Australia | Ciao for Now

February 12, 2012

Sydney

by Anna

Where Melbourne charmed us with its eclectic neighborhoods, fashion and culture, Sydney wowed us with its stunning harbor and surrounding beaches. We also couldn’t help but be especially excited for Sydney, as we were staying at the Westin for five nights free with our fabulous Starwood points! We knew that any hotel would be a luxury, but the Westin really delivered with its amazing location downtown, a couple blocks from Hyde Park and St. Mary’s Cathedral, and its unique architecture, housed partially in the beautifully grand old General Post Office (GPO) building. We also lucked out with a cool view of the historic GPO clock tower.


The GPO/Westin lobby	The view from our room


St. Mary’s Cathedral	Hyde Park

Our first priority in Sydney was, of course, to head down to the water to see the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. After seeing these landmarks (especially the Opera House) on so many postcards, travel shows and basically all tourism advertisements for Australia, I for some reason wasn’t expecting to be that blown away by seeing it firsthand. However, Johnny and I were pleasantly surprised with how wowed we were by the site of the Opera House and harbor. It is truly a stunning structure and really does mimic the movement and shapes of the hundreds of sailboats flying past. After spending some quality time with the Opera House, we took a beautiful walk along the water, past the Royal Botanic Gardens and Finger Wharf to Woolloomooloo (maybe even more fun to spell than Mississippi!), where we stopped at Harry’s Cafe de Wheels for one of its famous “pies n peas.” After another stop at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and some more wandering through the city, we returned to the Opera House for a sundowner at the Opera Bar, where the after-work happy hour goers mixed with opera attendees and tourists along the water’s edge with fantastic views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

Looking back at the city from the Opera House


Sydney Opera House	Sydney Harbour Bridge

The view from Mrs. Macquaries Point


Harry’s Cafe de Wheels	“Tiger Pies” with peas and mash

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Opera Bar


Not a bad spot for a sundowner	Sitting along the wall at the Opera Bar

Aside from the sights in Sydney we were also really excited to be seeing some friends while in town. Our first rendezvous was a reunion with our crew from Lake Como – Robyn and Dennis, our friends from San Francisco, and their friends Linda and Philippe, Sydney natives. All four of them recently moved back home from London and took advantage of some time off to travel. We were lucky enough to bump into them in Lake Como, and while Dennis and Robyn are wrapping up a couple more months of travel before returning to Northern California (check out their travel blog here), Philippe and Linda have settled back into a great apartment in Manly and are getting married this coming Saturday, February 18th! We had so much fun checking out Manly, sampling beers at 4 Pines Brewing Company and downing a tasty array of pizzas at Beaches – a great spot that Linda’s brother Simon suggested. What a treat to be able to spend another memorable evening with this group in yet another beautiful part of the world!


Manly Wharf


The Corso	Beer tasting at 4 Pines

View of Manly Beach from Linda and Philippe’s apartment


Pizza party at Beaches	Dennis, Robyn, Anna, Johnny, Philippe, Linda & Simon

View from the ferry ride home

We had also really been looking forward to getting together with my friend from high school, Katy, and her husband Doug. They had been living in San Francisco and decided to take an adventure ‘down under’ for a couple of years by way of a work transfer through Doug’s company. After having been in the super cool Darlinghurst neighborhood for the past year and a half, they knew the most awesome, hidden gem of a bar to commence our night out. Down an alley and through an unmarked door in Surry Hills, we entered the low-lit, taxadermied world of Shady Pines Saloon. The atmosphere and drinks were so good (especially the freshly-juiced green apples with vodka) that we went through several rounds and hours until realizing that it was time for dinner. The night only got better with Katy and Doug’s local Indian food haunt. I couldn’t believe it was midnight when we finally made it to the bottom of several delicious curries, a big bowl of Basmati rice and a basket of garlic naan…but I guess that is what happens when you’re having such a good time! Thanks, guys, for all the drinks and such a fun night!


Shady Pines Saloon	The entrance…not an easy place to find

Post-Indian feast with Katy and Doug

For our final day in Sydney we took Katy and Doug’s advice to take the bus to Coogee Beach, stop for some toasted banana bread and ‘flat whites’ (coffee culture is a very serious business in Australia), and then follow the ocean side path to Bondi Beach. We lucked out with the best weather we’d seen in a week, and the walk along the cliffs, past sparkling coves and beaches was beautiful. It was the perfect way to spend our last day in Australia, and we even got in a dip at Bondi in the Tasman Sea before the clouds rolled in and the rain came down.

Coogee Beach


Cemetery along the cliffs	Perfect beach day


Even the birds were enjoying the weather	One of many beautiful coves on the walk

Bondi Beach

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Tags: Australia, Bondi, Manly, Opera House, Sydney

February 11, 2012

Much Love For Melbourne

by Johnny

San Francisco is my favorite city on the planet, so having heard from multiple people that “Melbourne is the San Francisco of Australia,” I was super excited for our visit to Australia’s culture capital. With its classic Victorian houses, distinct neighborhoods, live music around every corner, stylish locals, boutique shops, historical buildings juxtaposed with modern street art, and emphasis on sustainable eating and living…there were tons of similarities between Melbourne and my favorite city by the bay. Although it doesn’t have any “must-see” tourist attractions like its big brother Sydney, Melbourne just oozes character and soul everywhere you look, and if I had to live and work in any major city we’ve visited this entire trip, Melbourne could very well top my list.

