City Snapshot: Berlin

I have been a little sick for the past few weeks- on and off. One of the reasons why this blog has not had many posts (the other reason is I have been too busy!). When you are sick there isn't too much to do but watch movies and read. Being a creative person, I find sitting and doing nothing really difficult, so I have a little more time now to blog...

I have been looking through some of my old photos recently, and I realised that I haven't finished doing my city snapshots. It is a fun excuse to look back at my travels and show you! So without further ado, here is my city snapshot of Berlin!



I visited Berlin over 6 years ago. This was around the same time I visited Paris, Rome, Vienna and Budapest on my own. So because of the time lapse, I can't tell you the names of the buildings or other landmarks, but I can tell you a little bit about the impression Berlin gave me.

Every time I have been to Germany, the locals have always been the friendliest I have ever met when travelling- and Berlin seemed to be no exception.

I can remember some of them mistook me for being one of them- which is always quite funny when they start speaking, and I reply in my Aussie accent, "Sprecken ze English?". This kind of happened to me all over Northern Europe.



They had loads of war memorials, "checkpoint Charlie" - where you once crossed from East to Western Europe, and loads of buildings where you could see the damage that bombs had made.

I thought it was really interesting how they had kept some of these bombed buildings- an old church, like the one pictured below- and created something new and exciting from it. Some of the old facade is still there, but from memory it had atleast three huge holes on the side where the bombs had hit it. The modern sky-scraper type building to the left is actually part of the church, and another part went through the middle of the church.

I guess it is a reminder of their past, but also a way of moving forward and looking to the future.







Berlin is very big city, with many suburbs. Some entirely modern, and others with buildings that probably hadn't changed for over 100 years- in Australian terms, that is a long time.


I was there in late March or early April, and the weather was perfect, as you can see. Much warmer compared to my first ever visit to Germany, in Frankfurt!


From memory, I quite enjoyed Berlin. It was easy to get around, clean, friendly people, great food, and full of a very interesting history and culture.

Obviously if you are a history buff, Berlin is one of the places you should go, but I think Berlin has much more to offer than just relics from the war. I think the modern parts of the city were very pretty (which is unusual for me to say- as I usually would say the older the better), or maybe its the ingenious way they have mixed their old and new together. Either way, if you were into architecture, perhaps Berlin would be a place for you to visit too.

My stay in the Palazzo Versace, Gold Coast, QLD

My husband went to a conference that was held in the Palazzo Versace Hotel, in the Gold Coast, a few days ago, so I tagged along to see exactly what the Versace Hotel was all about!




A few photos before we messed up the room...


The parquetry floor was beautiful, all the furniture had touches of Versace character, they even had glassware that had the Versace head embedded in the bottom of the glass to create a 3D relief on the bottom. The bed spread, towels, soap, etc had Versace emblems on it, but I was most impressed about was the pool-sized bath! It was huge... well, compared to our tiny spa bath we have at home, this spa was massive!


Of course, being surrounded by such a beautiful place meant I wasn't going to walk around in sneakers and track suit pants!

I am wearing the Pink Pencil Skirt, the Alexander Zebra Blouse, and the Venus Floral Bolero! A big mix of prints and colours, but everyoe who knows me knows I love my prints, colour and over the top styling! (which is why I loved this hotel)


The foyer chandelier! The foyer has a lovely area for cocktails and high tea. I could imagine it would be a great place for a girls day out high tea!



The beautiful mosaic floor that sits under the chandelier.


When ever you go to any other hotel, they leave an ordinairy, plain-looking teas set in the cupboard for you, right? Not here! Above is the tea set they leave for you in the Versace.


A little buffet breakfast... for me it is such a nice change to the boring white plates that every other hotel/restaurant/cafe etc serves food on. If I had a cafe/restaurant, I would go op-shopping and buy up big on all the vintage crockery!


It was so hot and humid, that a swim in the pool was necessary!



One of my latest designs, the Vesper Kimono... perfect for lounging around at the pool!

City Snapshot: Moscow

Back in 2006, my husband and I were lucky enough to travel to Moscow, and stay with our good friends Alex and Anna. If you are looking for a completely different experience when travelling to a city, look no further than Moscow.


As Moscow is not one the easiest of cities for most people to travel to, I thought I would share some of our photos with you.

The above photo is taken in a small town, about 1 hours train ride from Moscow city centre, named Sergiyev Posad. Even the train ride there is quite different from other countries... at each stop new people will come on board and try to sell to you. They will sell anything from hair combs, to toilet paper, to alcohol, to food- you name it, they probably have it- any opportunity to sell something!



The main attraction in Sergiyev Posad is the monastery. As you can see from these photos, the colours and architecture are very different to anything seen in Western Europe (and Australia for that matter). You can definitely see the Byzantine influence in the structure of the buildings- this is one of the things I truly loved about Russia.







One night was spent at a free open air concert, in the middle of Moscow city. Gotan Project were performing that night- they were fantastic!


The above photo and below were taken in the Red Square and Kremlin. If you ever get the chance to visit the Red Square, go to the Army and Military Museum. In there you will find the most amazing jewels, Fabergé eggs, and decorated books, royal robes, etc. AMAZING!





I have always liked over-the-top, highly decorated and embellished designs and artwork. It is amazing to think that the above room is basically covered in gold gilding! Imagine the work involved!

Another difference to Moscow, and Russia in general that I noticed, if you ever go there- dress up! If you go casual, you will stand out. Even when we visited parks and outdoor areas, the local women would wear heels and dresses. As Anna explained, Summer is a very short time for them, and they spend most of their time covered in coats and jackets, so while the weather is nice, they will take any opportunity to wear something nice! My kind of place!

If you have the chance to visit Russia, I recommend it. Moscow is not as tourist friendly as
St. Petersburg, but it has a distinct flavour that is certainly different to any other! Make sure you arrange either a tour guide or someone who speaks Russian to show you around- as you will need it, but it is well worth it!


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Australia Day at The Rocks Market

I spent the Australia Day public holiday selling my Penelope Red designs at The Rocks Markets in Sydney.



I was situated in Playfair Street, surrounded by beautiful old buildings, and you could see the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background, so I thought it was a great opportunity for some photos.

(the above two photos were taken before it became too crowded, when we first set up)


It was a great day- loads of people, lovely weather, and performers floating around through out the crowds all day.



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