Travel: Melbourne

We recently returned from a much needed holiday to Melbourne, and I fell in love with the city.

• Beauty - check
• Architecture - check
• Culture, art and music - check
• Great coffee and fantastic restaurants - check
• Funky boutiques and bars - check
• simple public transport - check
• Beaches - check

It really does have everything that is important.

So now that I am done gushing on and on like a lovestruck teenager, here are some details and tips for all you future Melbourne bound travellers out there...


Stay: Anywhere in the city centre. Or anywhere on the outskirts. St. Kilda and Brunswick St. are only a 20 minute tram ride away from the centre. And the trams are so easy, download the tram tracker app and your work is done for you.

Eat: Everything. After all Melbourne is known for their food. The only posh place we went to while there was the Chocolate Buddha in Federation Square, which was pretty amazing. For all others I am a big fan of trip advisor so check out what other people suggest here.
I can suggest Degraves St. laneway though for one of the best breakfasts I have ever had. Its a tiny little laneway totally packed with cute little cafes and tons of people enjoying the all day breakfast. The blueberry pancakes at the one on the end were amazing!

Drink:  Lots of coffee. After all Melbourne is also known for their great coffee. Melbourne is also a great place to go bar hopping, as there are tons of very quirky and interesting little spots. We went to Pony Fish which is an awesome little spot actually under the Southgate Foot Bridge. Below is the picture I took, its hard to see at night, but definitely a great little spot, you feel like your the little troll under the bridge, hidden away in a secret spot.

Shop: Now this depends on your style. We went to the Camberwell vintage markets that had everything from crazy little asian figurines, to antique barber chairs, to fabulous secondhand fur coats, and about a million records. Go early on a Sunday morning to make sure you get the good stuff before its gone, and you can treat yourself to a hot fresh cinnamon donut and coffee for a mid morning shopping break.

If vintage is not your thing, there are about a million little boutiques all along the laneways in the CBD. Your best bet is to put on some walking shoes and go exploring. You might want to do a bit of reseach and maybe do like I did and download a mini pdf guide with map onto your iphone. That way when you stop to check your map you look like your playing with your iphone rather than standing out like a tourist. I used this one, but the that's melbourne website has heaps of different ones you could get, from restaurants, to architecture, to shopping, to bars. Pretty handy stuff.

Apparently, Chapel Street is also very good. We didn't know about it, or I would have definitely have been there. Its a very long street lined with outlet and bargain shops. It is definitely on my to do list for next time. We did get to an outlet place on Brunswick St. called Clear It. They have a ton of Alanna Hill stuff for great prices.

Wear: As a climatised Queensland girl, I found Melbourne a little bit chilly. We went over Easter, so we were just getting into autumn. Imagine my happy surprise to see all the trees turning the most beautiful colours of red and yellow and to feel that pleasant nip of cool and crisp in the air. At night I definitely needed a jacket or sweater and there was not really any days where I would have been hot in jeans. Melbourne is also a bit of a stylish city; so funky, stylish clothing will always fit in, as well as anything black. 


Do: Explore the city. Wander through the Art Museum. Have a picnic lunch at the Botanic Gardens. Have a beer at a bar overlooking the river. Eat a nice meal in a tiny little hole in the wall restaurant. Walk along the beach at St Kilda. Take a drive down to the Peninsula. Go on a wine tour, catch a rugby game, or bet at the horse races.  There are a million great ways to take in the culture that is Melbourne, and you better believe that I will be taking another vacation there very soon.

Travel: London

Ahhhh, London, the city where so many great things have happened.

Like the Tower of London, and the black Plague and boatloads of non English speaking tourists.

But actually there are quite a few great things about this city, and I would recommend that everyone should go, its a city that can cater to many different types of travellers. So here's a couple of quick tips from someone who has walked those famous streets..

