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Anna S. E. Lundberg

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Melbourne: The world’s most liveable city?

19 December, 2014 By Anna S E Lundberg 4 Comments

If this had been 20 years ago, the biggest draw of Melbourne would have been a tour of the Neighbours soap opera set. Aside from that, I’ve often been told that Europeans usually love Melbourne: it’s the cultural capital of Australia, artsy, international, and the number one city in the world according to The Economist’s “liveability index”. While I enjoyed my stay, I have to say: I’m definitely a Sydney girl.

Melbourne street art
My apartment was on Southbank, where I enjoyed walking every day, past the restaurants and hotels. This is one of the officially sanctioned areas for Melbourne’s street art.
Southbank, Melbourne
Walking along the river did remind me somewhat of being in Paris, and I can see why Europeans would feel at home here.
National Gallery of Victoria
I continued the French theme and my cultural experience of Melbourne with a visit to the National Gallery of Victoria for the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition.
Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition
Only a little bit creepy, an animation of Monsieur Gaultier himself wished us la bienvenue to this voyage through his career.
JPG teddy bear
Jean Paul Gaultier’s original muse, his teddy bear Nana, wearing a prototype of the iconic conical bra later made famous by Madonna.
JPG perfume
A display of the first perfume bottles designed by JPG.
JPG fashion show
The first, and only, time I’ll ever be in the front row of a JPG fashion show.
Melbourne Christmas tree
It’s Christmas! And summer! At the same time! I did do a little bit of shopping but this time limited to my first pair of Toms, after I had just finished reading the company founder’s book, Starting Something that Matters.
Royal Botanic Gardens
Looking back on the city centre from the calm of the Royal Botanic Gardens. I think I’ve been to more botanical gardens on this trip than I ever have in my whole life before!
Royal Botanic Gardens
Fancy a punt?
The Shrine of Remembrance
The Shrine of Remembrance, built as a place where families could mourn the loved ones they lost abroad in the First World War.

But where is the ocean?! My favourite part of Sydney, or of any city, unfortunately missing from Melbourne city centre. As a result, I took a boat trip out to Williamstown, a suburb of Melbourne, to get closer to the sea (and I had fish and chips again!).

Williamstown harbour
Arriving at the little harbour of Williamstown.
Path in Williamstown
A walk along the coast, having left behind the skyscrapers of the big city.
Williamstown Botanic Gardens
Botanic Gardens again! Very small, these, though…
Ball Tower
The Ball Tower used to help seafarers to calibrate their chronometers: from 1858 to 1926 the ball would drop at exactly 1pm.
Williamstown Ferry
Returning to Melbourne on the Williamstown ferry.

On my last day in Melbourne, my flight wasn’t leaving until 3am and I had already checked out of my apartment the previous morning. What to do? Late night cinema showing of Interstellar, of course. (For the record, as much as I love wormholes and relativity and space in general, I really didn’t get this film for all the hype it’s had. Nowhere near as good as Gravity, which really moved me as well as being ground-breaking in terms of the filming itself.) Although my flight was a little delayed, my free upgrade to business class made up for the inconvenience. A glass of champagne and a short sleep on a horizontal bed later, and I arrived in Kuala Lumpur for the next part of my trip…

 

The practical bit:

National Gallery of Victoria: The Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition is on until 8th February 2015; $22 for an adult ticket.

Williamstown Ferry: The ferry leaves from outside the Southgate shopping centre; $28 for an adult return ticket.

Apartment: I booked a studio at Melbourne Short Stay Apartments and got a free upgrade to a one-bedroom with a balcony. Very nice, and great location by Southbank.

