Portia

Something Blue by Frank Voelkl and Ann Gottlieb for Oscar de la Renta 2013

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 10 Comments
Something new kids!!
When I was a squirt bitch back in the late 80’s and early 90’s I was on the counter that housed Guerlain, Worth, Nina Ricci and Oscar de la Renta. His fragrances sold equally to Guerlain and the women that bought them were more often than not very well put together. They looked professional, tailored, hair neat and a lot of chignons and they were busy. Oscar de la Renta must have been doing some great aspirational marketing at the time because they’d come in and buy big bottles, often a soap and body moisturiser and not even look at their receipts as they swished out with their purchases. They were the easiest customers ever and my figures looked excellent because of them. I have ever since had a fondness for Oscar de la Renta and his fragrances.
SomethingBlue FragranticaPhoton Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Linden blossom (lime blossom), mandarin
Heart: Stephanotis
Base: Musk, vanilla
Have you tried Something Blue yet? What did you think? I can’t wait.
Till tomorrow big kisses and a smooch.
Portia xx

Oscar De La Renta Something Blue Fragrance 2013 Ad Campaign

Stolen from the blog art8amby

Craig McDean photographed the latest campaign from Oscar De La Renta‘s Something Blue fragrance line featuring model Iris Van Berne.

Image via TFS.

Coromandel by Jacques Polge + Christopher Sheldrake for CHANEL 2007

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 15 Comments

Hey Hey APJ!

I was recently lunching with Clayton from WhatMenShouldSmellLike and he brought me some amazing gifts from his OS travels. The loveliest of which, so far, is the 4ml gorgeously boxed CHANEL Les Exclusives Coromandel EdT that I am rocking today. It is my first wear of it and I’m dabbing, so do come on a journey with me.

Coromandel EdT by CHANEL 2007

Coromandel FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Neroli, bitter orange, citruses
Heart: Rose, jasmine, patchouli, orris
Base: Tahitian vanilla, benzoin, white chocolate, incense, woodsy notes, musk, olibanum

Can I tell you before we start that this packaging has me excited already, the card, beautifully presented bottle and the whole feel is incredibly luxe for a 4ml tester. Also, different sites and reviewers attribute Coromandel to both of these magnificent perfumers Jacques Polge + Christopher Sheldrake but only BaseNotes , that I read, attributed it to both. Interesting huh?

Oh MY! The first rush I get is all the base notes springing up my nose and creating a warm, woodsy and sweet amber-ish waft that was so unexpected from the notes that I gasped audibly. They don’t really leave either as the citruses begin to show their bright and lovely acidic colours. They don’t stay long because patchouli has wandered in shrouded in a lovely powdery floral veil and it seems like I’m sitting in a cafe, there is a breezy cafe au lait waft that is surprising. Maybe it’s the chocolate and vanilla together with the patchouli, ahh, who knows or cares how they’ve created this wonder?The patchouli is like the undercurrent of Coromandel, it comes and goes over time again and again, but I never even get a hint of the flowers.

I am happily and dizzily transported somewhere other. Closing my eyes and breathing deeply it’s as if Coromandel is zen perfume I feel so relaxed and comfortable in it like this is the fragrance I’ve been waiting for. Do you ever feel like you’ve come home? Amazing!!

MilkCoffee wallPaperHerePhoto Stolen WallPaperHere

Coromandel is all about the base for me, and on my skin, it has sped there is under an hour and maintains itself there indefinitely with only a modicum of change as it progresses deeper into itself, warming and becoming more foodish as it fades till all I’m left with is a mildly resinous vanilla around 6 hours later that hums ever so softly above my skin for a while longer before disappearing. I am ordering a large decant to stop myself immediately buying an FB. I am moved.

Further reading NowSmellThis and BoisDeJasmin
I think Coromandel is only available at CHANEL Boutiques
SurrenderToChance starts at $3/ml

Have you fallen for something unattainable lately? Are you going the sample route or another way?

