christina xx

Let’s be honest, there hasn’t been a lot to smile about over the past few months. But it’s so important to try and stay upbeat.

Things like this chalk drawing Christina’s found during her daily exercise really help.

Another thing that’s really helped us is our view. We’re lucky to have what I reckon is one of the best back yards in the city, and we try and put it to as much use as possible.

Especially at the moment.

We often pop down just before sunset for a little drink and a game of backgammon. By the way, this prosecco from Zonin is perhaps the most underrated bubbly you’ll find. It’s under $20 in national bottleshops and it’s superb.

We’ve been cooking at home pretty much the whole time restrictions have been in place, but tonight we’ve decided it’s time to support local restaurants too.

It’s a bloody good decision – these takeaway pizzas from Capello Ristorante in Balmain East are delicious – just as good as when we’ve eaten in. Can’t wait till doors open again. Hope it’s soon.

We’re back in the garden again this evening enjoying the beautiful light over the water.

This Chardonnay is also a delight – a little winery we found when we were on the Mornington Peninsula earlier in the year (which feels like a century ago!) called Portsea.

Remember to drink Chardonnay a little warmer than other white wines to get the best from its flavour and body.

But this is where most of our time’s been spent: in the kitchen!

Here are 12 things we’ve eaten that I can highly recommend turning the oven on for:

1. Lasagne

I made a big batch of variations of bolognese a while back and froze it all. Then you just have to add things to it to create anything from chilli to a pasta sauce. When you do, make sure you add gastrique to the mix; it transforms any tomato-based sauce completely.

2. Creamy chicken pie and polenta

I love having frozen sheet pastry at home and baking pies fresh. The Aldi puff pastry is probably the worst puff you can find, but because it’s like a hybrid of puff and shortcrust, it makes the best pie pastry you’ll find.

Polenta is also super useful. You can make it creamy like a mash (use stock rather than just water) or you can make polenta chips like these and it’s my secret ingredient to the best roast potatoes you’ll ever have.

3. Thai red curry

When it comes to cooking South East Asian food, I let Christina take over. She’s a real master – and since our cooking class in Bangkok in March this year, she wields fish sauce like a pro chef.

4. Indian curry

Easily one of my all-time favourite foods, Indian is a lot of fun to cook at home. I tend to go a bit crazy when it comes to cooking up a curry, but here are a few of my favourites to make.

I’ve also recently added naan bread and saag tarka dhal (the one I’m using the blow torch on) to my repertoire. Watch this space for in-depth recipes.

5. Left-over pies

Kind of linked to both the lasagne and my point about having pastry in the freezer, one thing I love doing is making pies out of dinner leftovers. I made a batch of little party pies from a chilli I made. Christina’s pretty happy with the outcome!

6. Meatballs

Another thing you can do with a big batch of mince is make meatballs. They’re really easy to mix up (I use an egg to help hold everything together, but many recipes don’t) and then you can freeze them for later.

When you make up the sauce, just plop the frozen meatballs in for about 20 minutes or until they’re cooked through.

7. Gluten-free choc peanut butter cookies

Christina made these little works of art for my birthday. She hasn’t made them in a while, which is probably why I can still fit into most of my clothes.

You only need five ingredients, they’re gluten free and they’re the most delicious thing you’ll ever eat. Here’s the recipe.

8. Bacon egg rolls

Perhaps not the most inspiring-sounding option, but when you have really good, locally produced bacon, things really step up on this delicious lunch option. I’ve also popped some pickles on here, which really works by the way.

But best of all, I made the bun at home too. I’ve used this bun recipe before a few times and it never fails!

9. Chocolate brownies

You might think those packet-bake brownie kits you get at the shops is cheating, but I tell you what, the Betty Crocker triple choc brownies are an absolute win. A little sprinkle of Maldon salt on top turns them into quite grown-up options too.

