melbourne: our big day out and the mornington peninsula

on friday we had tickets to go to a music festival in melbourne called big day out. it is a one day festival that travels around australia and new zealand. jam was particularly excited as pearl jam were headlining and i was really looking forward to seeing arcade fire. in typical festival fashion on friday morning it was tipping it down so we made sure we were fully prepared with rain macs and good shoes but actually it had cleared up nicely by the time we got there. we saw tame impala, primus, the hives, beady eye, arcade fire and pearl jam.

guest review of pearl jam's set from jam:

"the pearl jam" (as davey at work insists on calling them) played a blinding 26-song, 135 minute set. and despite this being around an hour shorter than their typical gigs, they played to a festival crowd consisting of a surprising amount of die-hard fans. i saw many with pearl jam tattoos similar to my own, including one thrifty genius who had made his own pearl jam t-shirt by scribbling the band's name on the front of a plain t-shirt and ripping a large hole in the back to expose his tattoo. the grunge spirit obviously lives on, and a perfect circle of inescapable sunburn is surely but a small price to pay. as the sun set behind the band, it was a perfect gig in a perfect setting. jeremy, given to fly, and dissident were my personal highlights, but it was great to see a few from the new album live for the first time. unforgettable.

on saturday, jam, jo, jurgen and i packed up the house and made our way to their friends', herbie and alison's, beach house where we would be spending the next few days with them. it's a gorgeous house in rye, a popular beach resort on the mornington peninsula near melbourne, about an hour and a half away from the city itself. it was australia day - sorry, 'straya day! - long weekend, so absolutely packed around the beach. we obviously weren't the only people with the idea. however, up in the house - standing on stilts on a hill edge in the trees - there were no crowds to bother us, and we had a lovely, peaceful weekend in rye. when we first arrived, jam, jo and i headed off for a little walk. unfortunately i didn't take my camera, but we saw some huge eleven-legged starfish on the beach, much bigger than my hand. whilst admiring the starfish we were approached by a wannabe steve irwin, who grabbed it out of the sea for us and held it close enough for us to touch and examine, repeating his one known fact over and over to us: if a starfish loses a leg, then it just grows it back again.

we were greeted back at the beach house by a glass of lovely champagne with hibiscus flowers dropped it it and a beautiful pulled pork, cooked by alison.

we watched both the men's and women's finals of the australian open while we were at the beach house, as herbie is a big tennis fan. jam loved this.

on sunday morning, the six of us went on a beach walk with some amazing scenery. jam and i joked that the walk was like a mini ocean road trip because the scenery was so stunning. we even saw some little nipper lifeguards in training!

on sunday night herbie showed jam and i the southern cross constellation in the sky (something that you can only see in the southern hemisphere) and how to use this to calculate the direction of south. i hope i'm never in a position where it's necessary to navigate late at night (without the use of a smart phone), although i did practice last night and i could still find it, so i'm prepared in case! we spent monday at the beach where we had a dip in the sea and walked along the beach.

we came back to melbourne on monday night and yesterday jam and i popped into the city where we had yum cha in chinatown and went to see wolf of wall street at the lovely, art-house cinema nova! now it's our last few days in australia before heading off to christchurch on saturday morning so we are starting to get ourselves ready for that - washing clothes, checking the itinerary and confirming bookings!

brisbane: if you can't stand the heat, get out of the brisbane

well we are back in melbourne now until the 1st feb when we leave for new zealand but in the meantime we have been busy bees a little further up the east coast in brisbane, noosa and visiting family friends near byron bay.

so after arriving in brisbane on saturday we spent sunday getting to know our new home for the next few days. we visited the art galleries in brisbane - the gallery of modern art and queensland art gallery - where we caught an excellent exhibition by a chinese artist, cai quo-quang, at the goma, called "falling back to earth" which was just breathtaking. we also saw the "california design" exhibition - focusing on design in california in the 50's - at the qag, which was very interesting too. as we walked to the art galleries we stumbled across a market which was slightly unusual as the majority of stalls were on the floor.