Filed Under: Australasia, Australia, Travel Tagged With: australia, jean paul gaultier exhibition, melbourne, melbourne royal botanic gardens, national gallery of victoria, travel, williamstown ferry

5 Things to Do in Sydney – when you’re visiting for the second time…

16 December, 2014 By Anna S E Lundberg 1 Comment

[It’s impossible for me to post this today without offering my condolences to the individuals and families involved in the Sydney hostage situation that unfolded in the past 24 hours. My thoughts are with those affected, directly and indirectly. This type of isolated incident can clearly happen anywhere; I hope that realisation makes people travel more, and not less, as a result.]

The first time I came to Sydney was almost 14 years ago. I remember driving up to some viewpoint and standing at the top of a cliff, breathing in the crisp ocean air, and I loved it. Now, after my second visit, I can confirm: Sydney is one of my top three cities. The others? New York and Stockholm; I think I’ll put London at number four since it’s less exciting giving its proximity for most of my life…

Last time I came, my friend Kirsten and I did all the touristy things you’re meant to do: we did a tour of the Opera House, went to the Aquarium, took a boat to a seafood restaurant, visited the Blue Mountains… This time, I hadn’t planned anything and so I felt that I could relax into it. I stayed in a serviced apartment instead of a hotel, which meant that I felt a little like a local doing my shopping in a supermarket and eating breakfast or cooking dinner ‘at home’. I went to museums, I went to the theatre, I even did a bit of shopping…

1. Visit the Rocks Market at the weekend

The Rocks is not a bad place to stay if you want to be close to the main attractions, the bridge, the harbour, the Opera House… I went there for the weekend market, which spills out onto the streets on Saturdays and Sundays with a foodie version also on Friday, where you can buy lunch at the various food stalls and explore the various arts and crafts on display. I fell for some unusual jewellery at one stall, where I had a long chat with the French lady there whose husband had created these pieces using resin and gold and silver leaf. At another stall, a family business offered unique pieces built from different parts of old mechanical watches. I also bought a bag that I could wear across the body for the next part of my trip that would take me to Asia. And I had a mini cupcake. Yum.

From The Rocks, I went up onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge, where I had planned to climb up to the Pylon Lookout. When I got there, though, I found that this involved climbing up a set of stairs inside the pylon (duh!) with no windows, and this time my claustrophobia won out – so I passed. There is also the more famous BridgeClimb, which looks like it would be spectacular.

Sydney Harbour Bridge
Spot the little blue ants making their way up to the top of the bridge… (On 28th November, the flags of Sydney were flown at half mast for cricketer Phillip Hughes.)
Sydney Harbour Opera House from the Sydney Harbour Bridge
In fact, the views from the main part of the bridge are pretty stunning already, and these are free!

2. Take the ferry to Manly

The boat ride to Manly takes about an hour one way and if you sit at the back (and then at the front on the return journey) you get fabulous views of all of what Sydney has to offer: the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, and the skyscrapers of the central business district. Manly itself has several beaches as well as a number of trails if you have more time. I had a performance to get back for, so I settled for a nice stroll along the coast with an ice cream for company.

To get to the ferry from Haymarket, where I was staying, I took the opportunity to walk down to Woolloomooloo Bay and around the Botanic Gardens. I passed Mrs Macquarie’s Chair – impossible to miss with all those Chinese tourists clamouring to take a photo – and continued round to Farm Cove where you can get all the selfies you could possibly need in front of the classic panorama of the Sydney Opera House and the neighbouring Harbour Bridge.

Sydney Opera House
#selfiealert
View from ferry to Manly
Tada! The best harbour in the world, according to my neighbour on the boat to Manly. I’d be tempted to agree with him…
Manly Beach
Manly Beach: still very touristy, but not as bad as Bondi…

3. Get a bit of culture

Make that a LOT of culture in my case. I went to the Australian Museum, where I was pointed in the direction of the Albert Chapman minerals collection – born in 1912, he began collecting at twelve but was a tad more persistent then I was and by the time of his death in 1996 he had amassed a huge collection; my favourites were the blues and greens of azurite and malachite. (Tip: Pick up the free Sydney guide at the airport, as it has all sorts of discounts, including one that I used for the museum.) On the way, I passed through the ANZAC Memorial, built in art deco style in the early 1930s, where an informative guide encouraged me to explore the museum underneath. I also went to see the Chuck Close exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, following a recommendation from an arty friend.

