Category: Melbourne

12 months and 12 photos (2019)

wrookieschu9 Comments

Hi everybody!!! It has been a while. I haven’t written a blog in about 4 months, sorry for that. To be honest, I haven’t had much to say or write about as there has been no travelling for the past few months (except Melbourne twice but does that even count?!). I have been attempting to lay low and save my pennies/cents for the big year that is to come in 2020. A fellow blogger has been carrying out 12 months and 12 photos and I loved this idea. It’s a great way for me to create a blog and keep me in the game. It’s the first time I saw another blog post and thought, yes, I want to do that. So thanks to Tanja from @theredphoneboxtravels for the inspo. I have picked my 12 photos (not an easy task by the way, if you have a few things going on each month) and added a little caption to each one. I hope you find them of interest 🙂

January – Taveuni

Taveuni
The holiday of all holidays. We won a trip back to Fiji and we decided to visit the garden island of Fiji that is Taveuni. An absolutely amazing place with the best people. We made memories there that will last a lifetime.

February – Belfast comes to Melbourne

Belfast comes to Melbs
2 of our really good friends Brian and Rachael came to Melbourne. I didn’t want to miss them so I flew over to spend the weekend with them and had the best craic!

March – Meet my parents in Thailand

Thailand
I had the oppotunity to visit my parents when they were in Thailand celebrating their anniversary. I couldn’t miss this, maybe my only ever chance to have a holiday with just the 2 of them all to myself. A really chilled out holiday with memories I will always cherish.

April – 10 years later

10 years later
We love our Sydney walks and for me, my photo opportunities! We sat here to have a photo taken and realised we had sat here 10 years ago also. We have lived in Sydney in 2009 for 1 year and had made it our dream and mission to return. I like this photo as it highlights how far we have came and what is achievable if you want something bad enough.

May – Home

Home
We love our trips back to Northern Ireland. This was our 2nd trip home since leaving for Australia. We had an amazing time as always, plus we attended 2 very special weddings. The landscape in Northern Ireland is stunning, it definitely needs to be seen if visiting Ireland.

June – A time of reflection

Reflection
This is the Chinese Garden of Friendship. The perfect spot for reflection and gathering your thoughts. I was really happy to have been shown this place.

July – Quality time

Quality time
July was a month of spending time with the other half and taking in the beauty of Sydney. Lots of nice walks and this day we were whale watching, a really unbelievable experience!

August – Leura

Leura
This is my birthday month!! I really wanted to head away for a couple of days. We decided on Leura, in the Blue Mountains. I would highly recommend this to everyone. It is a really quaint little town with a lot of character. The Leura Cascades are impressive and amazing walks in the heart of the Blue Mountains.

September – A personal journey

Personal journey
I have been going to the gym for about 2 years now. I am loving it and acheiving results that I am super happy with. This was the month I hit a personal milestone as I had hit the 10kg mark. Thats a 10kg increase in weight (muscle mass). I was delighted. May the journey continue.

October – Wedding dress shopping

Wedding dress
Never thought in a million years I would be doing this but it was an incredible experience. To be there for my best friend on such a huge occassion in her life was a true honour. We had the best weekend and not a bridezilla in sight!!

Novemeber – My cousin

My cousin
My cousin has been in Sydney for a year and we have loved it. To have a family member here is amazing, to share old memories and make new ones is incredible. We were sad to say goodbye as she heads off on her travels and then home but we have had the best year and again made the best memories.

December – Christmas time

Christmas
One of my favourite months of the year. This year we are spending it together, just the 2 of us. We are heading away on what will be our only holiday as a couple since 2014. Keep an eye on my socials for photos to follow. Merry Christmas everyone!!! See you all next year 🙂

9 things to do when visiting Melbourne 🌃🥂🍾🍇

wrookieschu8 Comments

Hi there everyone and Happy New Year. I thought I would use my 1st blog of 2019 to provide a run down of things to do in Melbourne when you have more than a few days. This was my 3rd trip to Melbourne and I have yet to blog about this amazing city. Previously I have visited some amazing bars/restaurants, seen some incredible art and frequented some mighty fine vine yards nearby. However, it was great to be able to spend a good amount of time here, especially in summer and experience new things that Melbourne has to offer. Lucky for us our friends made pretty good tour guides, having packed in a lot for us to see and do within 10 days (not to mention celebrating the holiday season).

Sometimes too much information included in lists of things to see and do can become tiresome, so I will just keep things brief so as not to bore you. I will show you through pictures, the trips that we made and give a short overview, so that if you happen to visit or live in Melbourne, you may wish to check them out also 😊.

1 – Holey Moley Golf Club ⛳️

This is a mini golf club with a lot of fun. Think crazy golf but indoors and with bar service. Each hole is designed with a crazy theme that brings humour and life to it whilst drawing you in with your camera for a snap or 2. The fact that you can bring your drinks around the course with you is pretty cool and you end up at the Caddyshack Bar. Definitely a must do, especially if it rains. You can read all about it here.