10. Choc and berry cupcakes

I wish we could take credit for these, but they’re actually a gift from our beautiful neighbours Denese and Jack. They even gave us these magazines to keep us entertained. So sweet.

We have a kind of baked goods barter system with them. Usually it’s cookies in return amazing things – including this incredible block of rocky road.

11. Banana bread

For a while, I thought Christina was hoarding bananas, which I thought was neither a good idea nor sustainable. It turns out she was keeping them until they went black to make into banana bread, which also turns out to be very in-trend at the moment.

I’ll have to squeeze her for the recipe at some point, but in the meantime, here’s my regular bread recipe I’ve been using for a couple of years now.

12. Macadamia shortbread cookies

If I could say I have a sweet speciality, I think it would have to be these gluten-free macadamia shortbread cookies. They’re so good but dangerously more-ish. These are my go-to currency when Denese brings round something delicious.

A delivery came the other day from our brilliant friends Kathleen and Jarrod, who run Nip of Courage – a distribution and marketing company for Australian craft spirits.

They also have a pre-mix cocktail company called Aussie Spirits, and they’re making these amazing 1-litre bottles of negronis (and other cocktails) while we’re all in lockdown.

We’ll be enjoying this lovely gift during our Skype call with them later tonight. Missing friends and not socialising is one of the hardest parts of having to stay put during the epidemic.

Our own personalised Negroni bottle and a long virtual chat with good people helps a lot.

Get your cocktails mixed and sent to you here.

Another of Christina’s newly discovered comforts is a good bath. I don’t know why, but she’s really into them at the moment. Perhaps it’s the cold evenings… or perhaps it’s that I keep bringing her champagne while she soaks.

Come to think of it, maybe I should have a bath!

There are few things in life that beat a good martini. And the more olives you can get on your stick the better!

On IGTV recently, we started doing cocktail hour classes – and here you can watch how I make ours.

I’m using Warner’s Gin – a beautiful London dry from the UK. The Warners are a couple working together like us, so we feel some kinship there. They’re also the major sponsor for Hospo For Life – a foundation to help people in the hospitality industry who are struggling with mental health in these hard times.

Warner’s are putting $5 from every bottle sold towards the foundation until the end of the month.

Today, Christina is decorating the office. We’re spending more time here than ever before, and these big white doors aren’t best backdrop for Zoom calls.

So she’s using Japanese washi tape to create these cool line drawings. The tape just peals off, so if you make a mistake or have to remove the pictures, it comes off easily.

Tonight is another Cocktail Hour Class on IGTV. This time, we’re making negronis. There’s been a bit of hype to negronis recently thanks to Stanley Tucci’s aberration (sorry Stanley, you can’t ‘just swap gin out for vodka’) and also Alexander Kraft of Sotheby’s International on IGTV with The Rake.

If you haven’t seen this guy before, he does regular tours of his estate, his car collection, his watch collection, his vintage cigars… he’s amazing and every room has a negroni kit ready to go.

Our negroni is made with Warner’s gin again – but this time their pink rhubarb gin. It adds a delicious sweet tartness to the drink – but see for yourself. I’ve been taught by real master mixologists how to make a negroni. I hope my learnings come through!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mr & Mrs Romance (@mrandmrsromance) on May 2, 2020 at 12:11am PDT

In another of our Cocktail Hour classes on IGTV, I talk about the wonders of the gin mule and – of course – show you how to make it. I’m also using the Warner’s rhubarb gin here.

Discovered that the little harbourside pools and beaches around Balmain are not as safe as they might seem today. I don’t know if this is a sign that the harbour is cleaner than normal or what, but a note on the rocks warning about a blue-ringed octopus living in the water here is a bit worrying.

They’re one of the most poisonous creatures in and around Australia… which is saying something!

Thanks to Christina’s hair and beauty site Hair Romance, we’re lucky enough to be working with the super-talented hair stylist Anthony Nader today in his cool Surry Hills salon and his hair product and equipment business Sydney Salon Supplies.