after that we took a ferry trip down the river to brisbane powerhouse where we attended their moonlight cinema to see american hustle (which was great!). the outdoor cinema was lovely (apart from the mosquito bites!) but it was strange watching a film with bats flying low across the screen! 

on monday we decided to take a trip north from brissy to visit noosa with a couple of stops. our first stop was bribie island - pelicans guiding us across the bridge to the island - where we stopped for refreshments in a bright cafe and had a stroll along the beautiful beach.

next up was an impromptu stop in the glass mountains to walk up the wild horse look out, it was only 700 meters but it was steep and oh boy was it hot. the views more than made up for the struggle though.

we got to noosa where we visited main beach and walked along hastings street. we discovered that they have wild bush turkeys there as we stumbled across them wandering around in the car park! the beach was packed but very pretty.

as we left noosa the sun was setting and i was really wowed by the little lakes we drove past on the way out.

while we were in brisbane we really got addicted to the local radio station ("triple m") which just seemed to play the best music during the day time and this kept us accompanied on our drives in the hire car. as it heated up on tuesday we were very excited as the djs promised to play their 'sweat song' if it reached 40 degrees, but only outside of the city boundary by 40km or more. we started to get very excited about this song and someone eventually called up to state that they had reached 40 degrees, and after much fact-checking and adjudication from the producers of the show, it was confirmed to be true, and we listened in anticipation for the sweat song. when it finally played we discovered that the song was 'gonna make you sweat (everybody dance now)'. it made us laugh anyway!

on tuesday (while listening to the sweat song) we made our way down to visit family friends, john and louise, further down the gold coast near to byron bay. we drove down via tamborine mountain which we thought might be cooler but it was just as baking hot. when we got back to the car the temperature gauge read at 41 degrees! we picked up some wine from the local tamborine mountain winery to take with us and had a look around some of the quaint shops, filled with handmade products.

we put our foot down and made it to john and louise's in reasonable time. we had a lovely dinner and the most delicious oysters i have ever tasted, they were beautiful and creamy.

on wednesday, with john and louise's excellent guiding and knowledge of the local area, we visited byron bay and on the way we made a stop in ballina for coffee at the surf club and visited cape byron lighthouse.

we went to wategos beach where jam and i borrowed john and louise's body boards and went body boarding (with some instructions from louise!). i must say jamie was better at it than me as i really struggled to catch a wave! and i really didn't like it when i went underwater and got a mouthful of salty water. this happened quite a few times. still, it was good fun though and i think jam rather looks the part here.

we had a lovely lunch at byron bay and a stroll around shops, bars and beaches. it certainly does seem to be a hive of activity! we finished the day off with a lovely meal in alstonville with john & louise. we had a really great time with them and were really grateful for their hospitality.

now, we are grateful for someone else's hospitality as we have arrived back in melbourne at auntie jo & uncle jurgen's! we are off to big day out tomorrow, a one day music festival (with pearl jam & arcade fire playing), and to the beach this weekend so have plenty planned to fill our last week in australia.

sydney: beaches, film festivals & lots of walking!

it's sunday morning now and we've been in brisbane for around 14 hours. i haven't really got to grips with anything here yet so there's not much i can say except that it's warm and they are in a different time zone to sydney and melbourne. oh and we've hired a car so that's made a change! we've hired a car because we will be doing quite a bit of driving while we are here. but anyway, i want to blog about the rest of our time in sydney not our plans for the next few days up here...

last week in sydney we did lots of walking. we really saw the city by foot and it was lovely. then we saw the coast by foot too. which was also lovely. i did swim a bit too which was also lovely but got a bit burnt which wasn't very lovely. on thursday we walked through the huge botanical gardens and saw government house, mrs macquarie's chair and had a good look around the art gallery of new south wales. 

