All posts tagged: photography

Biotherm Blue Therapy Accelerate Serum | Review

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I don’t think I have posted a review for the Biotherm Blue Therapy Accelerate serum. I have almost finished the entire bottle. Guess it’s time to talk about it. Somehow I always like this brand. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to purchase their products in Australia, at least in Brisbane. This is an anti-ageing repairing serum. It claims that it will help to reduce winkles, improve firmness and restore the youth of your skin. Well, I don’t believe any products can really restore the youth of my skin. However, I am obsessed with clear and luminous skin which gives your skin a youthful look. That’s all I am asking for from an anti-ageing serum. What they say about this product: “Rejuvenating serum to reduce visible signs of aging: fine lines – smoothing – firmness…oil-in-water dispersion system. Concentrated in extract of “Algae of Youth”, which delivers powerful hydrating capabilities that counter signs of aging, day after day. Fine lines appear smoothed, complexion is radiant, and facial skin contours feel tighter for a visible transformation.” Sounds pretty …

Vanuatu

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When you are based in Australia or New Zealand, a short trip to one of the Pacific islands seems like a no-brainer. I constantly hear friends or colleagues organising trips to Fiji, Bora Bora, Rarotonga, New Caledonia and so on. We have been to Rarotonga few years ago, and we loved it. It was simple and relaxing. When we wanted to have a getaway trip this year, we decided to give Vanuatu a go. Vanuatu is officially called the Republic of Vanuatu, inhabited originally by Melanesian people who are one of few groups of non-Caucasian with blond hair. The French had very strong influence back in 1768 on the island. We still could find nice French wine there during our trip, which was a nice surprise. Among all the islands, we decided to stay in Efate. It’s the main island of Vanuatu. We booked a villa facing the beach. A tropical island holiday is completely different from a trip to Europe. There is not much to see in terms of history and culture compare to …

Day trip to Canberra

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We had a day trip to Canberra a while ago. It was also my first time to visit the Australia capital (What took me so long?). Since it was just one day, we had to get up super early to catch the flight. But it was really worth the effort. We booked our meeting in early morning which gave us about half of a day to wander around the city. Canberra is the largest inland city, and it was built to be the capital of Australia. I think that’s why most of the population in Canberra work in public service. The city was really neat and tidy. Since we were in Canberra, we had to visit the old and new Parliament Houses. Otherwise, how can we say that we have been to the capital? Unfortunately, there was not much action in the Parliament that day. All we saw was empty rooms and many other tourists like us. 😀 Save the best for last. Cartier had exhibition in the National Gallery of Australia around that time. …

Larnaca, Cyprus

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I guess I need to start from Larnaca. After all, it was our first stop for this trip, and we truly enjoyed our stay in this city. Nice warm weather, beautiful sea and beach. On the second day, after a lovely sunrise and warm freshly baked breakfast , we thought it would be a good idea that we just hung around in Larnaca. It would give us some time to adjust and recover a bit from the long-haul flight and jet lag. Certainly there were things to see and do in this beautiful city. Agios Lazaros (Church of Saint Lazarus) Be honest with you, this is the first Greek Orthodox Church I have ever seen. The church was built in 890 mainly with limestone blocks when St. Lazarus’s tomb was discovered. It was built over the tomb, and we still can go down to the sanctuary to see it.  The remains were moved to Constantinople and then to Marseille long time ago. The gold covered iconostasis is magnificent and breathtaking. I have never seen anything …

Good morning, Larnaca

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After a 14-hours flight and another three hours one, we finally arrived at Larnaca, Cyprus. After check-in and a quick dinner, we hit the pillows long and hard. Then, jet lag kicked in. However, Sometimes it’s a good thing. We woke up at 5am and decided to have an early morning walk on the beach. So quiet. The city was still sleeping. There were few people swimming in in the sea. Some were walking the dog or jogging alone the seaside. It’s probably the best time of the day to enjoy the city before the heat and heaps of tourists like ourselves wake up. We walked on the beach. The city is waking up. More and more people emerged on the street, jogging, cycling, fishing. “Kalimera!” They greeted each other. The water is crystal clear and calm. We sat down and waited for the sunrise. I admit I haven’t had a chance to watch sunrise in such a beautiful place for years. I had forgotten how beautiful it is. Apart from the time we spent …

Hobart, Tasmania, Australia – 2

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The first night at Hobart turned out to be a disaster. I booked three nights at a B&B in the city for us. I usually like to stay in B&B because most of them have style and characters. This one was no exception. However, in my opinion, it really needs some serious maintenance. We could see cracks everywhere, on the walls and ceilings. It was impossible to close the windows properly. We couldn’t get any sleep because the pedestrian crossing walk signal alert was beeping every five minutes outside of the window. We had to move out and find a new place to stay. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to get any rest at all. (Of course, the owner refused to refund us for the two nights we have paid!). Anyway, that changed our plan on the second day. Because I didn’t get much sleep, we decided that we should just go to some places close by without too much driving. We cancelled our trip to Mt Field National Park. After breakfast, we booked another place …

Malta – a little heaven

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When I was making the mini pastizzi last week, the image of the Maltese blue sky just kept showing in my head. when you look at that sky, I think anyone can forget about all the unhappiness in one’s life. Malta is a tiny little island with just over 300 km2 . However, it is indeed charming and fascinating. On our way from the airport to the hotel, the first thing I noticed was these honey color limestone houses everywhere. Geologically speaking, the whole island is a big chunk of limestone. I guess it was no surprise that they have been using limestone as building materials for centuries. Most of the houses have colorful windows and color-matched doors. Quickly, I developed a new obsession for these beautifully made doors. I couldn’t stop taking photos of them. They are so exquisite. I can’t help to wonder what kind of stories are happening each day behind the beautiful doors on this little island. The second thing is cacti, Prickly pear to be specific. It was introduced from America/Mexico originally. Malta’s dry and long summer …