We’re creating some ‘cuts-at-home’ videos with him to help people trim their overgrown hair in lockdown.

We’re shooting a men’s hair and beard trim at the moment – as you can see from this BTS shot.

Inspired by Anthony’s craftsmanship, I’ve decided to give myself a bit of a beard trim too. Not sure which version I prefer… though the photo in the bottom right makes me wonder where my chin’s gone!

Today, to celebrate Mother’s Day, we’re at Christina’s sister’s place. We’re welcomed by the house gargoyles – Raven the black lab and Monte the moggie!

Christina’s sister’s house has a great back yard and the most recent addition is the fire pit. As our nephews get the flames going, we prepare for an evening of fun and catch-ups.

We enjoy the warmth of the fire with Christina’s mum and our brother-in-law – architect and builder of the fire pit.

And if you’re wondering what those silver pear things are, they’re potatoes we’ll be baking on the fire later.

After dinner, we break out the marshmallows. It’s so good to see everyone – it’s amazing to think the last time we saw these guys, talk of an epidemic was almost speculation and fiction.

Today is perhaps the most important day of the year. Yes, that’s right, it’s my birthday!

We were supposed to be in Europe today, but obviously Covid has seen to that. But if cancelled travel plans are the worst that happen to us, I think we’re pretty lucky.

It’s more than enough for me to be spending my birthday with this amazing woman. I barely notice the view when I’m with her.

But sitting here with Christina, negronis, a magnificent cigar and a bit of backgammon – not to mention a new shirt – I couldn’t be happier.

Unless you include a curry feast! This magnificent meal comes from our local Indian and is exactly what I was hoping for.

Thanks to my mum and dad for the present. We’ve ordered far too much food – to the point that the guy on the phone taking the order persuaded Christina to get more rice because he thought this was for more than just two people!

I took my own advice though and have made pies with the leftovers. Lots of pies!

Thanks also to our awesome neighbours Red and Lysh for the beers. Young Henrys Natural Lager goes so well with a curry.

Tonight is the first time I’ve been out to socialise since lockdown began and (obviously) since the rules were relaxed a bit.

I’m off to see my mate Pete for a cigar and some whisky.

As I come home, I realise how pretty the harbour is at night. It’s been so long since I saw it like this. And that’s the good thing about being at home so much: you see the beauty again in places you’ve seen so often.

It’s a humid night in the city. In fact, Sydney is the only place I’ve ever been both cold and sweaty at the same time. How can it be both humid and chilly?

But as the low clouds tug and pull at the buildings and towers, the moon glints down from its shining seat in the heavens.

Only morning, with the pale sun pinking the sky, do the city mists flee, leaving a damp, glimmering town below.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this Weekly Edition. Stay safe and be happy.

Jim & Christina xx

The post Iso catch-up: cocktail classes, birthday feasts and meal ideas at home appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

There have been few times when we’ve all felt so helpless as now. While Covid-19 ravages our planet, all we can do is stay out of the way and hope we don’t become one of the dreadful numbers.

My sister is a nurse in London, working with victims of this coronavirus, and hearing her stories from the front line is not a pleasant thing. It makes me feel even more helpless.

But while we all wait and hope, there’s an opportunity to turn this situation to some good.

Dusting off the old mortarboard and putting your grey matter to work on these ideas will not only fill the time and keep you away from the news, they might even start a new passion.

1. Bust these wine myths

Nic Bowen, winemaker at Hardys Wines, has shared some interesting facts that debunk common misconceptions of wine.

Busted: a teaspoon in your sparkling keeps it fizzy for longer

“Keeping a spoon in your sparkling wine defies the laws of physical chemistry and will not help it stay fizzy! Instead, keep the bottle ice cold with a ‘champagne’ stopper in it.

“This will reduce the amount of gas released and help preserve some of the bubbles. If you are keeping it in the fridge, refrain from placing it in the fridge door or laying down as the opening and closing of the fridge will disrupt the bubbles.”