Wishing you all good luck in your searches,
Till tomorrow be well,
Portia xx
I LOVE CHANEL

Si Lolita by Christine Nagel and Benoit Lapouza for Lolita Lempicka 2009

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 3 Comments

Hiya APJ Family,

I love to troll sample sites and discount stores. Often I will be so taken with a bottle design that I just want to own it and screw the juice, unfortunately there is only so much cupboard space so I am now making sure I love the juice before I buy FB even if it’s ridiculously cheap on the discount sites. Depending on what the product is I will stop by all the usual decant/sample stores looking for the best deal and that’s how I grabbed 5ml of

Si Lolita by Lolita Lempicka 2009

SiLolita FragranticaPhoto stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, mandarin
Heart: Pink pepper, sweet peas, wallflower, heliotrope, elemi resin
Base: Elemi, patchouli, tonka, amber

Opening symphony featuring tonka front and centre before fresh cold slices of citrus that warm quickly when the pink pepper and flowers come riding in. The first 5 minutes off Si Lolita is fraught with excitement. A big gushing WOW!! Once the hoopla is over Si Lolita warms beautifully with tonka, clean patchouli and the resins there right through the heart making the bouquet play second fiddle. A background hum of spicy warmth that sits close to the skin if you try to smell it, leave the room though and come back 5 minutes later and Si Lolita has left a gauzy ghost of itself that is translucent but discernible. I am guessing then that the sillage will be fabulous, a scent trail that will turn heads. This is also the sort of “perfumey” perfume that boys know to compliment, and often quite like.

After all that Si Lolita goes a bit every frag and the dry down is a nice amber-ish something but not impressive. Si Lolita is no big statement frag that will give you backbone, sear the eyeballs of your enemies and dry clean the curtains while you sit and read below them. You will smell pretty, sometimes that is all you want, right? And the bottle is a modern marvel, and the price! Si Lolita feels like a scent that almost anyone could rock, won’t offend at work or play and is interesting enough that should you want to focus on it the story will grab you for a while. Otherwise you can spritz and forget it and know that you smell good for about 4 hours, sometimes longer.

si-lolita tesminaPhoto Stolen tesmina

Further reading NowSmellThis and PerfumePosse
FragranceNet starts at $22/30ml before discount
MyPerfumeSamples start at $2/ml but I bought 5ml/$7

Have you tried Si Lolita? Don’t you love the bottle?

Please remember how excellent you are and be grateful for the good stuff, try and think of 3 good things in your life, no matter how small, and give thanks.
Till tomorrow.
Portia xx

Here is the making of the ad, there is a small amount of speaking in French, which I don’t understand, but the rest is extremely interesting.

Here is the finished commercial

Holiday Photo Essay: Budapest, Hungary, Venice, Italy, Paris, France

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 33 Comments

Hi Crew,
It has been a busy week, three countries and fragrance shopping in all of them.

We did our final Budapest purchasing last Sunday starting at the unfortunately closed Madison, then we trotted down very scared to Neroli because we were worried they too would be shut. Thank goodness the gorgeous Ursula, that thin and sparkling SA who seems to know everything about the products in her care, was at the shop and ready for action. I had decided to buy Naomi Goodsir’s Cuir Velours because they were out of stock of Sandflowers by Montale. What a super surprise that Ursula ha found somewhere a bottle of said Sandflowers, so I bought both damn it all. Super excellent purchases BTW. Urslula was also lavish with the free bees after we sealed the deal including fragrance samples and a couple of lovely extras that have already come in useful, I recommend a visit. Next it was to Le Parfums Croisette and the lovely and enterprising Zsolt Zolyomi who owns and runs it, he is also a perfumer and will create a bespoke fragrance for you if you have the time for such lavish extravagance. Here we picked up a great favourite of mine that I have emptied a good decant of and was missing L’Artisan Parfumeur Premier Figuier Extreme, that lovely milky fig that lasts and lasts on my skin and two of The Different Company 10ml travel refills Sel de Vetiver and Oriental Lounge, excellent size and the fabulous aluminium casing is such a fun thing too.

