Tag: Australia

Our final stop on our Australian adventure was a few days at the Sunshine Coast. We flew from Melbourne to Brisbane, rented a car and then drove about an hour and a half north on the M1. Luke found us this amazing private oasis and we both agreed it’s quite possibly our favorite place to-date.

We had envisioned this part of the trip to be a lot slower and more relaxing than the week before. While we loved our time in Sydney and Melbourne, we also wanted to experience the slower pace of the coastal life. We got unlucky with a few days of rain which really forced us to slow down, haha. After the rain and I’m talking more rain than I’ve ever seen in my life!! we were able to explore Noosa and get in some serious beach time. Noosa stole my heart and I couldn’t be happier that we picked such a gorgeous place to relax on our last few days.

Very happy faces after a few Noosa beach days.

Our recommended itinerary for three days at the Sunshine Coast:

Day 1
Spend the day exploring the Sunshine Coast Hinterlands – Unfortunately we didn’t get to do this because it was raining buckets for the first few days

Day 2
Visit the Eumundi Markets (keep in mind the markets are only open on Wednesdays and Sundays)
Make your way to Noosa
Walk up and down Hastings Street popping into shops – Grab lunch at a place that speaks to you (we found a fish & chips special at Zachary’s)
From Noosa Heads Main Beach, walk the path up Noosa National Park – We walked to the Fairy Pools and back to the main beach
Relax on the beach at Noosa Heads Main Beach

Day 3
Spend the day at Noosa Heads Main Beach – Get there early and find a spot under the trees
Consider surfing lessons! If you’re not that adventurous you can also rent boogie boards on the beach
Depending on where you stay, drive up/down State Road 6 for ocean views along the Sunshine Coast – We drove from Noosa down to Mooloolaba
Dinner at The Savvy Squire the beers were amazing and the location is right on the Mooloolah River

We arrived in Melbourne from Sydney and ended up taking an Uber from the airport to our AirBnb. We almost never do this! We were having a hard time with the Myki ticket machines at the airport (Myki is the card system the train/tram/bus uses). The Myki machines refused to accept our credit cards and the busses don’t take anything but Myki cards. There was a SkyBus option but it was $20/person one-way and we’d still have to do a transfer to a bus. So an Uber it was! Once we got into town I popped into a market and purchased a Myki card and loaded money on it – once I had it, it was easy peasy from there on out!

We eventually arrived in the Abbotsford neighborhood and instantly fell in love with this lovely AirBnb. We had a spacious bungalow on the back of the hosts’ property, the most comfortable king sized bed and a few complimentary umbrellas for the rain we’d encounter in the coming days. It was perfect for us. We short a 5-10 minute walk to the train and then it was only anohter 10 minutes to reach the city center. We mostly took the train around town if we weren’t walking. I can’t say enough good things about the neighborhood we chose to stay in! Great coffee shops, restaurants and local shops. Something we always look for in AirBnb’s is that “local living feeling”.

Melbourne was so funky and just downright cool. You know that I love a city filled with graffiti and Melbourne delivered! It was inherently different to Sydney – like a Seattle vs. Portland different. More artsy, very gritty… Melbourne was a vibe. My favorite part of visiting Melbourne was the element of surprise. For example, you could see a restaurant or storefront and the facade gives an appearance that it might be a small run-down place… until you step inside and see this expansive architectural wonder. There were sooooo manyyyy surprises, we dubbed Melbourne “the city of hidden gems”.

A first glimpse at the Brighton Bathing Boxes

Our recommended itinerary for four days in Melbourne:

Day 1
Coffee and a light breakfast at Three Bags Full
Stroll around the city center
Hop on the 35 “city circle” tram line – it’s free and will take you in a loop around the city
Roam around Chinatown (it’s expansive!) and grab dumplings for lunch – We loved Shanghai Street
Pop into Melbourne Central – we found so many local clothing shops and the food court looked amazing
Visit the Public Library, it’s a beauty!
Dinner at Daughter-in-Law

Day 2
Coffee and a light breakfast at Stagger Lee’s
Go on a self-guided walking tour of Abbotsford, Collingwood and Fitzroy
Visit the Queen Victoria Market (grab lunch here, too)
Stop by Moon Dog for amazing IPA’s
Grab dinner and sip on local beers at Stomping Ground Brewing or Bodriggy Brewing

Day 3
Coffee and a light breakfast at Dr. Morse
Explore the hidden gems and laneways of the city (Hoiser Lane and Degreaves Street being the most popular)
Dinner at any of the following restaurants: Sundra, Embla, tipo 00, Smith + Daughters, Lazerpig, Leo’s, Carlton Wine Room, Bar Saracen, Lee Ho Fook, Supernormal (we met a girl in Sydney and her chef boyfriend recommend all these places to us – he said it’s the list for ultimate foodies)

Day 4
Coffee and a light breakfast at you place of choice! Check out this list of quintessential Melbourne coffee shops
Visit the Brighton Bathing Boxes
Walk form Brighton Beach to St. Kilda Beach
Lunch at Lentil as Anything
Explore St. Kilda and Luna Park
Supernormal Canteen for dinner
St. Kilda Pier for the Penguin Parade

Also consider: a day trip out of the city or a two-day trip along the GOR to visit the 12 Apostles.

