See / Eat / Stay : Sydney +

After my week in Melbourne I headed to Sydney for a week. As well as doing my first site visit for The Big Project (half a house - GONE! - so exciting! more on that at a later date...) here's some other fun things that happened.

See / Blue Mountains - We like to head out of town with the step-sons whenever we get to Sydney. The problem is, in contrast to Melbourne, Sydney has a bit of a dearth of great things to do within a few hours drive. The Blue Mountains is a good standby when we can't think of anywhere else to go. Even with some slightly foreboding skies and the odd spatter of rain it still made for a nice break - great views, fresh air, a bit of a stroll...

See / Art Gallery of New South Wales - The gallery in Sydney is such a lovely place - the garden setting with views over Woolloomooloo, the mix of old and new architecture, the cafe (it serves cider!). And it's free. As a teen I fell in love with modern Australian painting, so visiting the gallery is like catching up with old friends. Funny what a strong reaction seeing a piece of art in the flesh can evoke. If you visit make sure you head downstairs to the contemporary art galleries. I was blown away (and a bit creeped out) by the installations down there. Inspiring stuff. 

See / Sydney Theatre Company - One of the things we've missed about living in Seoul is access to quality English-language the-ar-tar (you have to pronounce it like that, otherwise you might start taking everything too seriously). Anyway, knowing we'd be moving back (eventually) we signed up for an STC subscription this year. This trip we saw Fury, which I really liked. 

But really - it almost doesn't matter what play you see. Part of the fun is not knowing what's coming up, like reaching in to a lucky dip. Sometimes its wonderful, intimate, affecting, hilarious. And sometimes its terrible. But again, that almost doesn't matter, because then there's the great conversations about exactly how, where, and when the play was terrible. 

And the theatre isn't just about the play. It's about fighting your way to the bar and downing a wine at intermission. It's about the view of the Harbour Bridge from The Bar at the End of the Wharf, the 'ding ding ding' telling you to take your seats, the rituals, the crowd watching... (Also we sat next to Hugo Weaving, so we're basically famous.) 

See / Vivid Sydney - I've heard so many rave reviews about the festival of light that is Vivid Sydney, I was pretty excited to realise our visit coincided with the 2013 festival. So excited in fact that I tried to convince the husband to can the Blue Mountains trip (apparently he is not as thrilled by light projections as I am...). Anyway, I strolled around Circular Quay one mild Sydney night and took it all in. I only managed to see the tiniest bit but it was great, worth it for the MCA projection alone (which was really wonderful). The festival has finished for this year (sorry) but maybe you can start planning for 2014?

Eat / est., Sydney - The husband is in the midst of two months of crazy busy work travel, so to celebrate a rare night together we treated ourselves to an uber-fancy meal at est. And quite the treat it was! The best bits were: 1) The creamy, melty Brillat-Savarin; 2) The passionfruit soufflé (we were meant to share, but the chef clearly saw the look in my husband's eyes - he doesn't have a sweet tooth but he can inhale a soufflé in seconds - and made us one each!); and 3) The lamb rib eye. Yum. 

Eat / Ippudo, Westfield Sydney - I'm going through a bit of a ramen phase right now (actually, anything involving soupy noodles makes me weak at the knees right now) and I'd read about this place in Gourmet Traveller, so I checked it out. It was pretty tasty, though the soup base was on the heavy side - a bit too porky for my liking. Maybe chalk it up for when you need a slightly greasy, meaty, carbohydrate fix? (As a side note, the new Westfield food court in Sydney is pretty damn impressive! Looking forward to exploring it a bit more...) 

Eat / Bistro Moncur, Woollahra - My husband used to live just down the road from this (slightly expensive, but very good) bistro and it's always been one of his favourites. I always love the salads, and we always share the deliciously simple linguine as an entree. The restaurant has had it's ups and downs, but on this visit the meal and service were both great. 

Eat / Echoes, Katoomba - We had dinner here as part of our Blue Mountains weekend. I thought the food was good but not spectacular. If you're keen to go, I'd say do it at lunchtime when you can see the view (which apparently is spectacular). 

Eat / Sailors Thai Canteen, The Rocks - The more casual cousin to Sailors Thai, we went here for a post-theatre dinner of green curry and papaya salad. So delicious. And it made me realise that all the fancy French food and mod-Oz is great, but it's the good Asian meals I really, really get excited about these days. (See also, Longrain). 