Then we rocked on over to Venice in a dual sleeper that was small but efficient. Next time we will book the Deluxe room, it and we are worth it. PS train travel is awesome for short or middle distance, no waiting at the airport or worries. We wandered Venice like mad things, day and night. We were luck enough to stumble on a couple of perfumeries that stocked niche products. The first was run by two sisters Perfumeria Muschieri at Frezzeria San Marco 1178 which was stocked with an astounding array of fabulous and obscure niche products. Some of their lines are so small that they are held in under ten doors, amazing. And the ladies are so knowledgeable I let myself be guided by their good taste and am extremely glad that they steered me towards Sigilli’s PYRGOS and Maria Candida Gentile’s Exultat. Then on to the Pont de Rialto where we came across another fragrance shop that had a niche and designer range of perfumes, most of which I’d seen already in our travels. They did have their own fragrance range though curated by the very urbane gentleman who owns the store, his name eludes me, but we were given an extremely warm welcome and he and his assistants were ready to help and knew a lot about their products including the history. They also have their own Pont de Rialto range of fragrances of which I bought L’Eau, their unisex fragrance. I also discovered and grabbed one of the Pineider fragrances, Cuoio Nobile, which has the best packaging I’ve seen on a fragrance in a long while. Also while trolling a mall in Venice we found a frag fakes stand and I bought a “Like CHANEL No 5” that wears well for an hour before it veers from its namesake, still wearable and nice but not No 5 . What did I expect for 6 euro?

Now we are in Paris and we’ve wandered through Galleries Lafayette, finding the best Guerlain SA ever Cyril. He’s a hoot, go see him when you are in Paris. Cyril showed us the L’Heure Blue 100-years anniversary case, WOW! Have had an excellent dinner with the amazing Neela Vermeire and her husband Tony, I can’t tell you anything but make sure you like her FaceBook page for NEWS. The handsome man with Jin and I is a great mate Aaran who hails from Sydney but has landed happily in gay Paree. Also was lucky enough to catch Denyse Beauleiu for a coffee, interview and troll through Jovoy. Though she is most unwell, there she was looking a billion dollars and so welcoming and ready to share herself, her knowledge and her story. What a champ, I am a little crushy. Denyse also wandered me into a shop randomly and said, they have the Knize Ten here. SCORE! Grabbed the Limited Edition they were out of in Vienna. Woo Hoo.

I know, I have rambled too long but yesterday was a write off so today you get story and shots.
Love you all,
Portia xxx

20130210-004043.jpg

20130210-004053.jpg

20130210-004137.jpg

20130210-004147.jpg

20130210-004324.jpg

20130210-004428.jpg

20130210-004503.jpg

20130210-004515.jpg

20130210-004620.jpg

20130210-004633.jpg

20130210-004656.jpg

20130210-004713.jpg

20130210-004730.jpg

20130210-004805.jpg

20130210-004935.jpg

20130210-005045.jpg

20130210-005119.jpg

20130210-005141.jpg

20130210-005148.jpg

20130210-005203.jpg

Shopping in Budapest, Hungary and Venice, Italy

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hey Gang,
Running out the door today and fell asleep last night so didn’t get this photo post done. Apologies for its brevity

This is this weeks list, and yes I’m mildly disgusted at myself but I’m an ADDICT. They are all so worthy too.

L’Artisan Parfumeurie, Montale, Maria Candida Gentile, Pineider, Sigilli, Naomi Goodsir, The Different Company, Pont de Rialto, Chanel No 5 FAKE, Cartier Samples

Tomorrow we have a terrific photo essay. All the photos you are seeing are taken by Jin BTW. He is pretty damn great.

Loads of love,
Portia xx

20130209-095123.jpg

Voyage d’Hermès by Jean-Claude Ellena 2010 + Hermès S/S ’13 Campaign

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 12 Comments
I don’t know about you but Hermes is special for me. Even though I’ve only owned a tie and some perfume from them they are, to me, the last word in mass market luxe brands. Nobody else comes close. Even before Jean-Claude Ellena took over the reigns there was some wonderful fragrance coming from within the Hermes camp. At one point Mum had Caleche, a buddy wore 1970 Guy Robert classic Equipage and another swears by their belts. Consider also that by now I am in Venice or Paris and I think I have good reason to introduce to you…

Voyage d’Hermès by Jean-Claude Ellena 2010

Voyage d`Hermes FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Amalfi lemon, spices, cardamom
Heart: Green notes, floral notes, tea
Base: Woodsy notes, Musk

