Postcard tales

But, rather than revelling in the south's slower pace, such as, sipping coffee in a piazza, Tabberer instead threw herself into starting her own ventures, including a T-shirt screen-printing business, pure-linen designer wear and villa rentals (the last two she still runs from her Sydney base).
While she has since split from Sergio, the pair has

a 17-year-old son, Marco, and many wonderful memories. All has been encapsulated in her memoir, My Amalfi Coast ($69.95, Penguin).

Chelsea Haywood
"Millionaires, surgeons, serial killers, CEOS: I light their cigarettes, mix their drinks. We engage in conversation.

I am the facilitator of good times. I am a hostess."

This is the tantalising precursor to Canadian model Chelsea Haywood's debut travel memoir, 90-Day Geisha: My Time as a Tokyo Hostess (Random House, $34.95).

Four years ago, the then 21-year-old and her Australian husband, Matthew Brennan (they've since separated) decided to move to Tokyo for three months. Haywood, who had seen other women get into hostessing when travelling the world as a model, went to Tokyo with the intention of landing a job as

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a bar hostess and writing a book about it. "I had no agent, no publicist, I had never written before. I thought I'd figure it out after the fact," Haywood says.

On hostessing, she says: "There's a line in the sand and you don't cross it and they don't want you to cross it. In Japan, you can go and get whatever you want in any context as far as the nightlife goes. They purely come there because they're not going to be threatened by anything eventuating."

One customer, Yoshi, did get under her skin a little though. "My affection for him took me by surprise. It can be hard to know if they're being genuine sometimes or if it's a product of the environment or the role you're playing and obviously there's alcohol involved as well. But it can definitely put stars in your eyes."
Haywood is currently deciding where to call home. "I have one suitcase in Sydney and one in Oxford and things to do up to the end of the year, so we'll see after that!"


Penelope Green
With her 30th birthday on the horizon, Penelope Green decided it was now or never to carve out her own slice of la dolce vita.

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