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Welcome to my Blog
My name is Robyn Mulgrew. I’ve been an avid traveller all my life, instilled in me from an early age by my mountaineer, explorer, adventurer father, Peter Mulgrew. Nepal and the Himalayas, the Antarctic and the Arctic, I’ve managed to set foot on all seven continents. Sailing the beautiful Hauraki Gulf in Auckland, New Zealand, my hometown and always my base which took me to … Continue reading Welcome to my Blog
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Things I Love To Do In Venice
There are some places in Venice that you just have to see, The Doge’s Palace and The Basilica of St Mark for a start, but these grand places are not all that Venice is made up of. I have put together a short list of some simple ways to get the feel of Venice under your own steam and in your own time. #1 Take … Continue reading Things I Love To Do In Venice
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The Breathtaking Prehistoric Art of Lascaux
In 1940 a couple of boys were playing with their labrador, Robot, in the hills around Montignac, Dordogne, France when the lab disappeared down a hole. When the boys went after him they came across a huge cave covered in monumental rock paintings of bulls, auroch, bison, deer and horses covering every usable space across the walls and on to the ceiling. The animals are … Continue reading The Breathtaking Prehistoric Art of Lascaux
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The Saddest Lion in the World
It really is devastating to stand in front of this hopelessly sad, magnificently carved Winged Lion in the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice. This monument is dedicated to the great sculptor Antonio Canova (1757-1822) and houses just his heart. The Lion’s book is closed, a symbol of the wisdom of the artist that has been carried away, his tail wrapped around his body, his eyes … Continue reading The Saddest Lion in the World
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Fantastic Mister Fox
A cheeky, supposedly friendly arctic fox ran up to me as soon as I stepped out onto the snow after the hour long flight from Churchill, Manitoba. We had finally arrived at the arctic circle on the edge of Hudson Bay and I had to remember this was a wild animal looking for food. Cute but mean and an opportunist when it came to dinner. … Continue reading Fantastic Mister Fox
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The Icy Floe Edge
Three hours after we had left Pond Inlet, a small Inuit community at the top of Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada we arrived at our very luxurious camp on the floe edge. It had been an exciting but extraordinarily uncomfortable trip sitting in a qamutik (traditional Inuit wooden sledge) being towed by a snowmobile for five hours. We were about 60 kilometres out over the sea … Continue reading The Icy Floe Edge
Polar Bears During Lockdown.
Now that we are in week three of our total lockdown I think my itchy feet are starting to show! Like me, you might just be starting to think about future travel plans, maybe it’s time to move out of your cosy home and spend a few days getting up close and personal with some polar bears! While you are planning, Polar Bears International who … Continue reading Polar Bears During Lockdown.
Mehendi
I have just been back to Rajasthan, India for the first time since I stopped importing old architectural pieces and handcrafts from this wonderful desert state. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was making this regular trip but the country has changed so much. Planes used to be crowded out with very traditionally dressed servants with televisions and appliances as their hand luggage … Continue reading Mehendi
I Love You Venice.
Curated by Jean-Claude Julien. What more can I say! Pour yourself a spritz, sit back and enjoy this beautiful video taken from a drone in the early summer. Continue reading I Love You Venice.
Mosaics And Flamingos On Torcello
The 11th century Church of Santa Fosca on Torcello Island. The Islands of Torcello in the northern area of the Venetian Lagoon have a history older than Venice herself. This group of islands, was the first area to be inhabited by the fleeing Veneti after the fall of the Western Roman Empire when the Barbarians, led by Attila the Hun invaded Northern Italy in the … Continue reading Mosaics And Flamingos On Torcello
Midnight Sun
We had been at sea for about three weeks, leaving Ushuaia, Southern Argentina to head across the fierce Drake Passage, down the Antarctic Peninsular, across the Amundsen Sea and into the Ross Sea. It was now daylight 24 hours a day and we were in our best dresses, lipstick and all after the Captains dinner on board our ice strengthened expedition ship Marco Polo. It … Continue reading Midnight Sun
Island of Fire and Ice
Sitting in among the South Shetland Islands off the Antarctic Peninsular lies an active volcano called Deception Island. From out at sea it just looks like a normal island with no bays or shelter but as you get closer a narrow channel becomes visible. The tall cliffs on either side of the channel, called Neptunes Bellows because of the incredible wind that funnels through, open … Continue reading Island of Fire and Ice
The Most Famous Boat in the World
Venetians have been moving about their watery city in gondolas since the eleventh century. These beautiful boats have flat bottoms which make them ideal for use in the shallow lagoon and canals. “A gondola is always black, is 10.85 metres long, has a beam of 1.40 metres and weighs about 700 kilograms. In the 1500s an estimated 10,000 gondolas of all types were in Venice; … Continue reading The Most Famous Boat in the World
Surviving Acqua Alta in Venice
When we were first searching for a property in Venice, we saw some beautiful apartments on the ground floor with little courtyards and gondolas slipping past. But the thought of owning a ground floor apartment and acqua alta happening when we were home in New Zealand filled us with horror! So we purchased Ca’Grisostomo on the first floor with a little balcony over the canal.However, … Continue reading Surviving Acqua Alta in Venice
TRAVELS PAST & PRESENT 