Off to Perth in December!

Just as I'm still recovering from my wonderful Melbourne trip and trying very hard to retrieve that missing part of me that's still left behind in the beautiful city, I had just booked my family flights to Perth from 3 - 11 December!  Woohoo....what an awesome year of Aussie trips!  :)

The main reason for going to Perth is of course to get a well-deserved family holiday after our last trip to Bali in end 2012, and secondly to give Eponine a pat on the back for working so hard for her PSLE.  Another major reason is to meet Gary's uncle in Perth to discuss options for our Aussie migration, which we've been pondering and procrastinating for the past few years.

Perth is Australia's sunniest city in Western Australia, with beautiful and pristine beaches, inner city parks and exciting outback adventures.  I've been reading up about Perth over the past few days, and have generated a list of destinations we would like to visit:

Fremantle

Fremantle is a 19th century port town and Fishing Boat Harbour offering all the delights of modern cafe culture, just 20-minute drive from Perth's city centre.  Situated at the mouth of the Swan River, this multi-cultural city has a charm of its own, with its world-famous heritage buildings and a fascinating maritime and convict history.  Some attractions include the Fremantle Prison, WA Maritime Museum and the Roundhouse.  History aside, it hosts the Fremantle Markets, one of the city’s most iconic and visited places, where over 150 stalls selling a wide variety of goods such as handmade soaps, souvenirs, local artworks, jewellery and exquisite antiques and collectables can be found.  Fremantle is also home to Western Australia’s only waterside market, the E Shed Markets on Victoria Quay and the Mad Hatter Markets in Kings Square.  For arts lovers, the Fremantle Arts Centre is a place not be missed, as it presents a carefully sourced selection of Western Australian art, craft, books and design objects and a host of music events.  The Cappuccino Strip is legendary for its many outdoor cafes and restaurant, great for food lovers.

Swan Valley/Darling Range

This region houses vineyards of Western Australia's oldest wine region and it would be interesting to go on a wine & food trail to sample their fruits and wines, feast on award-winning local produce, discover local heritage and relax in the natural bushland of the Darling Range.  Just 25 minutes east of Perth, we can reach it by road, or take the scenic route aboard a Swan River cruise from Perth's Barrack Street Jetty.  Besides a gastronomy experience, the kids would enjoy Caversham Wildlife Park - home to one of Western Australia's largest collections of native Australian wildlife where close encounters with koalas, wombats, kangaroos and a whole array of farm animals can be found.

Margaret River

Margaret River is 280km south of Perth, which takes approximately three hours by car. It is another haven for wine & food lovers and recognised as one of the world's best fine wine regions, with over 150 wine producers and many cellars offering free wine tastings.  This marriage of world-class wines and fine, fresh produce makes dining out in Margaret River a gastronomical delight. For the adventurous, the region offers some of the most unique and stunning cave experiences in Australia.  Along the spine of the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge and beneath soaring karri forest lie more than 150 caves including the famous Lake, Mammoth, Jewel and Moondyne Caves.  It is also a boutique shopper's dream where eclectic shops selling clothes, souvenirs, gifts, books, gourmet food items, vintage accessories are found tucked around every corner. 

Wheatbelt/Wave Rock (Golden Outback)

The Western Australian Wheatbelt is home to the world-famous Wave Rock, as well as character townships, miles of golden fields, charming rural farms and great outback self-drive adventures.  It is about a four-hour drive east of Perth, along the Brookton Highway. Wave Rock, near Hyden is the most recognised tourist attraction in the region – an amazing rock formation stretching 100 metres and standing 15 metres high in the shape of a giant wave about to crash over the surrounding bush. Great photo opportunities await!

Rottnest Island 

Famous for its laid back atmosphere and beautiful beaches, Rottnest Island lies just 18 kilometres offshore from Perth surrounded by the sparkling Indian Ocean. This is where the locals go to swim, boat, surf, snorkel, fish and relax in its 63 beaches. Besides the water and coastal fun, this island hosts other interesting activities such as walking tours and trails to learn about the island's rich cultural history, flora & fauna and nature & wildlife.  It is easily accessible from Fremantle, Perth or Hillarys Boat Harbour with a 30-40 minute boat rid.  One interesting fact about the island is that it's a car-free zone and visitors usually hire a bicycle to get around and explore the island.  There's so much to do here and it seems like a day trip is not enough!

Adventure World

Adventure World is Perth's favourite family theme park, hosting 30 rides and attractions for kids and adults of all ages.  I'm not a theme park person as I'm afraid of heights, but my girls have specially requested for this to be on the itinerary!  The theme park categorizes its rides on a scale of 1 to 5, to cater for young kids to the daredevils and includes both dry and water rides.  I read somewhere that the roller coaster is among one of the scariest in the world!  There's even a wildlife park where families could get up close and personal with Aussie native animals such as koalas, wombats and emus.

I was earlier paranoid of doing more itinerary planning as the Melbourne trip really drained me out.  But seeing these exciting places really perked me up once again!  There's still about five more months to go and lots of time to plan.  I could foresee the planning for this trip more tedious than ever as most of those regions I had listed above are by no means near to the Perth city and lots of travelling is required.  Need to find the best way to get around that works for my family.

Stay tuned for more updates!  ;)

My Loot from Melbourne

So, I culminated my total loot from Melbourne and what I see was shocking!  LOL.  Even though shopping wasn't the major activity in my agenda, it somehow still seemed extensive when everything was put together.