then we took a quick detour from our walking tour to add in some sydney festival fun to our day. our chosen festival show was a piece of interactive art called 'the very near future', which was a maze of rooms to walk around designed to portray a film noir in the making, which we eventually found ourselves becoming part of - pretty impressive! after that we made our way to hyde park barracks and for a quick look around the beautiful queen victoria building shopping centre. for a drink we went in search of the baxter inn, a secret prohibition era themed whisky bar, which we had to locate purely by street address and going round the side and back of a building and clambering down some stairs into a basement. at 5pm the candlelight bar was packed and in full swing. unfortunately it was a bit too dark to take a decent photo but if you search for images then you will see what i mean!

on friday the whole day was spent at bondi beach as we had tickets to flickerfest in the evening, a film festival happening over a number of weeks in sydney (and then touring australia i think). when we arrived at bondi the beach was pretty packed.

we walked along the coastal path to tamarama beach and onto bronte beach where we had a little dip and a lay in then sun. then we had lunch before heading back to bondi. the path was just beautiful with some truly stunning beaches and scenery.

that evening we went to flickerfest at the bondi pavilion, to see a selection of international drama and comedy shorts, where we snacked on beer and popcorn whilst enjoying the great variety of short films. it was a great evening and a really good ending to our time in sydney.

sydney: harbour walks, watson's bay & stunning views

well, it looks like we have left melbourne just at the right time as a quick glance at the weather tells me it's 43 degrees there. wowsers. now it's been a cool 31 here in sydney and that's about the highest i can go so lets hope it stays that way. we started our visit to sydney off in appropriate style with a trip down to the harbour and a look at the sydney harbour bridge and the opera house. we popped into the museum of contemporary arts for a look around the exhibitions and a cup of coffee in the cafe which had some rather good views of the harbour too.

we visited the rocks, the oldest part of sydney, and the rocks discovery centre which was really interesting. then we walked along to sydney observatory for some lovely views and an astronomy lesson.

as it happens while we are in sydney the sydney festival is on - i don't think we are going to see any shows but you never know! anyway, we made good use of the pretty spiegeltent in hyde park (i was like - they've got one too!) and had a cider while leafing through tasty festival brochures. we finished the day watching the sunset over the harbour bridge from the opera house which seemed rather appropriate! 

on wednesday (today) we hopped on a bus back down to circular quay where we watched a rather good street performer for longer than intended before buying a return ferry ticket for watson's bay and jetting off across the harbour. getting the ferry gave excellent views of the harbour and made it easy to see just how big it all is. once we'd got to watson's bay we set off straight to doyle's in search of a table for lunch. doyle's has got a reputation for seafood and had been recommended to me numerous times and i really wanted to go there. luckily for jamie they do steak as he is not a seafood fan although he did enjoy attempting to tell me the seafood diet joke about ten times during our meal. here's a picture of doyle's on the beachfront. 

after our lovely lunch we went onto the beach for a bit of a swim, paddle and sunbathing. 

to finish the day off we went to the 36th floor of the shangri la hotel in the city and treated ourselves to a cocktail overlooking the bridge and city.

oh yeah. and on the way home in paddington tonight we came across this quirky sculpture by a bus stop. i rather like it.

melbourne: it's getting hot in here

so on friday, in the raging sun, jamie and i went to meet erin for lunch at the galleon cafe, a st kilda landmark i hear,  and a little stroll around luna park which is this amusement park in st kilda which i just thought was really beautiful in a kitschy sort of way. i love this entrance. if you really squint on this photo then you can just about make out jamie and erin on the left hand side of the mouth!

after we'd been to luna park we strolled along the packed beach and had a little paddle in the sea - looking like the most english people there with the palest legs and more clothes on than anyone else there! the beach was actually way busier than it looks in this photo - everyone must have scarpered when they saw the camera come out. 

acland street in st kilda is renowned for it's excellent cake shops and bakeries so naturally we had to stop by there at some point.

we didn't actually stop at that cake shop (other than to gaze at the cakes!) but we went to monarch which the oldest one there. jam had a marzipan stick and i had the (famous!) chocolate kugelhopf which i actually saw spelt three different times in the shop so there is no guarantee that this spelling is correct. it was warm and delicious and went great with my flat white. that evening we went for dinner at this thai restaurant on chapel street and desperately tried to keep cool in the heat - thai food and beer really helped! i must say the food in melbourne is pretty excellent.