Eat / Various - I had a decent red velvet cupcake (they're hard to come by) at Ghermez Cupcakes, Bondi Junction; a good coffee (also hard to come by, in Sydney at least) at Chrysler Cafe Bar, Sydney; and a fine (if unexceptional) breakfast at Indigo, Double Bay. 

Wow, we ate a LOT in Sydney!

Stay / Lilianfels, Katoomba - A hotel with a ye olde feel, spectacular location and decent food. And tennis courts, which we made good use of. And by 'good' I mean we used it more than once. And played appallingly. Considering the rooms, service and location it's the best place we've stayed in at the Blue Mountains. Sometimes in the hills you find that hotels translate 'ye olde feel' as 'we don't need to do building maintenance or provide any modern services or conveniences; but we'll still charge you as if we are'. But Lilianfels was not like this at all. Plus it had fabulous wallpaper, which counts for a lot in my books. 

Stay / Blue, Woolloomooloo - I like this hotel a lot. I like the way they've treated the old wharf building, and melded it into a hotel. I love the location (especially when I'm on my own, it feels a bit less intense than staying in the city). I love the sparkly blue water, the neighbourhood and the fact that it's only a short stroll to the gallery, Opera House and city. And I really like the service (so responsive it's a little spooky...). I like that as a Tablet+ member I get free internet and breakfast when I stay here. I like that it's (relatively) reasonably priced for such a nice hotel. But I don't like the thin walls and windows, because (call me crazy) I don't like hearing my hotel neighbours cheering as they watch the footy on the TV, or the drunken pub goers across the road. Fix that and this would be perfection. (ps. If you ever stay here make sure you check out the intriguing Artspace gallery space across the road.)

See / Eat / Stay : Melbourne +

Oh me oh my things are busy right now aren't they? I'd say I'm barely keeping my head above water but actually I think my head is under water. And I'm using a straw as a snorkel... Anyhoo, onwards and upwards! 

Welcome to the inaugural See / Eat / Stay post. I travel a lot but I'm not really a Travel Blogger, I'm more of a Travel Slide Shower (but at least I do it on the web so you can quietly leave the room when you're bored and I won't get offended). 

I'll probably never be a Travel Blogger, but I do do lots of fun stuff in lots of places. The See / Eat / Stay posts are about sharing some of that information with you, in bite sized form. And maybe they'll help you find some fun things for yourself if you're heading to Melbourne or Sydney or Hong Kong or Wherever? 

Okay, so here's what I got up to during my week in Melbourne (and surrounds). 

*************

See / Cape Schanck Lighthouse - Mum and I headed down to the Mornington Penninsula for a night, and chanced upon a beautiful blue sky day. We visited the Cape Schanck Lighthouse, quite a spectacular part of the coast with lots of (poorly signed but well maintained) walkways and paths to explore. We also found out you can stay at the cottages at the Lighthouse - how great would that be?

See / Lamington Drive - I managed to pop in to this great gallery just in time to catch the end of 'A Hidden Place', the gorgeous exhibition featuring colabs by my sister and Kat Mcleod. Loved the show and the space. Regardless of whatever exhibition is on they have loads of ace affordable prints for sale (and some amazing terrariums too). 

See / Maiike Store, Hawthorn - (I'd call it Kew, but apparently it's Hawthorn so...) This is kind of the area I grew up in - the east of Melbourne - and I get a bit excited when I see hip new retail pop up here. This shop is really wonderful - a gorgeous mix of locally designed clothing, handmade toys and blankets, and carefully curated international labels (like Donna Wilson). I could have taken one of everything if my bank account / suitcase would have coped. 

See / Markit @ Fed Square - I always love it when one of my visits home coincides with a great market, and this trip I was pretty excited to be able to finally check Markit out. It's a craft market that has a reputation for quality and it didn't disappoint. I picked up a few goodies, including these cards of awesome by Madeleine Stamer (my new illustration / colour crush), printspace (clean, happy designs) and hannakin (a new find for me, the quirkiest cards you ever did see!). The next Markit is happening in November.

