Have a great New Year!

Hello everyone, I have had a little break from WordPress in December but that will be coming to an end the moment 2020 hits. I have a plan, I have lots I want to see and do and I want to hang out with you all. I have missed you.

2019 has been fun. I spent the beginning of it overheating in a Brisbane summer…

Followed by a colder winter working in Melbourne.

Now, spending Christmas and New Year exploring London.

I am really excited for 2020, but in this post I want to thank you all for helping make the last 12 months so enjoyable. Blogging has helped me get through hard times and helped me find what I enjoy in life. Writing, photography and exploring the world. Your support and interest in my blog has motivated me more that I can put down in words and for that I will try my best to deliver interesting posts for as long as I can. Thank you all so, so much.

I will keep this short, as I am sure many of you have better plans this evening than to read this. I hope you all have a fantastic New Years Eve and a great start to 2020. Happy New Year to those that have already seen it hit midnight, and I am thinking of you all in Australia with those wild fires. We are seeing it on the news constantly and it looks awful. My thoughts are with you all in the country I have called home for the past two years.

Stay safe everyone, be the best person you can be in 2020 and don’t let the year go to waste!!

Thank you for being amazing!!

I guess this is what being thirty looks like…

I have never been one to attend a theater production on my own accord, only going along with people that wanted to and this was mainly as a child. This evening was no different as I was given two free tickets from my general manager to see the performance Come From Away, an award winning show about stranded passengers after the attacks on September 11th 2001.

The official website has this to say about the production.

COME FROM AWAY tells the remarkable true story of thousands of stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland, Canada that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships.

Given the nature of the story, it was surprisingly upbeat and humorous. But without spoiling it it focuses on the passengers more than the event itself.

I took a friend along, we went to China Bar for food beforehand on Swanston Street as this is very convenient before or after an event. No reservations and open 24 hours meaning you are guaranteed a good meal not matter how late. Melbourne is such a great food city too, I am certainly going to miss it when I leave.

And that first Corona went down a treat. We realised that we still had quite a bit of time left before the theater opened it’s doors, so we went to another favorite of mine, Fathers Office. This bar does a great happy hour from 5-7pm and 8-10pm, and we squeezed a couple more beers in before the show. I am not sure how wise this was as we seemed to forget we weren’t going to a rock concert, but we managed to keep it civilized.

In fact, this is the bar I posted about not too long ago when a group of us unintentionally ended up in a divorce party. You can read about here.

The theater isn’t the biggest, so everyone had a great view close to the performance. Obviously we were told not to record during it so my photos end here. It wasn’t a long show (which I was concerned about as I find it hard to sit still for too long), and without an intermission.

Pro tip: Take two glasses of the inevitably expensive wine to see you through. Security isn’t as strict as it is in a bar…

Now we were the youngest in there by- actually that’s the thing. Not by a lot. The young ladies next to us were only a few years older, and I am worried that we fit right in. And I enjoyed it, so I guess this is who I am now.

Have any of you heard of this performance or even seen it? I believe a portion of the play has been performed live on TV shows to help promote it, so it is quite well known. I would recommend this to anyone into theater and those in Melbourne whilst it is here.

The website has a cool page with a world map, people have stopped by and marked where they are from around the world. It was cool to see someone from my city back home and how widespread the markers are.

See who is from your city, and if there isn’t one there, get tagging! 😉

 

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Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

New to this site? Click here to visit my About My Blog section and Travel Diary

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.

Cheers!

Sam

 

Memorial Street Art

I found this piece of street art on the side of a building, down a side street in Melbourne’s suburb of Windsor not too long ago. I wasn’t able to find out who the art was dedicated to until now so I thought I would do a post about it.

I tried to search the persons name in Google but I wasn’t sure of the spelling, until I found this article- Spray it with love: R.I.P. street art. Here it talks about Adam Bonnici, who tragically lost his brother Simon Bonnici in a bike accident in Bali in 2013, the date shown on the wall. Simon was 30 at the time. The name and dates match this, and a motorbike can also be seen in the mural. Along with the bike, Simon’s beloved pet dog Raffy is also seen.

According to the article the artist wishes to remain anonymous, which was the reason it took a little longer to identify the person in the art. The art really stood out for me as Simon’s face is the standout feature of the piece, closest to the pavement.

It is a reminder that life is fragile, and that we should always respect others as we don’t know what they are going through and who they have lost. I am pleased I was finally able to find out a little more about this and the person it was dedicated to.

Rest in peace to Simon.

 

The library that was too heavy…

There is a library on Swantson Street that met a very sad fate. It sank right into the street below however it isn’t all bad, some of it remains to remind us that it is possible to fill a library with too many books.

At least that is one of the stories. It is called Architectural Fragment and designed by Petrus Spronk, part of the Swanston Walk Public Art Project. This info taken from visitmelbourne.com

I have walked by it multiple times however as everything was so new for me until recently, I didn’t really give it a second glance. But a few days back I gave it a proper look and realized it was giving the illusion of a sinking building. It looks very cool that’s for sure.

Despite it not being an actual ruin it is still a shame to see mindless graffiti on it. That and the countless people passing by not giving it attention as it becomes submerged makes it seem like a building that was once grand and dominant in the city, now a victim of time. A fate libraries may indeed face with audio books and the like.

What are your thoughts on this piece of art?

 

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Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

New to this site? Click here to visit my About My Blog section and Travel Diary

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.

Cheers!

Sam

Melbourne CBD from the Yarra River

If the weather is good, I want to make the most of it. And even though we’re in winter here in Melbourne it has been pretty nice the past couple days. Before work I decided to unwind by doing a slow lap of the river, and here are some shots looking at the skyline as the sun was going down. The city looks great underneath a blue sky.

