A Suitcase Full of Olive Branches

Would it really be out of the question for the coach to make a slight diversion? We heard that this tour was headed for the Northern Lights. That’s why we took it, but now we can’t seem to find those Northern Lights anywhere on the itinerary. Any idea why that would be the case? Now you are curious about this book, right? Let me enlighten you. This is a book about Italy and her beautiful northern lakes.

While travelling on a tour coach on a round trip from Milan, tiny olive branches are handed out to perfect strangers in an effort to let the Italians know that their country is not considered number one in the world in terms of World Heritage and Culture for nothing.

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A Suitcase Full of Koalas

A Suitcase Full of Koalas is a modern, edgy travel book set to test your wits and memory for detail. Gallivanting around London and somewhere distinctly south of the great capital in a sleepy seaside village, the author finds herself handing out tiny furry koalas to the English, to the Polish, to the Italians, in fact to anyone who cares to accept the little fellas as a gift from Australia. In her moochings over a month, she manages to meet a myriad of characters from all walks of life who practically jump off the pavements, à la Mary Poppins and Bert, and into the book.

This is a book about life and living – about the human condition and quest for feathering one’s own nest. As John Donne observed, ‘No man is an island’, but sometimes we yearn to embrace solitude and sit with ourselves and a good book. A Suitcase Full of Koalas will inevitably tickle your fancy and have you laughing on every other page. But that’s a good thing, isn’t it?

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Two Suitcases full of Kangaroos

Passport? Check!

Suitcases? Check!

Kangaroos? Check!

And we’re off! If you enjoy travel, having a laugh, are a keen conversationalist and even keener historian and lover of brilliant architecture, then these trips are for you!

Take care to cosy on down in your seat, and choose your fellow seat-mate discerningly because one foot on the buses and there’s no looking back.

Tempted? Then make haste to hobble, hurdle or haul yourself up the gleaming silver steps of these ‘Laugh a minute’ luxury coaches and await further hilarious instructions. Rest assured you will never be able to look a tour guide straight in the eye ever again without thinking of Aston, Gilda, Stan or Hugh (no, not puppies).

From the wilds of Cornwall to cosy little Irish pubs, from pirate coves to magnificent Gothic churches, and from the oceans to the mountains across the valleys and windswept moors – these two coach tours have it all. Not to mention the mystery of the tiny, furry kangaroos.

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A Suitcase Full of Opals

If you are ever lucky enough to receive an invitation to a wedding in Poland, make sure you RSVP… ASAP. It happened to me. I was invited and travelled to Poland along with 50 other Aussie guests. I knew nothing about Poland. Nothing save the fact that every Polish name seemed to end in ski, ska, or sko. Australia’s highest mountain – Mount Kosciusko, was named after a Polish explorer. If you’d like to find out more about the natural wonders of Poland, the heritage sites, the beautiful, wide landscape, and why so many travellers choose to go to the land of zloty and pierogi, then this book has been bookmarked for you. The laughs, the landscape, the characters, the sheer beauty of it all. Come travel with me and find out for yourself what all the fuss is about.

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A Suitcase Full of Pink Pearls

Of course, I’d shied away from traveling to Croatia! Why embrace the unknown with Venice, Nice, Rome, and Constantinople calling? I’d heard whisperings of a city dubbed the ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’ but had little idea where that soul-stirring nirvana might have been located. You can imagine my surprise and delight, when I was invited to accompany five friends and their two young sons to Dubrovnik, Croatia, for a five-day stint in the scorching Balkan sun.

Words cannot express that first glimpsing of the red-roofed, white-walled, brilliant-blue -sea-skirted city when our sleek, silver, chauffeur-driven van tumbled into town from the brooding, cobalt-crusted Dubrovnik mountains.

Lord Byron had it right: Heaven on Earth!

The following five days for our ‘party of eight’ included beaches, swimming pools, ‘Old Town’ treasures, Wall-walks, Croatian food to die for, and best of all – a delightful ‘Game of Thrones’ tour, which had two little boys searching every nook and cranny on the ‘Kings landing’ for that elusive Iron Throne. Who’s never wanted to play kings or queens?

So you’ll be joining us on this pink-pearler tour in one of the world’s most Instagram-able spots? Thought so!

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A Suitcase Full of Wildflowers

There were possibly twenty reasons why I hung the sign on my study door reading, ‘Gone to Scotland... back in a month.’

Reason number one: I was compelled to languish on a stone bench in the rocky high grounds of Edinburgh Castle, eyes closed, savoring the sweet sound of bagpipes echoing through the centuries-old stillness. The only thrill that could possibly surpass the bagpipes would be the sensory awakening at the Edinburgh Tattoo. Beyond that, my list included a longing to revisit the lochs in hopes of glimpsing the elusive Nessie, a craving for the earthy taste of haggis, a penchant for a lively Scottish reel and jig, and a need to purchase genuine Scottish shortbread. I also yearned for an authentic Scottish coat, gloves, and matching tam-o-shanter, the sight of a man in a kilt (preferably bending over to tie his shoelaces), and the desire to potter around a certain famous viaduct crossing.

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