Eat / Kumo Izakaya, Brunswick East - I've eaten here a few times and it's always delicious. And I love the decor. And the uber hip, slightly eccentric waiter that I seem to get every time I go. I highly recommend starting with a umeshu and soda. Or two. And get the beef tataki. They also cater very well to those of you with food allergies (I know you're out there), with separate menus for dairy, wheat, gluten, etc, free dishes. 

Eat / Omah's, Hawthorn - I had lunch with my Dad at this Malaysian restaurant in Hawthorn. We picked it at random, but it turned out to be a fine choice! Good service, nice decor and it was pretty damn tasty (although I am both laksa obsessed and laksa deprived so I may not have been the most discerning judge...). 

Eat / T'Gallant, Main Ridge - On our Mornington Peninsula sojourn we stopped by T'Gallant wineries for lunch. Tasty! (The glass of pinot gris was especially so!). 

Eat / Albert St Food & Wine, Brunswick - Another awesome thing about this trip was that I was in town for my nephew's 10th birthday (you miss a lot of birthdays living overseas...). Being the first double digit birthday, my sister wanted to do something a bit special, so we took him out for a fancy meal. Great food, and really great service. This has gone on my 'must take the husband to' list.

Stay / Mum's House, Kew - Ummm. I wouldn't recommend this. Unless you are me. But for me it works. This is the house I grew up in, and it's full of little reminders of childhood fun times (see that rainbow wallpaper behind my Mum's pile of scarves? From memory my sister and I chose this for the room when we shared it. Pretty awesome, yes?). It's in desperate need of a ton of maintenance. Actually, it's in desperate need of a major renovation. But, it still has the same calming welcoming feel it had when I was a kid and I always sleep like a relaxed log when I stay there!

*The photo at the very top of the post was taken as I was coming in to land rather early on a crisp Melbourne morning. That glowing blob you see is actually the moon! The sun was rising on the other side of the plane, turning the sky the most amazing colours. Was quite a gorgeous way to be welcomed home!

Duck!

Right now I'm in Melbourne, soaking up the Autumn sunshine and enjoying the food/friend/family merry-go-round that is a visit home. On my way here last Friday I had short transit in hot and humid Hong Kong. Hong Kong is such a great city to transit in - baggage handling, immigration and transport is all so efficient that even with only a few hours you can squeeze in some fun stuff. 

I had seven hours between flights, so I trekked into Central and had a pedicure (as you do). And then set about hunting down the giant rubber duck. Most of you will have seen this big yellow guy about the internets, he's by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman and he's travelled about the world a bit.* 

I am a little obsessed with over-sized things, so I was pretty determined to see Mr Duck. And apparently I wasn't alone - if you're lucky enough to see the duck for yourself be prepared for a chaotic mess of people trying to have their photos taken with him. It was so busy and crowded. And hot. And sweaty. But, worth it. He's the happiest piece of art I've ever seen floating on a harbour!

If you're willing to brave the crowds the duck is just outside Harbour City in Kowloon. I think he's there for another week or so.

*Apparently the duck was in Sydney Harbour at one point and I knew nothing about it. Which made me think someone should event an app where you input your interests (say 'big things' or 'outdoor sculpture shows' or 'Japanese bluegrass music'), and the cities you frequent (Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong would be mine right now), and then you get sent alerts for events that might interest you. That would be ace, yes? 

*************

ps. Thank you for all the really lovely responses to my last post! It's always reassuring to hear I'm not alone in feeling such a mix of emotions... The good news is this visit home has got me super excited about the move again - hurrah! 

Oh and also - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYKE! xox

The Six Emotions of Repatriation* (so far)

Emotion 1 - Excitement 

Finally! You get confirmation that the move back home (that's been a possibly, maybe for the past six months) is definite, it's happening! And although the move is still many months away you feel joy, excitement, elation. 'I'm going home!' you think. Back to good restaurants and shoes that fit me and English speakers and lamb, delicious lamb and my family, my sister and my nephews, and well priced delicious wine and trips to the beach with the dogs and friends, old and new, and clean air and, and, and! You think 'life is going to be easy again!'. 

Emotion 2 - Fear 

You think 'life is going to be easy again.' You realise that you love living abroad, being a stranger. You love the day to day challenges; the living in blissful ignorance, not speaking English for days on end. You love the apartment you've been living in for 3+ years; it feels like home. 