Busted: red wine comes from red grape juice

“When you squeeze most red grapes the juice is clear. The colour, and indeed a lot of the flavour in red wine, comes from the skins of the grapes and that is why they are fermented in contact with the whole berry.

“You’ll also find that very old red wines are paler in colour than when they were first harvested.”

Busted: people only swirl their wine because they’re wankers

“For many, swirling your wine may seem like a social norm, or what wine enthusiasts do to display experience. However, it actually has a purpose!

“When you swirl your wine, it liberates aromatic compounds, allowing you to uncover the full sensory qualities of the wine. You don’t need to give it a vigorous washing machine spin, just a light slosh will do the trick.”

Busted: wine grapes are the same as the grapes you buy at the supermarket

“Wine grapes are a lot smaller, sweeter and contain more seeds that the grapes that you would buy at a supermarket.

“The smaller sweeter berries allow a higher juice-to-skin ratio, which results in more pleasurable wines, as most of the grapes’ flavour and aromatic compounds are found closer to the skin and in the seeds.”

Here are more wise words from another great winemaker – we interview Ed Carr, the man in charge of making Australia’s best sparkling wine: the House of Arras.

2. Learn a handicraft

There’s a reason our stash of snacks is pretty low at the moment: we need something to keep us busy while we watch TV. After all, what’s the expression? Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.

I don’t know about that, but I do know why there’s a shortage of Cheezels at the moment!

Our friend Carly, who also runs a lifestyle and productivity blog Smaggle, has become something of a crochet cognoscenti.

She now runs Crochet Coach – an online teaching forum where you can learn everything from what a crochet hook is to how to make the most impressive designs, objects and clothes.

Alternatively, if you have long hair or kids with long hair, you should check out Christina’s site Hair Romance. It’s the ultimate authority on haircare, styling and braiding.

Christina’s ebooks show you in easy step-by-step photos and instructions how to braid hair and create many different styles.

Also on her YouTube channel, she reviews products, gives braiding and styling tutorials, and has great advice on maintaining a magic mane.

3. Get that blog started

You finally have some time to sit down and get the blog you’ve been thinking about off the ground at last.

A blog has so many different positives to it. It can be as simple as a record of your life – and one of the main reasons we started Mr & Mrs Romance. It can also be a way of communicating and sharing your ideas with others.

It can even be a way of making money or adding a more dynamic element to your business and driving traffic to your site.

Whatever reason you have for starting a blog, now’s the perfect opportunity. And to get it going, we’ve put together some tips and how-tos to help.

Check out our page on starting a successful blog here.

And if you’re wondering how to set up your home office, we’ve got some advice here too.

4. Learn the arcane craft of writing

As the saying goes, there’s a book in everyone, but getting it out and then knowing what to do with it is another thing.

Thankfully there are courses out there to help and the Australian Writers’ Centre is one of the best.

They run regular novel-writing classes online with a mentor to lead you through.

They also have feature-writing courses that not only show you how to structure a feature article but also how to interview, pitch and submit work to editors. Teachers critique your work and – speaking from personal experience – you come out the other end a better writer.

The Australian Writers’ Centre runs a whole gamut of other writing courses too that are worth looking into.

And if you want to get your novel out in record time, keep your eye out for the annual NaNoWriMo – the National November Writing Month – that guides you through the word count so you can achieve novel in 30 days!

It’s pretty intense, but it gets results. I’m guessing those 30 days don’t include editing, pitching or any of the other behind-the-scenes stuff that go with the ardour of book-writing, but it’s a bloody good start.

5. Learn Latin and the art of drinking at the same time

Michael Fontaine, Professor and Associate Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education at Cornell University, has taken the trouble to revive a forgotten classic first written in 16th Century.

How to Drink – a classical guide to the art of imbibing is a wonderful witty view of society’s relationship with alcohol that still stands up 500 after it was published.

