About

Welcome to my blog, Life In Camelot.

The name of the blog predominantly reflects my name – my parents were going to call me Guinevere who, according to legend, was an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur, who is the central figure in the tales of Camelot. 

Because I was growing up in Australia, they feared my name would be abbreviated and decided upon the name Genevieve instead, and I am eternally thankful for that. 

However, I have always felt some affinity for Camelot, be it legend or history.

I would say that Life In Camelot also reflects my life, or my attitude to it; I grew up in a simply beautiful part of Australia – on Sydney’s northern beaches – a little Camelot in New South Wales – and I have lived in beautiful places ever since (mostly), even when I was reluctant to move.

I have always loved to write, and I have always loved to travel.  I was a bit slow to realise I could combine the two loves, but thanks to the internet, I am doing that now.

In my early twenties I travelled solo across Europe with a heavy backpack and a light heart.  I had my young eyes opened to the wonders of the world and visited countries I knew little about and, dear reader, I fell in love with all of them, including the people I met in these countries.  

I have kept in touch with many of the people I met in my travels, as we shared that same wanderlust that pulled us away from our known worlds into the thrill of the unknown.   On just this journey alone I had so many incredible adventures that translate into stories, and there are many more in the years since.

(Ready for the next adventure)

Some of my (mis) adventures include sleeping by the side of the A9 in Scotland on New Year’s Eve (Hogmanay) in a rental car, because we couldn’t get any accommodation for love nor money;

I saved fellow travellers from being accosted by the infamous gypsy children in Rome, (how to put a target on your own back!),

and a cable-car scam artist in San Francisco was no match for me.

Watching out for scammers on the cable car.

I had 20 guns pointed at me in a police stand-off in a New York street; (I wasn’t the target but was standing right beside him).

My family and I rode push bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge in gale force winds, after which we all got the flu, – but it was worth it (don’t tell my husband I said that!);

and I participated in the famous Henley on Todd Regatta (Alice Springs), which is a boat race along a dry river – only in Australia – and I won my 2 races.

Thanks to a friend in the Royal Marines Band Service, I got to sneak on board the Royal Yacht Britannia in Sydney, whilst the Queen and Prince Phillip were out to dinner with Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke.

I caught the acting and performing bug at a very young age, thanks to my mother – an actress and director.  I forged incredible friendships through years of community theatre and had my first lead role at the age of 17.

(Playing the lead in A Tomb with a View)

I then took the leap and started my professional acting training at Sydney’s Ensemble Acting Studios and a few years later got the study bug again and undertook a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and English from the University of New South Wales.

The world champion boxer, Kostya Tszyu, came to see me in my first professional theatrical production, courtesy of our Russian director.  Kostya spoke barely any English at the time and so he had a translator speaking to him throughout the play, which the entire audience and the cast could also hear… I met my husband at the Ensemble Studios and we performed in this same production together.

(Performing in Baby with the Bathwater at the Rep Theatre)

Later on I was persuaded that I had a good palate (I think that is code for drinking a lot of wine…) so further studies got me a Graduate Certificate in Wine and Wine Appreciation from La Trobe University.

I took my first cruise when I was 19, and in 2009 I introduced my family to cruising and we haven’t stopped since, and yes, the wine knowledge comes in handy when cruising.

I love a good trivia game or quiz and have appeared on television as a contestant on Deal or No Deal (Channel 7), Millionaire Hot Seat (Channel 9) and The Chase Australia (Channel 7).

It was a great thrill to be a part of the passenger team of 4 (including my teenage daughter), who won consecutive afternoon trivia games on board QM2, and subsequently reached the final of the Maritime Mastermind Challenge, (on the stage of the Royal Court Theatre), where we went up against the  Captain and his officers, and won.

I have a great passion for all sorts of travel books, travel blogs and travelogues and one day hope that some of my adventures will be making other travellers laugh, as they read my tales; perhaps whilst they’re on a train to some exotic destination, or by the side of a hotel pool with a pina colada, or curled up by a fire, in a chalet, with polar bears outside.

I look forward to sharing my journeys with like-minded souls and I look forward to hearing from you – your thoughts and your own adventures.

Genevieve.