What I smell when I spritz Voyage d’Hermès is a clean, fresh, exhilarating swooosh of cold air. A peaceful, citrus plus spice and green-ness follow in a cool meandering, don’t worry about a thing way. Bracing and refreshing Voyage d’Hermès is a little salty and the tea is an ideal of tea rather than a tea-ish fragrance. Something I find really enjoyable is to huff a big breath out of my mouth into my shirt and then breathe the fragrance and me back in together, the warmth and humanity of my breathe give Voyage d’Hermès a whole different feeling before returning to cool, calm and collected. The citrus turns mildly sweet through the heart and it cuts nicely across the tea and general green. Slowly the composition, which is not based in any reality, becomes less intensely frigid and warms through flowers and musky woods. The journey is gradual and not a large change but subtle and quiet. There is something definitively Ellena about Voyage d’Hermès.

Don’t let me make you think that Voyage d’Hermès won’t leave you fragrant; scent bubble and sillage are excellent and it is surprisingly tenacious, by the time it’s gone I have long stopped looking at the clock 6+ hours usually. An extra spritz an hour after the first will keep it on you even longer.

Voyage d`Hermes luxistPhoto Stolen luxist

Voyage d’Hermès is sold as a unisex scent and I think everyone can rock it. The bottle and fragrance make me think you might like to wear it if clever, interesting and thoughtful design, beauty, Deco modernism or SteamPunk are your thing. Whenever I see the bottle it makes me wish to see a purchaser because I have this notion that we would get along, and anyone who loves this spare, arctic and beguiling fragrance is someone who I would like as a friend.

Further reading BoisDeJasmin and Olfactoria’sTravels
FragranceNet has 35ml refillable $55
MyPerfumeSamples start at $2/ml but I bought $7/5ml

Hermès Spring Summer 2013 Ad Campaign

Yet again stolen from one of my favourite blogs: art8amby

Nathaniel Goldberg photographed Norwegian top catwalker Iselin Steiro at Lake Como for the Spring Summer 2013 campaign of Hermès, replacing Dutch stunner Bette Franke.

I think Hermès has done a splendid campaign this year, what are your thoughts?

See you tomorrow, till then wishing you only good,
Portia xx

Images via TFS

Hermes SS13 Man
.
.
Hermes SS13 Woman

Fleur Du Male by Francis Kurkdjian for Jean Paul Gaultier 2008 + JPG S/S2013 Ad

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 18 Comments

Hey Fume Friends,

While I’m writing this today I am also rocking JPG Fleur de Male, and I smell GORGEOUS!! Such a lovely scent I wuill never understand why it wasn’t an instant and enormous success? Do you have a favourite that never made it to the top of the charts? Chat about it down in the comments section, I love reading about it and others can chime in too.

Fleur Du Male by Jean Paul Gaultier 2008

FleurDuMale FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
African orange flower, bergamot, basil and caraway

If you are a fan of Le Male but find it too overwhelming then Fleur Du Male could be the answer. Still a statement fragrance but the people across the restaurant won’t be asking who is wearing Fleur Le Male, as often happens with its prequel. Fleur Du Male is an altogether different kettle of fish. Easier on wearer and surrounding crowd. A fresh, fun and fanciful men’s fragrance that I think suffered in the West from its floral association, way ahead of its time.

Bright and effervescent opening with orange blossom and bergamot that settles around you like a cashmere throw, light enough to not notice it hefty enough to keep you warm. Surprisingly this opening lasts well into the heart of the fragrance giving continued radiance as the herby/spicy heart takes over. Fleur Du Male makes me smile, happily, and lifts my mood even if I’m already feeling tip top. Completely unisex, wearable and lovely it still is interesting enough for the perfumista in me to enjoy the ride. I have gone through a couple of decants of Fleur Du Male and recently purchased the big bottle, the current decant is going quickly and I can see the bottle going likewise. So easy and joyful, who wouldn’t spritz with abandon? The dry down is a continued warming a spicing but it stays pretty linear fading to nothing at around 5-6 hours.

FleurDuMale collections.delcampe.comPhoto Stolen collections.delcampe.com

Fleur Du Male is a party fragrance, even when I’m home doing chores it puts me into the fun zone. Sometimes I even put some music on too and sing, scent and scrub together. Probably a little too full on for office work but I can’t see it being a problem anywhere else, men and women start your Fleur Du Male!