Ozmopolitan cocktail
My night at the theatre was especially magical after I had the luminous green Ozmopolitan cocktail in the interval. (“Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe…”)

Having only done the tour during my last visit, this time I booked a ticket to see a matinee performance at the Sydney Opera House, The Nutcracker ballet, my favourite and the ultimate sign of Christmas (though it was strange to exit the theatre into a hot summer’s afternoon!). And, as luck would have it, my apartment was just across the road from the musical Wicked at the Capitol Theatre; so, how could I resist, I went to see that as well. Best seat in the house and a magical night; even better was the shortest ever walk home across the street afterwards… Oh, and I went to see the Mockingjay film at the cinema, if that counts as culture!

Sydney Opera House
The Opera House has a number of different venues, so you don’t necessarily need to watch the headlining production at the Concert Hall or the Joan Sutherland Theatre.

4. Shop ’til you drop

After all that culture, I needed to bring the level down a bit with some less highbrow activity. I admired the Christmas windows and had a lovely paleo lunch at the David Jones department store (– one of the bonus reasons why I love Sydney, the amazing healthy food that you can get!). At Myers, I successfully replaced my broken sandals with a new pair (and maybe some other things while I was at it…). I also topped up on shampoo at Toni & Guy.

My more extravagant purchase that I had planned to make was an opal in some form or other. I’d been thinking about it since my encounter with a Native American shop owner in Cusco, Peru, who had recommended that I buy a fire opal, and it also happens to be my birthstone; so given its prevalence in Australia I thought what better time than now. Cathy, an elegant French lady in OpalMinded, accompanied me on my personal journey to find the right stone.

“May I ask what kind of price range you’re looking at?”

“Oh, I’m not really sure how much they are…”

“Because that one there is $20,000.”

“Ah. Well not $20,000.”

She graciously steered me towards some much smaller stones as well as the doublets that consist only of a thin layer of opal against a black backing and are therefore cheaper. We also briefly considered buying a loose stone and having someone back home design a ring or necklace, but that seemed like a lot of work to me… In the end, we settled for a simple silver ring with a small but lovely opal. It was a little less than $20,000…

5. Go for a drink at Darling Harbour

Darling Harbour is where you can find Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Zoo, Madame Tussauds… so I steered well clear of that area this time around; until my last evening. I had met an old school friend for a drink at the bar down in front of the Opera House (also a great spot, by the way) and we decided to continue on to Darling Harbour, where I ended my time in Sydney with a bang – there were fireworks – with dinner and drinks. I felt only a little old with the loud music and the students around us who were drinking shots and getting flirty…

Sydney, I love you! If only you weren’t so far away…

 

The practical bit:

Meriton Serviced Apartments: Although I booked via Booking.com, the guy at reception insisted that it would be cheaper to book directly next time. They have apartments in different locations around Sydney – mine was on Campbell Street, in Thai Town (next door to Chinatown). Another recommendation from a friend is for The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel (you have to email as they don’t have online booking, crazy, I know).

The Rocks Market: Every Saturday and Sunday as well as Public Holidays, 10am-5pm.

Ferry: Manly is in the outer zone so you’ll need a MyFerry2 ticket at $14.80 for an adult return. The ferry leaves from Circular Quay and takes about an hour one way.

Filed Under: Australasia, Australia, Travel Tagged With: anzac memorial, australia, australian museum, capitol theatre, darling harbour, lord nelson brewery, manly ferry, meriton serviced apartments, opalminded, sydney, sydney harbour bridge, sydney opera house, the rocks, travel

More about Anna

Anna Lundberg is a success coach and business strategist who helps experienced corporate professionals reimagine success outside of the 9 to 5.

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