Happy Monday everyone!

 

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Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

New to this site? Click here to visit my About My Blog section and Travel Diary

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.

Cheers!

Sam

Because free hugs were so 2018…

I found this guy very kindly offering insults for the bargain price of $1 today, outside of Flinders Street Station. If the world needs more of something, it has got to be insults…

Or maybe we need more people able to take offence. As Rocky famously said, it isn’t about how hard we hit. It is about how hard we can get hit and keep moving forward. What stops us at times is our decision to find things offensive instead of realising it is a waste of time even acknowledging it. As long as we are moving forward, everything else is irrelevant.

Like regrets, we should focus on the future and not what has already been said and done. The past may be the reason we are where we are, but we can use this moment to keep moving, or turn around and try and get back to that past which isn’t possible.

I say keep moving!

 

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Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

New to this site? Click here to visit my About My Blog section and Travel Diary

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.

Cheers!

Sam

Well that’s just a shame…

I thought I bagged a window seat, and I did. Just without the window.

Luckily there was noone behind so I could recline like there was no tomorrow. 

That’s the thing with short haul, budget airlines, I rely heavily on the view out the window. The lack of wifi gives me limited options however with something to gaze out to, the ride is that little bit better.

And back to Melbourne it is.

I wonder how many people make it in time…

I am not sure if this is a British saying or if it is more worldwide, but we say you ‘break the seal’ when you go to the toilet once and then need to go after every drink.

This is a great bar, but one that you need to give yourself plenty of warning for before that urge hits.

I made it.

This time…

 

 

 

A different perspective

Flinders Street Station is probably one of the best looking buildings in Melbourne, day or night. As I was walking by I had to take a snap of it looking a lot more lonesome without the crazy amount of people that use it every day.

 

Night gives a new perspective on a lot of things. As the light fades so does the sounds of civilization, in place the sounds of nocturnal wildlife and empty trams. I enjoy my walks from work as I see two different sides to Melbourne, or any city for that matter. I feel we all need to have differing perspectives on things to gain a better perspective altogether.

Travel Diary: Finally visiting Melbourne’s Winter Market

I honestly reside a two minute walk from this market. And ever since I arrived in Melbourne I have heard the same ‘why haven’t you visited Queen Victoria Market yet?!’, and it is a question I have asked myself a lot too.

Maybe the fact that it is right on my doorstep has given me less urgency. Maybe it is because I have been doing a lot of morning shifts at work. I don’t know. But now that the winter markets are taking place every Wednesday evening I decided to take a very quick look for myself.

I will warn you, it was very quick.

As I was walking up to it I could sense the scale of it. The smoke escaping the tent from the various meat stalls, the sound of the live band playing and chatter of hundreds of people enjoying their mulled wine and finger foods. That and the neon signs pointing to the entrance and various stalls made this a very exciting and inviting first impression.

I mean it was packed. There was enough room around the market to find space to stop and eat your chosen grub, and seating didn’t seem to much of an issue. The first thing I did was head to the bar, what else gets you more in the mood for food than beer?

In fact, the queue was that short I didn’t even have time to snap a picture of it before being asked my order. I grabbed a pale ale and did a lap of the floor. Here is what I found.

Firstly, meat. Lots of meat.

The smells were amazing. And it was an obvious choice looking at the lines, usually a good indicator as to how good the food is going to be. IMPORTANT RULE: Always trust the locals. Although I am unsure as to how many of the people here are locals with this being such a popular venue.

I kept walking around and almost got knocked over by this silent disco train…. I have seen these a couple of times wandering through the streets in Melbourne, the last one was a hen party. Must be something you can hire… Have you seen this in your city?

The looked like they were having a good time.

 

I need to come here during the daytime, I have seen many pictures from this position and the skyline makes for an impressive backdrop.

Thanks to the guy in the hi-vis below for providing the light.

Melted cheese anyone?

And of course, there were vegetarian and vegan options, although I am not sure how much choice there was as I didn’t really look out for them. The below stall is one with vegan choices, I am sure this was food stuffed into a pineapple. It looked very different, but very good.

What would the world be without live music? I don’t want to know.

 

 

Now this was a very quick run through of the market, as I had a busy night ahead of me and needed to meet friends from both Sydney and my work on the opposite side of the CBD. However as I got there quite late, things were wrapping up anyway. I then noticed this huge parting of the crowds in front of me, which I assumed was the grand finale of some sort. The lights moved around on the floor like a nightclub, the music was pretty dramatic as if we were expecting a close encounter with the third kind.

As everyone held their breath in anticipation….

Actually, that was it. It led to a bit of confusion as it was a bit of an anti-climax, loud music, lights all concentrated onto this small patch of ground that people circled, maybe I was late and missed all the fun. But it all stopped and we all started walking again. Picture it like a crosswalk basically. An overly dramatic crosswalk.

 

Now as this was a very brief tour I aim to go again very soon. I also aim to do the day market too and see what this has to offer. However this was a very fun run around and I would recommend anyone in Melbourne to take a look, whether during the day or winter market. Look out for another post from here in the near future!!

Winter Market: Every Wednesday 5pm-10pm, 5th June- 28th August.

Website: thenightmarket.com.au

Queen Victoria Market:

Thursday- 6am- 2pm

Friday- 6am- 5pm

Saturday- 6am-3pm

Sunday- 9am-4pm

Monday- Closed

Tuesday- 6am- 2pm

Wednesday- Closed

Website: qvm.com.au

 

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Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page. Also please feel free to connect on the following links:

About My Blog

Travel Diary 

Instagram

Happy blogging,

Sam