Its author, Vincent Obsopoeus, goes into great depth on the positives of alcohol, drinking at home and at large, who to drink with and how to win drinking games.

Perhaps the reason this essential literature for the drinking classes has remained in obscurity for so long is that Obsopoeus wrote in Latin.

But now that Michael Fontaine has translated it (with the corresponding original Latin text on each facing page), we can now get to grips with our best friend: booze.

Buy this 16th Century manual on How to Drink here.

I hope these ideas drive you towards a more productive time in isolation and that we all come out of this terrible situation not only healthy but also more enlightened. Stay safe.

The post 5 ways to study at home to stop the iso-loco appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

As we all watch this incredible scenario play out, it’s safe to say that no one can really believe the far-reaching effects of this pandemic. Loss of life and livelihood are everywhere.

It’s up to all of us to help stop the spread of Covid-19.

People like those in the healthcare industry are doing an incredible job, putting themselves in harm’s way to help others.

My sister is one of those.

She is an endoscopy specialist in London usually away from the main part of the hospital. But she is now working as a general nurse with people suffering with Covid-19.

Her courage – and the courage of others like her – deserves all of our respect… and whatever we can all do to help control the spread of this disease honours their bravery.

For us, Christina and I have decided to self-isolate. We have elderly and at-risk friends and family, and the thought of passing this terrible illness on to them horrifies us. 

Remaining isolated and continuing to tell stories and (hopefully) entertain is what we can do to help the situation.

So here’s what we’ve been up to in our isolation. And if you’re also on lock-down, we’ve got some tips on how to make the most of your isolation.

Stay safe, keep dreaming of distant lands… and keep washing your hands!

Cheers – Jim & Christina x

The hardest thing about isolating is staying indoors a lot, especially when the day’s as pretty as this. But isolation doesn’t mean you have to live like a hermit. 

As long as you’re careful, avoid any close contact and choose places that aren’t busy when you go out, you should be ok. 

The worst part of this virus isn’t that you might catch it; it’s that you might pass it on without knowing. That’s the part that scares us.

Christina and I are lucky that we have this beautiful garden at our disposal. After a long day of being cooped up inside, we’re enjoying a delicious glass of vino and a few games of backgammon.

If you have a favourite board game (not Monopoly), now’s the chance to bring it out. 

It looks like Christina and I won’t be travelling again any time soon, so we’re doing some of the things that we’ve wanted to do but haven’t been home long enough to finish.

My chilli plants have started pumping out crops and crops of fruit, so I’m drying them to make chilli oil. It’s very easy – find a sunny window and just hang the chillies up by their stems. I’ve used a length of picture wire.

They take between three days to a week to dry completely. Then you chop them up and put them in a jar of oil. After a week or so, you should have a tasty spicy dressing.

Tonight, I’ve cooked up an Indian curry for dinner. Just melting a blob of butter into the saag tarka dhal with my blowtorch. Nothing like a bit of food theatre!

One thing we’ve changed that’s made a big difference to our days in isolation is we’re eating up to the dinner table more. Rather than eating on the sofa in front of the TV, this change of scenery helps with the tedium of being stuck at home.

We’ve also started a new thing where we put on music that represents the food of the country. Spotify has playlists specifically for international food! Tonight is obviously Indian music, but other nights we’ve played Italian classics (That’s Amore!) for our risotto and French cafe style tunes to go with our cheese plates.

It’s fun and a way to travel without leaving the house.

I love getting into the kitchen and this isolation is creating the perfect opportunity. 

Christina’s about to tuck into one of my signature sausage rolls for lunch. These are super easy by the way. Frozen pre-rolled puff pastry sheets and sausages with the skins removed. 

Lay the sausage meat on the pastry, roll it up and seal it and whack it in the oven (180ºC for about 15 minutes).