saturday was cooler and jamie, jurgen and i headed out towards chapel street - first up for jurgen to show jamie and i his studio, and then to run some errands. errands run we had a walk down greville street popping into some art galleries and to a little record shop. saturday night we went into the city first up to have a couple of drinks in a very unusual place! the bar is on an island under a bridge on the river and closely resembles a boat. i'm not sure this photo of auntie jo really gives a good representation of the bar but if you look into the distance you can see the river, plus it's just a really nice photo of her.

this picture of jon and jurgen, sharing the biggest bottle of ale i've ever seen, might give you another angle of the bar. or maybe not but you can see a big bottle of ale. 

we had a lovely dinner in an italian restaurant overlooking the river and finished the meal off with a round of my most favourite drinks in the whole wide world - espresso martinis. OH YES THAT IS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT.

from the restaurant we walked along the river, well we dashed along the river, to make the 10pm flames! they were pretty impressive these huge roars of flames coming out of these tall steely pillars. i tried to take some photos but it was pretty tricky with the timings, still this should give you the idea!

then we went to the the casino where jamie lost all the money for the rest of our travels so we are going to have to come home tomorrow :(

only joking! he did lose a few bucks actually (on the roulette wheel) but not much at all and it was really fun to walk about and see what was going on. now it's midday on sunday and, with last night's wine & espresso martini still ringing in my ears, we have just taken my brother jon to the airport  where he is just about to embark on a 26 hour flight back to the UK! he's got his woolly hat and fleece packed in his rucksack and is ready to dive back into the british winter. it seemed funny taking him to the airport with jo & jurgen and then not getting out of the car and going to departures. jamie & i are going to have a quick stroll around albert park (that's the melbourne grand prix circuit dontcha know) before lunch and heading to the 1930's astor cinema this evening to watch metropolis on the big screen. i'm pretty excited about that! then tomorrow we head of sydney with 10 days worth of clothes packed into hand luggage. 

good job i'm such a light packer.

melbourne: great ocean road trip

very early on wednesday morning we set off on our great ocean road trip. i was pretty excited about it.

we'd planned the trip over two days and included a nights stay at cape otway at the lighthouse keeper's house. so we set off. first up was bells beach, a popular place for surfers so i'm told. it was sunny but pretty fresh still so we were layered up and ready for all weathers. then we went onto anglesea where we did some kangaroo spotting by the golf course. 

we carried on the road and stopped in aireys inlet for coffee and, some very yummy, scones. following our little pit stop we decided to check out the lighthouse and go for a little walk. as we walked up to the lighthouse i remarked to jon and jamie that there was a tv programme set in australia set in a lighthouse called round the twist and asked if they remembered it. jamie did but jon, just a tad older, didn't know it. when we reached the lighthouse i read the sign giving some of the history of the building and discovered that it was in fact THE ROUND THE TWIST LIGHTHOUSE! blimey.

back in the car we sped along the coast and stopped at the great ocean road memorial arch.

we went along to lorne, which was crazy busy - packed with holiday makers, and had a quick browse of the shops. we went to apollo bay for lunch which was again full of people all enjoying the summer sun. we had a deadline to get to the lighthouse by 4.30 so we could get the keys for the cottage, so we needed to make our way to cape otway. but not before stopping at maits rest which was a lovely walk in a cold climate rainforest in cape otway national park. particularly stunning are the mountain ash trees which are so tall i had to tilt my head right back to look at them thus nearly falling backwards! i think that the mountain ash trees might be the tallest trees in the world although you might just want to double check that. while we were in the forest we saw the rare black carnivorous snails! apparently they prefer worms to humans but that didn't stop us making lots of jokes about the snails slowing dragging us back to their lairs. then we made our way to our home for the night, the lighthouse keeper's cottage. the lighthouse was really stunning. 

