Hi! I'm Michele Kliger an Australian currently living in Perth. Welcome to my travel and lifestyle website where I will be sharing my travel experiences along with my fashion and home-ware finds.
I have some wonderful photos of my parents and their friends from this period. It was a time where growing up in Australia was spent feeling free, running around bare foot, riding bicycles, skateboarding, roller skating, climbing trees, eating mulberries and other fruit from neighbors’ trees, and it seems having grazes on your knees were permanent fixtures. My mother was from a large family, so I grew up with lots of cousins my grandparents on my mother’s side had a large home with a swimming pool and as my grandfather had already retired he loved having his grandchildren over on the weekends and we loved going there and hanging out with the cousins. I had many friends at school however none of which I have really kept in touch with after school as I started travelling and spent many years overseas and simply lost contact. I am thankful that my relationships with my sister and cousins have endured the test of time as they are truly my best friends.
From an early age I traveled to Singapore to visit my grandparents from my father’s side Aristide and Rose. I loved these trips as a child and have very fond memories of them.
I found Singapore to be fascinating, the buzzing city, the smells of different foods, the sounds of different languages, the rickshaws in the streets, the tropical rain down pours, the lush gardens and Orchids my favorite flower.
Dim Sum lunches at the Tropicana restaurant on Sundays were always a favorite.
Young coconuts with vanilla ice-cream and Milo sprinkled on top from the café in the Mandarin hotel on Orchard road, and the Knickerbocker Glory ice-cream sundaes from Cold Storage Magnolia Milk Bar, and not to forget Montedores cake shop where my grandfather would drink chendol drinks and he would tell me that there were green worms floating in his drink.
At night we would drive to the beach area and get roasted chestnuts from the street vendor. Holidays full of the best childhood memories. I think these experiences embedded the travel seed in me as I was always determined to leave Perth and travel in search of interesting people, sights and new experiences.
After leaving school and getting my first job I would save my money to be able to go on holidays, Bali, Singapore, South Korea were some of my early destinations. After turning 21 I decided to pack up and live in Paris. I worked as a jeune fille au pair a job that consisted of taking a 4 and a 7- year-old to school each day and picking them up in the afternoon organising them dinner and entertaining them until their parents returned from home.
Remember that this was not a time of WIFI and i-pads we really had to play together, I remember getting in loads of trouble for taking the kids to the park to play on the lawn. We had taken a picnic rug and a range of toys with us and we were out in the sun on the lawn enjoying the afternoon when the concierge of the building came running out and yelling at me as the lawn was to look at but not to walk on. That took some time for an Australian to understand the concept of not walking on the grass. I didn’t live in with the family I rented a chambre du bonne which is French for a maids bedsitter normally situated on the roof top level of an apartment block. It was owned by an American family teaching in Paris and they had recently renovated it, it was safe and very comfortable. It was situated in the 11th arrondissement on Avenue de la Republique.
I spent most days soaking up the Parisian ambiance by walking to get around. I remember eating rice with ketchup on top, so I could save some money to go to a nightclub on the weekends. I spent a year in Paris that I remember very fondly.
After my time in Paris I lived overseas for a further 15 years. I spent some time in Nice, in Hossegor, France and the remainder of the time almost 10 years I lived in Madagascar. I will no doubt one day write some stories about my time in Madagascar to share with you all as this was certainly a period of my life worth writing about.
Since returning to live in Perth with my husband I have had full time employment so travelling has meant only on annual leave holidays. Trips have included Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, New York, Israel, Jordan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and annual trips to Bali. This next trip to Chile and Peru has taken 6 months of planning and a life time of desire to get there.
I speak fluent French and love French cinema you never know how a movie is going to end. I get a lot of pleasure of driving in my car alone and when I hear a great song on the radio from say U2 or Sting that era anyway I turn the volume up to fully blast and it somehow reminds me of a more youthful crazier time. Recently I had a laugh to myself as I always make sure when I arrive home to turn the volume back down to a more acceptable level. My husband got in the car after me and said “wow you’re crazy the music is up way too loud” I thought to myself wow you should have heard it before I turned it down Ha Ha!
I love animals and dogs are my favorite I believe a house is not a home without a dog.
I enjoy spending time with my niece who in some ways reminds me of myself at her age. I would say I am a beach babe it is hard not to be growing up in Australia. I love going on holidays relaxing on the beach, feeling the warmth of the sun and enjoying a sunset in the evening. I get excited when I can stroll through a market that I have never been too before in search of something unusual that I can take home.
I really appreciate handicrafts and the effort that local craftsmen can put into making something unique. I am always in search of basket weaving, embroidery, beading, wood work, ceramics, and I consider these craftsmen to be true artists.
I am interested in fashion trends although these days would not rate myself as being very fashionable. I fly often for work and love the time it gives me in the air to read a fashion magazine from cover to cover. Today when travelling I prefer to feel comfortable and warm although I will always pack that perfect outfit for that je ne sais quoi moment.