We recently arrived back home after spending two weeks in Australia and WOW what an incredible country! We split our time evenly between Sydney, Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast – spending about 4 days in each area. It’s the tail end of summer there, so kind of like a September for us, like a really hot September.

We arrived at SYD on a Saturday morning and took the train to Central Station where we hopped on a local bus to our AirBnb in the Paddington neighborhood. Once we got to Paddington (Paddo to the locals) I couldn’t believe my eyes, it looked like we were transported to the Garden District of New Orleans! The neighborhood was lined with beautiful trees and beautiful houses. We stayed in this AirBnb and loved it. The place was on the smaller side, but fine for us since we were out about for most of the day anyways. The location was very convenient for us (halfway between the city and the beach) and the local bus stop was just down the street. Speaking of the bus, we took it everywhere in town! We added our travel credit card (we use Chase Sapphire Preferred) to our phone and then just “tapped” on and off the bus – it couldn’t have been easier!

Sydney felt so unique but also felt like a blend of some of our favorite major cities. Luke and I ultimately decided that we thought Sydney was a mix of London, New Orleans and San Francisco – but throw some hot sun in there, too! We loved, loved, loved our time in Sydney and were quite sad when it was over.

See below for our recommended itinerary for a few days in this amazing city!

The Sydney Harbor from the Royal Botanic Garden.

This is the Paddington neighborhood we stayed in.

I told you it looked like New Orleans!

Australia really knows how to do a good breakfast (brekkie).

I scored this avocado toast for $4.50! I know.

Luke had banana bread with ricotta creme cheese and honey –

we’ve already re-created this since we’ve been home.

Four.Ate.Five

This was the start of our coast walk from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach.

The views on this walk were just incredible!

Seeing the Bondi Icebergs was just a dream.

They are as beautiful as all the pictures I’ve seen over the years.

Bondi Beach through the trees.

We spent the afternoon at Bondi Beach.

We had been watching a lot of the show Bondi Rescue (haha) and this was a MUST for us.

It was incredibly crowded but we lucked out with a decent spot and a rented umbrella.

One morning we took the local ferry from Circular Quay to Manly Beach.

It was such a great way to see the city from the water (one of our favorite things to do in any city we visit).

One morning we took the bus to The Grounds of Alexandria and I was BLOWN AWAY with this place. It’s an “only in Sydney” kind of place and I recommend you don’t miss it. We had breakfast here and then spent some time walking around the grounds and taking in their rotating exhibit. The exhibit on display when we visited was Elton John themed. This place is just magical.

A few more examples of how Aussie’s just nail brekkie.

Eggs on toast (this became an obsession on the trip –

Aussie soft scramble eggs are actually heaven on earth) and seeded bircher muesli.

Another fun spot was the Slims Rooftop.

The rooftop is inspired by Slim Aarons and overlooks Hyde Park.

We walked around Darling Harbor one night. It was cute. Dare I say… Darling?

Our recommended itinerary for four days in Sydney:

Day 1
Explore the Harbors and Quays: Sydney Harbor, Darling Harbor, Circular Quay
Explore The Rocks neighborhood
Visit and grab lunch at The Rocks Market (open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
Visit Endeavour Tap Rooms for some Pale Ale and IPA refreshments
Walk to the Royal Botanic Gardens and walk over to Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair
Drinks at the Sydney Opera Bar

Day 2
Take the ferry to Manly Beach
Visit 4 Pines Brewery for delicious beers
Spend the day exploring Manly and visit the beaches
Lunch at Fishbowl for amazing poke bowls
Ferry back to Sydney
Slim’s Rooftop for evening refreshments and snacks

Day 3
Start your day with brekkie and then a takeaway coffee from Coogee Pavilion
Coast Walk from Coogee to Bondi (about 2.5 hours)
End at Bondi Beach and enjoy a beach afternoon (I rented an umbrella on the beach to be sun safe)
Lunch and refreshments at a fun spot across the street from Bondi Beach – We liked Bondi Beach Public Bar for flatbreads and beers
Dinner at Nomad (make reservations in advance, so many locals told us this was the best place in town for dinner and we’d have to agree!)

Day 4
Brunch and explore at the Grounds of Alexandria (In my opinion this is an absolute must-visit and and “only in Sydney” kind of place)
Explore the Newtown area for fun shops, restaurants and breweries
Rock’s Brewing
Young Henry’s
End with dinner at a local neighborhood spot. We chose the Four in Hand Pub in Paddington