On a trip back to Australia you walk down Pitt Street Mall in Sydney, trying to really imagine living in this city again, and all you can think is that it feels like a small country town. Quiet, isolated, remote. And you are not special there. You think 'is this the end of adventure? Is my life just going to be a comfortable beige blur from now on?'. 

And then you think about the move a bit more and you realise that you can't use visa restrictions and language barriers as an excuse any more, people are going to expect you to get out there and do something with your life. Which scares you. 

And then there's the uncertainty, the questions. Where can I find 4 dollar soupy noodles in Sydney? (I'm pretty sure the answer is - nowhere). How will we manage 'co-parenting' when everyone's living in the same city, the same country? Will I go to parent-teacher night? How will I get my fix of cheap, cute stationery? How will I cope with shop assistants talking to me, in English? Does the husband really expect me to do the ironing? You fear the big stuff - becoming stagnant; changing roles and relationships - and you fear the little stuff. 

Emotion 3 - Regret 

You realise the move really is on and time is running out, and a strange thing happens. All those things that were driving you completely crazy about Korea (or insert-your-expat-country-name-here), those things that had you weeping with frustration, they disappear. Suddenly all you notice is how breathtakingly pretty the city looks in Spring, how much you love kim chi, how great the shopping is. You notice how comfortable you feel in your neighbourhood - even though you'll never look like a local, you feel kind of like a local. And even though logically you know all the (very valid) reasons why you made the decision to move back home, emotionally you feel a sort of soft regret. 

And you think of all those weekend trips to places that are (relatively) short hops away (Kyoto, Suzhou, to name two) that you never took. The road trips, the city excursions, the hikes. The craft and cooking classes. The blog posts you never wrote...time is running out. 

Emotion 4 - Panic 

As the move looms closer, you start to panic. Panic at the thought of all that stuff (oh, so much stuff!) that needs to be moved across oceans. Bouts of de-cluttering follow. With a slightly manic glint in your eye, you throw out whole boxes of scrap paper, a stack of DVDs you'll never watch again and a broken faux-Meccano roller coaster. You try to get the step-sons enthused about the process, but instead the youngest one just holds up a single piece of crumpled paper and asks 'soooo...do you think I should keep this?'. 

Then you start thinking about the actual move, and panic turns to stress. Yes there's the packing and unpacking, but there's also the disconnecting and connecting (phone, internet, gas, water, DTV...). And what do you do with the goldfish? And the pot plants? Then there's the transporting of dachshunds; the finding of doctors and dentists and waxers. And vets. Oh, and you need to find somewhere to live, for a little while, until you can move in to what will be your Home (yes, with a capital 'H'). And you realise when it comes to quality short term accommodation Sydney is the worst. And pet friendly? No way. 

Emotion 5 - Depression 

So you realise that for the first few months after the move you're probably going to be living in a soulless apartment that's over your budget. And the dogs, your dogs, will be spending time in quarantine and maybe then living at a boarding kennel. And everything will feel, will be, temporary. Again. 

And then something little happens, just an everyday frustration, and it's enough to push you over the edge. And you realise you may have just yelled at some poor customer service person, or maybe you're sitting at your computer with tears in your eyes and your not quite sure why. You realise it's because you don't actually deal very well with uncertainty, and everything, everything is uncertain right now. 

Time for a stroll in the sunshine, a good meal, a good book, a glass of wine. Some pom pom making. Time for a deep breath. 

Emotion 6 - Acceptance 

You remember all that management training about circle of influence / circle of concern. You realise you cannot control everything, and that actually that's part of what you've loved about living overseas. You write a list and start working on what you can, and let go of what you can't. You start cramming in all those city excursions and blog posts. You make plans for next year, for when you are Home; things you want to achieve that could not have been possible whilst you were living abroad. You get excited about the possibilities again. And you realise that no, it's not the end of adventure. That it's the start of something new. And just like the past 6 years it will be both wonderful and mundane. 

*************

*Is it just me or is repatriation a really ugly word? It kind of sounds like a medical procedure or some sort of 'enhanced interrogation' technique...