Further reading NowSmellThis and BoisDeJasmin
FragranceNet has 75ml/$41
MyPerfumeSamples from $2/ml – $7/5ml
.

Jean Paul Gaultier Spring Summer 2013 Ad Campaign

I just stole this from one of my Must Read Blogs art8amby

Sebastian Kim photographed models as pop icons for the Spring Summer 2013 campaign of Jean Paul Gaultier. The images featuring Ginta Lapina as Madonna, Jeneil Williams as Grace Jones, Maria Krashleva as Boy George, and Hannelore Knuts as David Bowie was art directed by Babeth Djian with the make up by Llyod Simmonds and hair by Diego Da Silva.

How fabulous is that? I am gagging for it. Totally fun.

Till tomorrow,
Love, Love, Love from,
Portia xx

Image via TFS.

Shalimar Parfum Initial by Thierry Wasser for Guerlain 2011

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

Hello there APJ Family,

In 2011 there was an enormous flurry of excitement, Guerlain and relatively new comer to the reins of their fragrance division Theirry Wasser, decided to reinvent with a sideways flanker the most famous of the houses fragrances; Shalimar. Flankers are a tricky problem for frag houses, too close and why bother, too far and WTF has this got to do with the original. I understand that it is better to have a pre-existing fan base, brand recognition, history and visual cue to spur your product forwards into the stratosphere of over 1300 new releases from brands big enough to have registered their launches on BaseNotes in 2012. Still it’s a tricky concept.

Shalimar Parfum Initial by Guerlain 2011

ShalimarParfumInitial FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, orange, green notes
Heart: Rose, jasmine, iris, vetiver, patchouli
Base: Vanilla, white musk, tonka bean, caramel

One of the Fragrantica commenters 100mlEDT says: Entirely representing the outer trappings of the original and giving it rose coloured glasses. I thought this a masterly summation and am quite jealous that I didn’t think of it myself. A softer, younger, lighter and ultimately more wearable version, in today’s fragrant world, than its older, more full-on sister. I would also recommend Shalimar Parfum Initial by Guerlain for those who like the idea of being a Shalimar woman, with all the history and structure that is implied, but who really don’t like the fragrance.

After the first hour I think you could even wear Shalimar Parfum Initial in close work proximity, it is not a sillage or scent bubble monster and wears very close on my skin, just the occasional waft as I move or if I stick my head down my top. It stays at this almost fragrant stage though for hours and I loose all traces of it somewhere 5-7 hours, depending on the day. If I wear Shalimar Parfum Initial by Guerlain at night I can sometimes still get a faint whiff next morning.

ShalimarParfumInitial art8ambyPhoto Stolen art8amby

Further reading BoisDeJasmin and 1000Fragrances
CheapSmells has a 60ml Gift Set with lotion and bag around $80
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/ml

How do you think this flanker rated? Did you read the further readings? Who do you agree with more, BoisDeJasmin or 1000Fragrances? I loved both the arguments and they have left me thinking hard about expectations and the global fragrance market. You?

Whichever way you swing I hope you do it in the company of people you love, or at least fragrances you love,
Till tomorrow,
Portia xx

Holiday Photo Essay Vienna, Austria and Budapest, Hungary

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Hey Hey APJ Family and Friends,

As you saw from our shopping lists we have hit the frag shops hard this week with Birgit and Sandra in Vienna but we didn’t get many good shots from the day, sorry. I did pop into the Knize flagship store in Vienna to grab a bottle of the limited edition Knize Ten Gold. They were sold out so I had to content myself with a deodorant stick till I get to Paris. Annoying because I didn’t get it in Prague when I saw it hoping to buy at the original home, GRRR!
I’m not sure if I bragged about this but Neela Vermeire and her gorgeous husband Tony happened to be in Vienna and we all went for a super great dinner filled with loads of laughs and great food. They are such good people and Neela’s beauty is especially apparent in her fragrances. From the little I’ve seen she is as filled with magic as her frags. Great night!!

Budapest is awash with fabulous niche perfumeries. A city that fills during working hours to four million people has two incredible niche frag shops, Neroli and Parfums Croissette, that we’ve been to and Madisson that we hope to see tomorrow. I’ve also added some great shots that we’ve taken that are not frag related. All taken in lovely Budapest. The dinner shot is our new buddy Ibrahim who helped us at the post office and then became our leader and guide on our last night here. I’ve just taken the one of us in bed because we are off to sleepy byes, goodnight from us.

