"Explore. Dream. Discover" leffe3's Profile

I went quiet on VT for quite some time. Partly to do with being broken into 4 times in 12 months and having our MACs constantly stolen. Almost as soon as we replaced them, our new friends would come a-calling. (Stupid to keep on replacing, possibly, but we have the right to want our MACs and little extras in life).

But that's in the past now as we have moved home and we're back into apartment living in St Kilda (yay, begone boring burb and welcome back lifestyle) that takes security very seriously.

Venice

But more importantly, back on VT as I rediscovered just how damned good it is:) Went on a trip to UK and Paris in October (slowly updating my pages there) and used VT - particularly for Paris as it's been 15 years since I last visited the French capital.

And how helpful was VT??? Words fail me - we had a great time as a result of so many excellent tips. Result is that I've rediscovered my love of VT :) Almost 9 years a member and a hiatus for a while, but back with a vengeance.

Malindi, Kenya

So now, I have to catch up and update as much as I can - Home Page, other pages, new pages etc... May take a while but...

I've also set myself the challenge of updating some of the older pages - some tips of London date from 2002... I was shocked to discover I have some pages that have stated 'under construction' and have remained fallow for 5 years :) All that will change.

But it's the UK (London, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and West Sussex) along with Paris that are my first target... And then my world is my oyster from there on in...

Macau

Reading allikat's Home Page made me think of other bits of information about who I am, and I do love lists (see below) so...

Hobbies include:-
Photography (always snapped pics but have taken it a little more seriously since moving to Australia. I now use slide film - digital cameras not my bag, at least not yet. I tried a course in b/w photography, but realised it was not my bag either - an expensive lesson to learn! - and now I'm exploring colour intense films... Garish, me?)

Hiking (whether it be through rainforest, up hills, along deserted and windswept beaches, this is something I enjoy but need to do more of)

Reading (the answer to a question in a debate about Big Brother and what would you miss most outside friends and family. I would go stir-crazy if I could not access reading material. The newspaper every day is a must. I also try to create as much time as possible with a book or two on the go. Novels and/or non-fiction (ideal situation is one of each on the go at the same time).

Film (I could happily see 3 or 4 films per week at the cinema. But I have interest beyond the passive - I've produced 6 Film Festivals in 3 years in the time I have lived in Australia and 3 in Israel when living there).

Performing Arts (Less interested these days after reaching saturation point in living and working in London and Tel Aviv. Live theatre was my passion for a long time, then discovered contemporary dance. But seeing too many performances in professional capacity resulted in a waning of my interest. But it's still lying dormant, waiting to be re-inspired :)

Travel (naturally, although harder these days now that I have moved so far from anywhere else LOL)

Gardening (at the moment at least. Fair weather gardener, and it maybe a passing phase LOL)

Food (ahhh, now we're really getting to the nitty-gritty. One of my greatest pleasures in life is good food and good wine. Preferably cooked by someone else in a decent restaurant, but am also rediscovering for myself culinary skills that have lain dormant. But I enjoy food, so would like to think I am not too much of a food snob. I'll not recommend Mackers to anyone (I won't go) but I'll eat at Hungry Jacks, a much better burger. I love grilled cheese on toast (and have cravings for it if I have spent a week eating out).

New Zealand

As I said, reading is important to me - to the point that I cart my books with me from place to place as I re-read many of them. I have 000s of them and increasing all the time. I also stockpile. The Margaret Drabble I mention is at least 3 years on my shelf.
Favourite Books:

Love In the Time of Cholera - Marquez (in my opinion, the most romantic book of all time)

Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Bernieres (made me laugh out loud and reduced me to a blubbering mess two pages later. But the film version was appalling)

The Secret History - Tartt (a damn fine yarn so well told)

The History of Western Ideas - Lund, Pihl and Slok (a fab precis of 2000 years of thought. I did (in part) philosophy at University and discovered it whilst writing my Finals dissertation. I ended up reading it from cover to cover - if only I had discovered it earlier (it had been a course book in my First Year - oops. For some reason (wonder what) I missed it), It's a great intro to every conceivable thought - 3 pages each on all those names Monty Python squeeze into one song!!).

(More to come)

Yucatan

Always difficult but....
Cities: London (OK, so I am biased): Chicago: Lisbon: Edinburgh: Cape Town: Istanbul and Tel Aviv of course :)

Countries: Italy: Portugal: Greece: Thailand: USA: Mexico

Nightlife: Berlin: Tel Aviv: London: NY

Food: Indian: Italian: Turkish: Thai: Moroccan (but most as long as it is good LOL)

Food Cities: London: Tel Aviv: NY: Istanbul: Melbourne

Beaches: Oaxaca state (Mexico): Caparica (Lisbon): Watamou (Kenya): Sinai (Egypt): Shark Bay (Western Australia): Fort de Soto (Florida): Lower Newton by the Sea (Northumbria, England)

Sinai

7 Natural Wonders: Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe): Sinai (Egypt): Fall (New England): Halong Bay (Vietnam): Seven Sisters (England): Waiheke Island (New Zealand); Uluru (Ayer's Rock) (Australia)

7 Man-Made Wonders: Abu Simbel (Egypt): Angkor Wat (Cambodia): CBD (Chicago): Dome on the Rock (Jerusalem): Grand Palace (Bangkok): Chichen Itza (Mexico): Petra (Jordan)