Based on the advice of a couple friends, we rented an apartment in the St. Kilda neighborhood. After over two months moving from bungalow to guesthouse to bungalow in Southeast Asia, we were thrilled to finally have our own apartment where we could spread out, buy some groceries and cook our own meals. I think I spent the first couple hours in Melbourne just drinking tap water. The owner of the apartment we rented, Jane, takes great pride in being a Melburnian, and she decorated the entire apartment…from the bedding to the coat rack to the bathroom soap…with products from local artists and designers. Just like the city it’s in, our apartment had tons of character, and it immediately felt like our home for the week. And if we didn’t desperately need our $500 deposit back, I think Anna would have taken some blankets and towels. Anyway, we really enjoyed the St. Kilda area, and its proximity to the water immediately reminded me of the Marina neighborhood in San Francisco, with cafe-lined Acland St. doubling as Union St. or Chestnut St. A typical day for us would be to wake up and have some breakfast in our apartment, walk along the Esplanade past Luna Park and back up Acland St., hop on a tram (super easy and convenient) to explore the city, and come back to St. Kilda in time for another walk along the Esplanade at sunset.


Our living room at the apartment	Whipping up some dinner in our apartment


Parrots of St. Kilda	One of Acland St.’s many cake shops


Luna Park	Moon over Palais Theater


Outside our apartment	St. Kilda cafe culture


St. Kilda beach on one of our walks down the Esplanade	St. Kilda pier

Just another beautiful St. Kilda sunset

Besides not having paid for a pair of boardshorts in five years, my favorite perk of Anna working at Quiksilver is getting to meet so many interesting and creative people. Especially coming from the finance world, where I basically talk numbers all day, I find it fascinating to meet somebody who designs t-shirts or creates marketing campaigns. Case in point, Mark and Ed, aka the Urchins. Mark and Ed work at Urchin Associates, a creative and visual design studio in Melbourne who do a ton of work for Quiksilver. We met Mark and Ed at their studio in the funky Fitzroy neighborhood and headed to lunch at the Standard Hotel with their entire team. After lunch, a couple of the Urchins gave us a walking tour of Fitzroy down Brunswick St., across Gertrude St. and back up Smith St. Brunswick St., with its numerous cafes, music venues and vintage shops, reminded me a lot of San Francisco’s Fillmore St., while Smith St., which was a little rougher around the edges…or as Ed puts it, “full of lentils and junkies”…could pass for Haight St. We thought Fitzroy was so cool that we basically did the same walk a couple days later, this time stopping for lunch at the tasty Vegie Bar and some yummy brews at Little Creatures.


Brunswick St.	Smith St.

Melbourne’s Standard Hotel is a little different than LA’s


Lunch at the Standard Hotel	Ed, Anna and Mark

The Urchins’ studio


Street art in Fitzroy	Street art and Victorian houses

No shortage of things to do in Melbourne


Pizza from Vegie Bar	Little Creatures Dining Hall

On Saturday we headed to Footscray for St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival, a small touring festival featuring local bands as well as several international acts, some of which are playing at Coachella in a few months (who’s got an extra ticket?). The tunes were fantastic and the views of the Melbourne skyline incredible, but I couldn’t help but feeling like we were smack dab in the middle of an Australian hipster fashion show. Has the retro, high-waisted denim shorts look made it to the States yet? I hope not. Some looks went out of style for a reason. Anyway, despite being surround by Mom Jeans shorts all day, we had a blast.

Laneway Festival lineup


Hip Aussies hanging on the grass	Girls at the Eat Your Own Ears stage


Toro Y Moi at the Windish Agency stage	Washed Out DJ set

Melbourne skyline from Footscray

M83 at the Dean Turner stage (seriously, who’s got an extra Coachella ticket?)

One of the reasons I was most excited to visit Melbourne was to see my old college roommate and good buddy Chad Bystedt. Chad moved to Melbourne on a one-year contract with Deloitte, came back home to Orange County for a brief stint when his contract was up, but ultimately decided that Melbourne was the place he wanted to be (I think an Aussie girl named Lisa may have had something to do with that). Chad moved back to Australia to get his MBA at the University of Melbourne, got married to Lisa, and they now have a beautiful three-month old baby boy named Julian.

Despite having to move into a new place all day Saturday, Chad and Lisa (and Julian) picked us up early Sunday morning for a day out in the Yarra Valley, a wine region located about an hour northeast of the city which reminded us a lot of Sonoma County. Our first stop was the Healesville Sanctuary. I mean, Anna and I couldn’t come all the way to Australia and not see some kangaroo and koala, right? They were super cool, as were the echidna, platypus and gigantic pelican. Next we headed for an amazing lunch at Innocent Bystander before tasting some wines at Balgownie Estates. Anna’s brother Pete had told us to be on the lookout for some sparkling Shiraz wine in Australia, and we found some at Balgownie. Unfortunately it was a little pricey for us, but Chad and Lisa treated us to a bottle. Thanks guys! Alright, next time you are in Newport Beach, the Balboa Bars are on us. After wine tasting we headed back to the city for a couple beers and walked all along the Yarra River until Julian’s bedtime…which was well past Anna and Johnny’s normal bedtime. Such a fun day.


Kangaroo!	Koala!


Koala!	Eagle!


Proud papa	Some wookie creeping out Julian

Yarra Valley

Some delicious wine tasting at Balgownie (and one cheesy backdrop)


Two pints and a pot	Cheers, mate!

After a whirlwind first few days in Melbourne, we spent our final couple of days leisurely exploring the some of the city’s other areas. A couple of highlights were Federation Square, the Prahran Market and all the seemingly hidden laneways full of street art. Next stop…Sydney!