A dream destination portfolio: the Editor’s Pick
For Amber Guinness, Italian hospitality is an art form. In her 18th century farmhouse in Tuscany, where guests come to eat and paint, this passionate home cook shares her template Before I had even finished browsing through Amber Guinness’s new cookbook, I had made pea and mint soup, an asparagus and ricotta tart, and…
Remembrance of things (almost) past … from razor gangs to Art Deco lines just as sharp Packing boxes ready for a Blue Mountains relocation, I was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of not having done my Kings Cross history homework to a high enough standard. I wanted one last round, and a ‘hood hangover to…
Keen travellers making up for lost time are seeking holiday homes that promise seclusion, mindfood and a wellbeing upskill… A dazzling Greek villa with lines sharp enough to slice haloumi … a Pacific island retreat with Tjapaltjarri on the walls … a bold new Bondi abode frocked up in perforated aluminium … The luxury holiday…
Tapping into this year’s staycation imperative is a new way to explore Sydney Harbour Excess All Areas played hooky this week, exploring the bays, beaches and bushland of the playground that is Sydney Harbour on Spectre, a sleek 12-metre Scandinavian Axopar37 sports cruiser, aka MySydneyBoat. Company director Mark Dalgleish and his skipper daughter, Elodie Dalgleish,…
What’s the new centrepiece of luxury travel? Ahead of the re-opening of the Maldives to tourists this week, premium hotelier Sonu Shivdasani has been recalibrating… The new luxury, post Covid-19, mused Sonu Shivdasani towards the end of a lockdown on one of his island paradises in the Maldives, will build on rarity. “The majority of…
* This post may contain affiliate links. Excess All Areas may receive a small commission, at no cost to readers, if a purchase is made The thrill of a new place often starts with a book. Here, travel writers share some surprising inspirations. Even with their wings clipped, travel writers are frequently asked to nominate…
Japan in springtime, Morocco in an orange haze, London dipped in derring-do … experience exotic locations through a fragrance filter. There’s a new wave of niche perfumes that aim to re-create a destination in a bottle. It’s a cache that lets the perfume lover daydream about travel that might still be, once closed borders are…
After the terrorist attacks that rocked Colombo, Sri Lankan creatives shaped an arts-driven recovery that could become a template for a post-Covid-19 world… Over glossy Beijing duck and tiger prawn kung pao at the Shangri-La Hotel’s Shang Palace, Ajai Vir Singh is explaining how the arts community led Sri Lanka’s recovery after the Easter 2019…
From Japan to Canada, Switzerland to the Scottish Highlands, top-end train travel can be addictive. Just ask trainspotter Rylie Heathfield… As a boy, Rylie Heathfield could go one better than a bedroom full of Thomas The Tank Engine books and toys. Across the valley from his aunt and uncle’s property east of Melbourne was the…
From joss-sticks to beaded slippers to rattan chair repairs … ancient trades are part of the warp and weft of Penang’s heritage George Town Lee Beng Chuan is perched on a low orange stool in a cluttered workshop in George Town’s Muda Lane. Next to him is a yellow bucket containing a lump of brown…