For the History buff: the British Museum. Made famous in lots of movies for a reason, the British Museum is the pinnacle of museums in London. With free admission and tours and open everyday to accomodate any travel schedule, this is a must stop. And when you get tired or hungry or your significant other gets bored, there is a cafe and shop inside as well.

For the Romantic: take a sunset dinner cruise on the Thames. Float idyllically down the river listening to a live band and stare into each others eye's by candlelight, or take a slow spin around the onboard dance floor.

For the Family: take a stroll through Hyde Park, making sure to bring bread crumbs for the friendly squirrels. Take the older kids to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum to take funny photos with celebrities.

for the Foodie: Try out Jaime Oliver's newest venture, Barbecoa looks promising. Complete with its own adjoining butcher shop and created as a homage to the relationship between food and fire, it looks like a spectacular way to finish your day.

for the Artist: see a Broadway quality show in a small historical theatre with the genuine original red velvet seats.

For the Shopper: Portobello Markets at Notting Hill. Made famous for purchases by stylemakers like Sienna Miller, these markets are a treasure trove of interesting and unique finds.

And for everyone else there is your classic things that everyone should see: Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, take a ride on the tube, have a good old pub meal, go to Westminster Abbey, see Piccadilly Circus, walk through Hyde Park, tour the Tower of London to see the crown jewels, make faces at the guards in front of the palace..

And here's a little insider tip: for the best way to see the most of these normal tourist sites, I recommend the hop on hop off red double decker buses. Yes you do feel like a tourist but its the easiest way to get around and get right to the doorstep of all the best tourist places. Otherwise the tube (subway) is a super easy way to get around anywhere.

London is definitely a must see for every traveler, and its easy because they speak English!

Do you have anything you recommend? Share your London travel stories and tips here..

Movie Review: Eat, Pray, Love

Confession: I read the book first. And in a hurry as I heard there was a movie coming out. But I liked the book, I thought it was interesting.
Maybe I'm biased because I love to travel and was interested in the story mostly to read and see the beautiful places she went.

 

 

But I also thought it was brave what she did, regardless of what the critics think about it being s selfish whiny story. She was unhappy and brave enough to change her circumstances. And she spent the time to stop the carousel of life and really look at her life and realize there was a giant hole there. So she prayed and pursued God. She left everything familiar behind, and did what most other people would be too afraid to do, take a chance.

The movie didn't do the book justice, but then that is usually the case, because its so hard to fit everything into a movie, that the details of the book get left out. Even with that, though, it was a little long, as told to me by my squirming husband about an hour and half in.

The love story was a great way to end the movie though, and I loved Javier Bardem's character, he was immediately likeable and charming.

 

All in all I would give this movie 4 stars out of five.

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

Travel: Sailing the Mediterranean

I have been thinking lately and realizing that I am truly blessed. I have been able to travel all over the world and all the way around it and am only 28.

I thought I would share the wealth with you and show you some pics and share some travel tips and recommendations.

SO first things first, one of my more exciting adventures happened when my husband and I joined 2 other couples in living on a 50 foot catamaran in the Mediterranean Sea. We were invited last minute and dropped everything and were flying into Cyprus 5 days after the invitation.

It was everything you would imagine living on a catamaran would be, and much more that I never realized. Life slowed right down and it was no longer centered on what time it is or getting somewhere because there was no where to be. It was spending hours lying out on the deck or napping or fishing and making up simple easy meals and reading books and playing cards. Nighttime was divided into shifts with each one having a couple of hours manning the boat as we sailed.

These solitary night sails were part of my favorite times because it was so quiet and peaceful. All you could hear was the water splashing up on the hull and the wind in the sails, and there were a million stars and a brilliant moon to keep you entertained.

I learned how to relax and how to value the important things in life and had lots of time to think and write in my journal and have long conversations about our lives and our future with my husband.

It was truly an amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone, as it is I can't wait to get back on a boat and spend a lot of time doing a lot of nothing, I think one day we will buy a boat and just go wandering and make our own adventure for a year or two.