About

Sand and Stars is a personal journal of images, places, and things worth noticing; a record of movement, curiosity, and details gathered along the way.

I have always been somewhat obsessive about finding unique destinations.  Places that pull you, that create joy, curiosity, surprise, or wonder, and that have thoughtful design. I have walked ten thousand extra steps for a really good coffee and would rather skip a meal than settle for an average one.  Sometimes discovery is more accidental, like following a smell for several blocks or turning down a street because something magical catches your eye.

Over the years, friends and family often asked for recommendations on where to dine, which hotel was ideal for a weekend getaway or a business trip, or which neighbourhoods were worth exploring.   I spent countless hours compiling restaurant lists and travel itineraries, complete with notes, photographs, and routes.  Eventually, those requests grew, reaching friends of friends and then clients, so in 2008 I turned that process into a blog, a shared archive for this growing collection.  The archive gradually expanded beyond restaurants and hotels to include architecture, art, landscapes, small discoveries, and both the practical and the bubbly fun.

My background began in photography and design, then shifted to fine dining after training in pastry, then brought me into creating spaces and experiences in the events world, and eventually led to hotel work.  Together, these disciplines shape how I look at a place: not only how it looks, but how it works, how it feels, and what leaves an imprint in your memory.

You will not find rankings or endless “best-of” lists here.  “The best” is usually too subjective to be very useful, and reducing a place or experience to a number rarely tells you much about why it matters.  While awards and some lists as recognition have their place, the proliferation of these rankings tends to flatten complex work into overly simplistic labels that are misleading for the visitor.

On this website, instead of absolutes, you will find places that resonate.  Sand and Stars exists to discover, share, and celebrate the people, places, and experiences that pull you in.  It is not only about the exceptional; it also includes the useful, the overlooked, and the unusual.  Places don’t need to be luxurious to be remarkable, though sometimes they are; restaurants don’t need star chefs, although some have them.  What matters most here is care, clarity and a sense of intention, whether shaped over generations or in a single moment, and design that can transport you.

This is wandering with intent.

If you come across a place you believe deserves attention, feel free to write to: sky@sandandstars.world. I’m always happy to discover something new.

Thank you for being here.  I hope you find joy and inspiration along the way.

Sky