Melbourne

Melbourne is a great city. It has quiet an European touch with its laneways and trams and you can get great coffee and food at the many great cafes and restaurants there. I had just two days to explore the city but thanks to the many tips I got they helped me to find some nice places.

#1 Melbourne and its trams

#2 Chapel Street Bazaar in Prahran is the place to find anything you missed out to buy one at fleamarket..they have really everything, vintage jewellery, clothes, ceramic, furniture....

#3 Breakfast at Arcadia in Fitzroy. Muesli w. berries and yoghurt

#4 One of the vintage stores in Fitzroy. Around Brunswick/Gertrude/Swanston/George Street there are so many tiny stores and cafe. Great to spend time there. Thanks for the tip Christine :)

#5/6 We had dinner at Movida Next Door. Amazing tapas and try their sheep milk cheesecake with strawberries!

#7 Oh I am in love with the Australian skies

#8 At the Ron Mueck exhibition which was great

#9 Impressive sculptures

#10 The two old ladies were my favourite

#11 Just STAY

Hope you are all well

/Maria

Sydney

It is getting Autumn here in Australia, which is weird to imagine for a European girl as the temperatures are still so high that it could be easily Summer. And also weird because we had this long and tough Winter this year so is good that it will become Spring when I am back to the Northern Hemisphere next week.

We have been to Sydney and Melbourne last week and it has been great. Two beautiful cities which were so much fun to explore.

I was enjoying the sun, the walks through Sydney and especially enjoyed the houses and fences in Surry Hills which you can tell on the pictures I took..There are so many nice places you could have good food and coffee at, like the Bourke Street Bakery which seems to be an institution in Sydney or Kawa Cafe on Crown Street for a nice relaxed coffee while the afternoon sun is shining.

We also catched up with friends and had an amazing dinner at Din Tai Fung. Their dumplings are incredibly good and it is a must to go when you are in Sydney.

I hope you all are having a great Sunday...I will post a few images from the great time we had in Melbourne in a couple of days.

// Maria

weekend

Just a view more images from our weekend...

We had really good food, relaxed in the shade of the sun while reading, I had my very first fresh passionfruit - which was so good, found two nice little cups in an op-shop, which made me happy...

.....Oh and we went to see the 'Dirty Projectors' which was a pretty nice concert....

Thanks for all your sweet comments about my first week here....

You know sometimes time goes by so fast when you work and you wonder when a new month starts where all the days have been...the last week was the opposite...it seems I can remember every minute...and it makes me so happy..

I look so much forward to the next two weeks here...

Have a great Monday

Maria

The first week

It is exactly one week since I am here in Fremantle/Western Australia.

What a great week I had.

Felt the sun on my bare feet.

We made delicious pizza in the pizza oven.

Went for a swim in the Indian Ocean at 8.30 in the morning and I loved it so much.

Enjoyed every bit of sun, I am not a big lying-in-the-sun-at-the-beach-person but I love the brightness of it.

Had toasted fruit bread with butter and yogurt and fruits for breakfast. Hmmm...

Painted teapots with Will's wonderful mom in her studio. They are about to get burned and I can't wait to put the second colour layer on them.

Went on a road trip Down South to Bunker Bay. We drove through mystic looking forests, have been at the most beautiful beaches, got amazing fresh-baked bread from a German baker down there and also went to Leeuwin Lighthouse where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean and listened to great music while being down there.

I had a fantastic week with so many wonderful and unforgettable moments. About which I will write later.

We will be in Sydney and Melbourne next week and I look really forward to being there, catching up with friends, having good food and just a wonderful time.

Hope you are all well.

Maria

The counting has an end

It has been a very sunny day today. And I just love when you go out the door in the morning, feel the sun and also see how much it can change everything...I guess we just had way too little sun this Winter which is why I appreciate every single minute of it.

But I was also pretty happy because my little countdown is coming to its end...

The clothes piles are ready, cameras and films are packed, the ipod filled with some good music and I am quiet excited about tomorrow when a plane and me in it, will take off flying to Australia.

I look so much forward to being there...not just to take pictures, enjoy the amazing blue skies and the sun, but most of all to see a certain person....

If anyone has some good tips for Melbourne or Sydney, I would love to read about your favourite places...

A 23h trip is waiting for me...and I should better get some sleep..

Good night

Maria

...

A view more images from my Saturday.

I have been to my favourite book store to have a little look, I really like the rough, black floor they have there.

On my way back I passed this nice tiled entrance and also Zoe's -a cozy couch bar. It looks so great when the old lamp with their big shades are switched on in the evening and the people sit there like in their own living room, having a chat and a little drink..

On the not so nice side of this weekend; I got my bike stolen.

I am really sad about it as I just can't imagine who would do such a thing and why. It was not fancy at all, just a white, little rusty, even a bit flat, fleamarket bike...I couldn't believe it when it was not at the place I locked it...well...what can you do...I was looking through my picture files and found this polaroid with it.

It is the first day of March today...and it will be a good month...