Before you cook them, these freeze really well too by the way. Cook them from frozen at 160°C for about 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

It’s important to keep doing the things you normally do – especially those that make you happy. Thankfully we have plenty of gin, dry vermouth and olives in the house at the moment for martini o’ clock!

Back in the kitchen, I’m baking my weekly loaf of bread. You can use regular flour but strong bread flour is better. Then you can add all the seeds and things in as you go.

If you’re interested, I’ll be sharing my recipe and method for baking bread later this week – though if you’re thinking of baking your own, best start hunting for baker’s yeast now – there seems to be a shortage for some weird reason.

If there’s one thing I am genuinely happy about it’s my wine club subscription to Cupitt Estate. These guys – with their beautiful cellar door in Ulladulla, NSW – make superb wine and are still sending out their top picks.

This is a great way to keep your wine stash topped up and also to help local producers. If you have a favourite winery, why not look into whether they have a club you can join or if they’re still delivering?

Tonight, we’re enjoying a bit of cheese with one of our new wines from Cupitt’s – the Slaughterhouse Red – a Shiraz Cabernet blend – while we finish this surreal miniseries on Netflix.

If you’re looking for a really weird show to watch, check out the Tiger King. 

Travel tips for self-isolation

So much of travel and our motivation to see the world is based on creating memories, so why not tap into those memories you’ve already made and revisit some of the incredible places you’ve been to?

Whether that’s just looking through old travel photos – or even making them into an album you can have pop up on your TV when it goes on standby, or making a dish that you ate while you we were away (like the taralli from Puglia we made at home) or music that reminds of that time you were away.

Here are some other clever ways we’ve found to travel without leaving your house.

Visit virtual Chicago

Our friends from Choose Chicago tourism board sent an amazing list of things you can see and do just with the aid of wifi.

Click here to download the pdf and sit back to explore the Windy City!

You can take an architectural tour of Frank Lloyd  Wright’s home, visit the beautiful Art Institute of Chicago, go into the Adler Planetarium, peer into the wildlife of the city’s zoos and aquariums, learn recipes from Chicago’s finest chefs, and even hook into the world-renown music scene here all through the click of a hyperlink.

Cook along with Thai chefs and eat like you’re back in Chiang Mai

The Thai tourism board – Hug Thailand – is working with Chat Thai, an excellent Thai restaurant in Sydney running live-stream cooking classes on Facebook!

Every Friday at 4pm, check out what the kitchen is cooking. 

This really reminds me of when we had a cooking lesson in Bangkok recently – the most fun we’ve had on the road!

You also get the recipe and can watch the lesson in your own time!

Get help with that novel you’ve been thinking about

They say there’s a book in everyone, the only problem is never having the time to get it started. 

Well, you’re at home now, so why not try your hand?

If you’re not sure about where to start, how to get the middle going or what you do to finish, you should check out the online lessons from the Australian Writers’ Centre. 

I did a course for feature writers years ago with these guys and it was brilliant. I’m sure their fiction-writing course is just as good.

If you can’t go to the places of your dreams, perhaps you can create them. 

The AWC also does a course on content creation, which is just about the smoothest segue to my last idea…

Start your own blog!

One of the main reasons we started Mr & Mrs was so that we could google our own lives! Having a searchable resource online of what you’ve done stops the frustration of trying to remember what you did at Christmas last year.

It also started out as a creative outlet for me and a place for Christina to put her beautiful photos. 

From that, I’ve turned this into my full-time job and Christina – as well as Hair Romance now runs Photography Romance with her sister Mary.

There are so many more reasons to start your own blog too, and if that’s something that interests you, check out our post on how to start your own blog here.

It explains the basics of starting up and has advice about hosting (use our special link to BlueHost here), platforms and domains and platforms.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this Weekly Edition and that you’re safe and well.

Keep your chin up and let’s hope we’ll all be free again soon!

Cheers – Jim & Christina xx

The post Travel without moving – an isolated lifestyle appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.