2 – Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria

These gardens are stunning for a walk around, providing great views of the city and numerous areas where you can sit for a picnic. It’s pretty cool to be in the city but be surrounded by greenery. We were extremely lucky to have taken part in the “punting on the lake”, a surprise from our friends. You are taken on a tranquil cruise around the lake with a guided tour, seeing the islands surrounding the lake and all the gardens wildlife and plants. It’s a really stunning way of seeing the gardens and we were lucky enough to have brought on our own champagne for the occasion 🥂🍾. I can’t recommend this enough and the staff are extremely friendly and knowledgeable of the gardens.

3 – Entrecôte

This is a Parisian steakhouse and café in South Yarra and is totally worth a visit. The thing that really pulled us here was the jazz band…and they sing in French! Our favourite. Plus we had heard they offer some killer rosé wines 😉. The jazz band, La Nuit Blanche was fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed listening to the music. The food was delicious and the ambiance was just on point. Sitting in the little terrace/garden, listening to jazz and sipping on rosé wine in the sunshine = blissful Sundays ☺️.

4 – Albert Park

This is a great park only 3km from the city. It surrounds a large lake and is a great spot for walking (with or without a dog), cycling, sailing and rowing. It provides a really stunning view of the city behind the lake. The walking track is 5km in distance and there are spots where you can stop for a picnic or BBQ. You can also see a good amount of black swans and plenty of ducks.

5 – Mornington Peninsula

If you leave Melbourne and drive south east for an hour through the state of Victoria, you will enter the Mornington Peninsula. This is a very beautiful coastal spot with Port Phillip to the left. There is lots to see and do with many little holiday towns and beaches that are both sheltered and open-sea.

We stopped at Cape Schanck which is the most southern part of Mornington Peninsula. Apparently here is where you can breathe in the freshest air, blown straight in from the Antarctic! To get here it is a quare walk through the Mornington Peninsula National Park. A really stunning walk but we wary of the many, many steps. Cape Schanck is beautiful, with some rock pools located there too but it is quite rocky terrain to go and have a good look. It is definitely worth the effort. There is also a lighthouse here that is infamous to Cape Schanck and has been here since 1859, as well as a lighthouse museum.

There are numerous vineyards situated in Mornington Peninsula that are worth a visit if you love wine tasting. We visited 3 different vineyards and each of them were sensational in their own ways:

• Montalto Vineyard and Olive Grove – delicious Chardonnay (and I usually hate Chardonnay).

• Even Keel/Polperro – great to sit outside with a glass of wine by the vines

• Rare Hare – great spot for lunch

6 – Ferry from Sorrento to Queenscliff ⛴

This is the car and ferry service that crosses Port Phillip Bay from Sorrento to Queenscliff. We crossed here in order to continue our journey towards the Great Ocean Road. It’s impressive being able to drive your car onto the ferry. Once aboard you can exit your car and walk around freely. There is a shop and bar onboard with comfortable seating. However, it’s pretty special to stand outside as the ferry sails, often you can see dolphins swimming alongside too!

7 – The Great Ocean Road

For me, this is the trip I have always associated with Melbourne and have always wanted to do it. I have seen many pictures over the years and to be honest, it doesn’t disappoint. The Great Ocean Road was built to commemorate the sailors and soldiers of the 1st world war. The drive along this road is spectacular with beautiful ocean views and many places where you can stop and take photos. We happened to drive on a cloudy day and the views were still spectacular. The main aim of the drive for us was to see the 12 apostles at the Port Campbell National Park. To read all about the apostles you can click here. When you reach the apostles you will not be disappointed. There are a few different locations to view the apostles so make sure you check them all out. There is a map printed at the visitors centre to help you out. Words can’t even describe how amazing this landscape is, so sure to visit soon, as the apostles are subject to some severe weather erosion.

8 – Easey’s Diner

So back into the city of Melbourne and you will find a really cool and trendy diner. You have grab a burger in a tram on a rooftop! Only in Melbourne! Staff are super friendly, food is amazing and you can see great views of the city. The hotdog topped with macaroni cheese is the business.

9 – Melbourne Museum

If you happen to have a rainy day in the city, where better to go than check out the local museum. Melbourne Museum was even better than we had anticipated and we spent a good few hours there. It has everything from dinosaurs to an Australian wildlife exhibition to the history of Melbourne (extremely interesting) to the displays of the Myers Christmas windows. Really worth checking out.

Ok readers so that’s my 9 things to check out in and around Melbourne. Hopefully it will be of interest and you can check them out sometime. There is still so much more to learn about this amazing city!!!

Thanks so much for reading.

W 😊