Off to Venice tomorrow afternoon.
Love and kisses,
Jin and Portia xx

20130203-000820.jpg

20130203-000854.jpg

20130202-225342.jpg

20130202-225528.jpg

20130202-225543.jpg

20130202-225557.jpg

20130202-225606.jpg

20130202-225616.jpg

20130203-002711.jpg

20130203-002846.jpg

20130203-002854.jpg

20130203-003007.jpg

20130203-010420.jpg

20130203-010637.jpg

Shopping in Vienna, Austria and Budapest, Hungary

/ australianperfumejunkiescom / 24 Comments

20130201-214333.jpg

Hey from HOLIDAYS!
We are making our crazy way across the continent of Europe. It’s two glorious weeks in and we’ve seen five countries so far!! WOW!

VIENNA

Early last week Jin and I were lucky enough to be invited on a breakfast and perfume shopping spree with the gorgeous Birgit from Olfactoria’s Travels and her friend and fellow perfumista Sandra who has traveled the world and landed in Vienna. The girls are both gorgeous, friendly, fun and totally up to date in perfume. It was like hanging out with a couple of encyclopedias, and they have sniffed EVERYTHING!! Seriously.

We started at the Central Cafe in Vienna which is as beautiful as a cathedral and the food was SCRUMMY, that means good. The girls has tea, we had bacon and eggs. Yummy.

Then to Le Dix-Neuf, Vienna’s newest niche store, where I tried quite a few new frags from a host of lines currently near impossible to get in Sydney. It was bliss, the SA was really knowledgeable and helpful but it was Birgit who led my nose to NUDA, the recently discontinued jasmine bomb from Nosamatto and VolkaMaria by WeinerBlut (Blood of Vienna) that I can’t wait to wear at home, just to tell people the name.

We went to loads of other places, Le Parfum, Pure Day Spa where I bought the Frederic Malle mini trio of Carnal Flower, En Passant and Lys Mediterranee.
We were absolutely captivated by Duft & Kultur where they had an enormous Niche selection including A Quiet Morning by Miller & Bartaux, Jin adored it and I can see him getting a bottle soon.

There was more, including Hermes, Robert Horn’s Ledermanufaktur and others but no buys just looking. Birgit and Sandra had busy days ahead so the peeled off and we went home EXHAUSTED, even though it was barely lunchtime. Thank you Vienna, thank you ladies.

BUDAPEST

Only a three hour train trip and we are in the heart of Budapest!
There are two famous niche perfumeries here.

The first, Neroli, is next street along from the Mecure Hotel and the lovely Ursula is helpful and fabulously knowledgable. I was lucky enought to bump into the owner, Aron, while there too and have a quick chat. He is sexy and cool, left a life of journalism to run a niche perfume shop seven years ago and has a fabulous selection including the Naomi Goodsirs. Ursula gave me some wonderful Montale samples and they ship to the world for only 10 euro!!

Croisette is the second, owned by Zsolt like the G in George-olt. Zsolt is a perfumer and was so bright and bubbly Jin and I both fell in love. He is all about creating gorgeous and interesting scents but bespoke. They also have a wonderfully curated range.

I haven’t made my niche purchases with them yet but there is an incredible sell out store just opened in the Shopping Passage and we scored some INCREDIBLE bargains including L’Instant, Samsara and Homme body washes by Guerlain, a Lolita Lempicke Au Masculine after shave balm and am Aromatics Elixer for about 5 Australian Dollars each! Quite a fabulous score and I do love a posh body wash.

We are doing the laundry today and finalizing Niche Purchases so there will be more to photograph next Saturday. We are loving Budapest, it is an architecture lovers dream, the people are friendly, it is inexpensive to eat even in the best restaurants two courses and drinks is coming to less than 100 Aussie dollars. We are doing loads of sightseeing and walking.

This post was much better in the first two drafts that the iPad deleted because I forgot to save after every paragraph. Thanks for putting up with my long post if you’ve made it thus far.

Loads of love Portia xxx