we went up to the top of the lighthouse but it was so windy we had to take our hats and sunglasses off and i didn't dare take my camera out to take any photographs! we made sausages for dinner, had a good game of scrabble (jo won) and watched sunset at the lighthouse plus saw it in the dark when it was all lit up. 

thoroughly rested and relaxed the next day we got on with the itinerary and made our way to the stunning 12 apostles. this is certainly an image that i'll never forget. 

next up were muttonbird island, loch ard and a stop in, a very bustling, port campbell for coffee. on then to see london bridge and the grotto, which was stunning and i can see why it is called the grotto!

we popped along to peterborough (no not that one!) and to the bay of martyrs and our final stop was bay of islands which we had all to ourselves and everyone got busy taking photographs to capture the beautiful scenery.

okay, i took a photograph of the beach too!

our next stop was timboon for a late lunch and then home! a jam packed couple of days. as we returned back to the city at 8pm the temperature read as 31 degrees. melbourne you little hottie! 

melbourne: so much to see, so much to do

we're off on our great ocean road trip tomorrow but before we jet off for a couple of days i thought i'd use to the opportunity to do a quick update. we set off today into a typically uncertain melbourne weather - grey and cloudy but reasonably warm so we layered up but before you knew a few minutes outside and it's boiling hot. but then it's chilly again. and then it's cold again. i think i'm getting used to this now.

first up, the botanical gardens. these really are beautiful. we strolled around, spotted some black swans and even caught a snippet of the wind in the willows kiddie's performance (i did want to stay and see the end but best get on!).

following that we made our way over to queen victoria market which was bustling and selling all sorts of goods from fruit & veg to souvenirs.

i even bought myself a snazzy new hat to keep the unpredictable melbourne sun off of my 'ead.

i had a really tasty spinach and cheese borek for lunch from a hugely popular turkish stall. i can see why it was so popular, it was delish! we had planned to get sausages for the great ocean road trip's evening dinner (we're staying in a cottage with a bbq) but unfortunately we were too late as the stalls closed at 2 so they had to be sourced from elsewhere! 

after our shopping and lunch we went to the carlton suburb of melbourne where we perused the local shops on lygon street and eyed up the many italian delis and restaurants. apparently this area is also known as little italy and i can see why. we stopped for tea and cake in the most glorious cake shop and rested our little feet for a mo'.

on arrival home the gentlemen modelled the selection of hats available in the house, i think they look rather snazzy too. my hat is the best though. 

melbourne: our first few days down under

fresh faced and raring to go, our first stop in melbourne was to catch up with jam's lovely friend erin who has been in australia for the last two years and is now a well seasoned local. jam, my brother jon and i went for a couple of beers with erin to, the rather appropriately named, local to catch up and get the low down on what is hip and happenin' in the melbourne area.

that evening (saturday night) we had dinner out in st kilda with family where we even got to sample some of the local st kilda beer.

the next day (sunday) the sun was shining and, in search of some native animals, we headed down to healesville animal sanctuary where we were not disappointed. we saw koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, fruit bats, duck billed platypi, dingos and emus to name a few. we even saw a baby koala on it's mummy's back which was was totally the cutest thing ever.

these pelicans were managing to keep their cool in the glaring midday sun.

on monday making our way into melbourne city we made our way to the shrine of remembrance where we learnt about the history of this impressive building and saw an example of the remembrance ceremony with the light moving across the plaque in the centre of the building.

the views from the top of the shrine where rather impressive too.

whilst spending some time in the city we used the opportunity to take in some views of the river where we even spotted this cool little boat shaped bar under a bridge which was packed with customers having a post working day drink in the sun.

we took in the many lanes enjoying looking around the shops and the masses of graffitti art hidden in these little secret treasure trove lanes. we wandered around these for ages stopping for coffee (a multi fruit drink for jam) and some, rather excellent, banana bread while we were there.

we also stopped in federation square and went to the ACMI (australian centre for the moving image) where jam rather amusingly asked for directions from directly across the road ("well i could draw you a map?" was the helpful response). we have a week more in melbourne now where we will also be shortly undertaking a great ocean road trip in the next few days.