Buddha's Birthday : Jogyesa

Jogyesa (조게사) is the largest Buddhist temple in Seoul, so come Buddha's Birthday and the Lotus Lantern Festival it's a hive of colour and activity. I didn't manage to get to the temple at night, to capture all the lanterns lit up, but I did manage to be at the temple just when everyone was prepping for the big lantern parade. (If it sounds like this was planned, it wasn't at all - I just blindly, happily stumbled upon it.) 

So as well as all that gorgeous colour from the lanterns, there was also a wonderful atmosphere of muted excitement and barely organised chaos - a bit like being back stage just before the curtain goes up. 

At the entrance were queues of Korean ladies in beautiful hanboks waiting to be given their lanterns (and then later, wrestling with them as they seemed determined not to stay on their hooks). Then, just next to the temple, people with hangul lanterns in all different colours and a man with a megaphone trying to get them into some kind of order. And further on, under the white lanterns, groups of school kids in traditional dress and a monk or three getting them in a row. And a man on a cherry picker, who slowly moved up and down, placing wishes on the lanterns hanging overhead. And amongst it all people saying their blessings, going about their rituals.

Buddha's Birthday : Cheonggye Stream

Yesterday was the Buddha's Birthday holiday in Seoul, which means a three day weekend and hours of traffic for anyone crazy enough to try and leave the city. It also means that for the past few weeks parts of Seoul have been festooned with lanterns. 

The lanterns are quite simple really, nothing fancy, but en masse and in such gorgeously bright colours they have quite a magical effect. It helps that - whilst the date varies year to year - the Buddha's Birthday generally coincides with the mass of fresh green growth and colourful blooms that mark Spring in Seoul. 

Cheonggye Stream looks especially wonderful at this time of year. The stream is such a vibrant public space in all seasons, but now that the weather is warming up it's even more so. Crowds of people stroll along in the sunshine, jostling for prime photography positions (it was getting pretty dangerous on the stepping stones at one point!); office workers take a coffee break in the shade of the many bridges; kids throw off their shoes and dip their feet in the cool water as little silvery fish swim by. All in the heart of the city! File this under 'things I will miss about Korea'.

Collecting Colours : Green + Pink

So fresh, so bright, so happy! Pink and green is all about sweetness and light and happy times yes? It seems to fit perfectly with the mood in Seoul right now. I'd forgotten how breathtakingly pretty the city can be when Spring hits. 

Around every corner there's stunning bursts of green, fresh new leaves; there's purple azaleas blooming en masse, and pots full of pansies and violas in a rainbow of colours. Add to that blue skies (when it's not smoggy...sigh), a warm breeze and the festivities surrounding Buddha's Birthday and it's a pretty magical time of year. I hope these diptychs capture just a little part of that.

Number two is my favourite, which one is yours?

* * * * * * *

Every month through 2013 I'll be 'collecting colours', and you can join in too! Just create something, anything based on the colour pair for each month. Link up below, Instagram, Tweet and/or add your photo to the Flickr group here. You can go here to get all the information you need.  

UPPERCASE : Stationery Around The World (Yay!)

Issue 17 of UPPERCASE came out recently which was rather exciting for two reasons: One, it's an entire issue dedicated to stationery (swoon!). And two, I contributed to it! I wrote a little piece on South Korean stationery for the 'around the world' feature, and took a bunch of photos of my (ever growing) stationery stash! Yay! 

UPPERCASE is one of my absolute favourite magazines. It's always full of ace things made by interesting and inspiring people, and it's beautifully produced - the paper stock (a magazine needs to feel good in your hands, don't you think?), the fonts, the layouts.  So I was kind of overjoyed to be asked to contribute something. It was also a good reminder that I should get involved more often - it really is a magazine that thrives on the input of their readers. Maybe you might want to participate too? 

I'm yet to get my hands on a copy but from all the previews I've seen it looks like a pretty amazing issue (there's a copy waiting for me when I head to Melbourne later this month, can't wait to see it!). You can read a bit more about the issue here. Oh, and if you're looking to subscribe or renew I have a code for $10 off - just get in touch and I'll pass it on.

(with thanks to Beci, aka sister of awesome aka proof reader extraordinaire!)

Death by Doxie : Hounds On The Couch (Elfi's Over It)

See that look Elfi's shooting my way? That's the look she gives me when she wants me to put the camera away. It's kind of saying 'Yeah, I'm cute. But enough's enough. Stop with the photo taking and come pat me instead'. I ignore her, of course.