Confounding, Beguiling, and Inspiring in Equal Measure
On my last day in Bondi the weather turned around and the sun finally showed up. I took the opportunity to walk the coastal route from Bondi to Coogee and back. I’ve included some recommendations below for a stay in the area.
Stay: QT Bondi (any room with a balcony)
Eat: Three Blue Ducks (Bronte), Iggy’s Bread (Bronte), Lox in a Box (Bondi)
Coffee: Gertrude & Alice (Bondi)
Sydney Opera House
Capturing a building covered in people that has been photographed millions of times was quite the challenge. What really struck me about the Sydney Opera House was the sheer size and unique geometry of the building. The 10 curved shells of the Sydney Opera House cling to the edge of Circular Quay as though ready to set sail in to Port Jackson. Each new angle reveals a different shape; seashell, armour plating, succulent, sail boat, and exotic fruit. A simple shape that revealed itself in many different ways.
Stay — Ocean Luxury House
Coffee — Moons Licensed Espresso Bar, Wye General Store
Food — Airey’s Pub, The Bottle of Milk
Melbourne is a city that I did not expect to love. I never really considered going to Australia, it always felt like a far-away version of Canada. Now I’m always telling skeptics, “You must go! I have recommendations!” And while the Victorian era architecture may look weathered, the city’s young entrepreneurs have done an incredible job reinventing the 19th-century spaces in to hip cafes, restaurants, and theatres.
The ideas below are in no-way comprehensive but rather an abbreviated list of personal favourites.
It’s a bad time to be travelling anywhere. In fact you should ideally be social distancing in your home according to expert advice. But what if you are trying to come home and your flights keep getting cancelled (airlines dropping routes, countries banning entry, etc)? In my recent experience I spent 17.5 hours in Hong Kong, a city that has kept everything open, with the exception of some safety measures to minimize transfer of any coronavirus’.
If you’re looking to unwind away from the chaos of Central and experience traditional Hong Kong life, TUVE’s location in Tin Hau is ideal. Only one MTR stop away from Times Square the boutique hotel is tucked away on a quiet street and offers a thoughtfully designed stay. The use of warm, raw materials in its decor such as dark wood panels across its walls creates an inviting feel to the hotel. Light spills through the large windows casting ethereal beams across the marble flooring.
The newly renovated Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade provides a perfect view of the light show across the harbour in Central. During non-COVID times this area also has buskers performing and can be a lively place to spend some time. Walk along the promenade until you reach the ferry terminal and take the Star Ferry to Central. As one of them most iconic excursions in the world, the Star Ferry is certainly worth the HKD $2 ($0.40 CAD). The Star Ferry has watched over the transformation of the Hong Kong skyline since the 1880’s and only takes 5 minutes to cross Victoria Harbour.
Walk over to Pier #3 (Discovery Bay) where the pop-up Beer Shop appears in the evenings. Here you can avoid the chaos of LKF and enjoy the view across the harbour in a quaint environment.
After beers, it only makes sense to eat delicious burgers and fries so head up the stairs to Shake Shack (IFC level 4) and grab a Smoke Shack burger — save room for dessert in the form of the Hong Kong exclusive Milk Tea Shake.
Happy quarantining!