Most of the items I bought are beverage and confectioneries such as candies, chocolates, nougats, macadamia nuts, wine and tea.  Guess these make practical gifts for family members and colleagues.   I love buying gourmet and locally-made products when overseas as these can hardly be found in Singapore and are very expensive.  It's also great to savour the unique products made locally.

Being an avid vintage collector, I should be hunting for local vintage collectibles but surprising, I didn't buy anything during the trip.  Reason being I was on a budget trip and there's simply no space for more vintage collectibles at home!  I did find a very nice pink vintage dress for myself though!

Other things I've bought were shirts, jeans and shoes I found at the factory outlets.  Not forgetting home fragrance products such as handmade soaps, diffuser and candle.

 

My best purchases were of cause the exclusive Les Miz merchandise I bought, which included the tee, cap, keychain and souvenir programmes.  These are not cheap and cost me 100aud but I guess it's special to me because I came specially to catch the musical, so I had to buy them home as mementos. 

The other good find has to be the Australian Homespun magazine, which featured my handmade goose earrings!  How timely for my item to be featured in the July issue, as I managed to grab a copy at the airport before I flew home to Singapore.  Love reading these craft magazines as they contain many creative projects which are so inspiring that I could work on.

 

Melbourne Day 10 - 6 July 2014

Today's my last day in Melbourne and I spent half the day in St Kilda, as a nice wrap up to my 12-day itinerary.  We first visited the craft market at St Kilda Esplanade.  The market didn't disappoint, as quality and variety of products being sold are similar (if not better) than what I remembered of the market a decade ago.  Here we can see unique handmade products such as jewellery, paintings, souvenirs, skincare products, bags, accessories and more.

In this charming town of St Kilda, there are famous landmarks such as the Esplanade Hotel, Luna Park and The Palais Theatre etc, which are good photo opportunities!

Though it was a chilly morning with a slight drizzle, I decided to head for the St Kilda's beach anyway, as I simply love the beach.  It's as breathtaking as before, lined with beautiful palm trees along the promenade.  As I gaze over the horizons with yachts berthed on the right and daredevils skydiving on the left, it just simply takes all stress and troubles away.

After I had fulfilled my hearts' content of photographing the beautiful beach, we took a short tram ride to Acland St, which is also located in St Kilda.  Over here, we can see both sides of the street lined with old European cafes, wine bars, bakeries and eclectic shops, which bring a charm to the area.  For lunch, we decided to try out Singapore cuisine at a cafe named Kotaraya where I tried its laksa.  It's yummy and has a different twist to our local laksa as a thicker kind of vermicelli is used in its preparation.

After leaving St Kilda, I returned to the apartment for my final packing.  I didn't recall shopping like crazy but somehow my luggage was filled to the brim and I had difficulties packing everything in!  It's probably due to some bulky items I had bought and gifts from friends.

I left for the Southern Cross Station at 3pm to catch the Skybus to Melbourne International Airport.  As the Skybus passed by the various landmarks of the city, I can't help but feel melancholic, after spending 10 wonderful days in this beautiful city.  I will miss Melbourne for sure and look forward to my next trip here again!

Melbourne Day 9 - 5 July 2014

Today is the highlight of my trip and the very reason why I'm in Melbourne. It's the day I've been looking forward to over the past 9 months as I'm watching the Les Miz musical! It has been almost 20 years since I watched the musical in Singapore and since then, I've been obsessed and head over heels in love with this awesome production!

My day started in Flinders Lane & Degraves Street for breakfast. These laneways are hardly visible from the main streets of Melbourne but when you look closely, you'll be surprised that they possess a unique charm in their own ways. Both sides of these streets are lined with cafés and ecceletic shops. I'm just so surprised how popular they are with locals and tourists alike, as we had a hard time looking for an empty table. They serve yummy entries such as poached egg with toast, sunny side up with toast, breakfast omelette etc. 

After a hearty breakfast of poached eggs on sandwich, we left for the Queen Victoria Market. This popular market looked the same as what I remember 10 years ago, carrying a wide variety of groceries, clothes, homewares and more.  From the market, we headed for the Something Aussie souvenir shop, where I bought Mondo nougats and Aussie-made skincare products. 

After we are done with shopping, we returned to city for the Les Miz performance at Her Majesty's Theatre.  It was so full of buzz when we arrived, though we were an hour earlier. There were excited patrons all around, buying souvenir programmes and Les Miz merchandise. I bought a souvenir programme, tee, keychain and cap which cost me 100aud! 

It's unbelievable that my dream of catching Les Miz again after 20 years is finally coming true. When I finally entered the theatre, the adrenalin rushed all over me, leaving me speechless! As the brass instruments first sounded, I sat rooted to my seat, mesmerised by every orchestral note that came on and every word that was sung. 

The musical is just so wonderful that no words can explain how great it is. Everything from the set, lighting, audio, casts and orchestra blended so seemlessly together that I couldn't fault anything even if I wanted to! It sounded exactly like how it seemed 20 years ago, only better!  My only reservation is that the musical would have sounded better if Her Majesty's Theatre is equipped with more state of the art audio visual equipment. 

Eponine's my favourite character as usual and my eyes were on her everytime she appeared. Kerrie Anne Greenland has done a good job in portraying the character and when she belted the heart-wrenching number "On My Own" of her unrequited and undying love for Marius, I could hear many patrons sobbing away (including me of course!).  When she finally breathed her last in Marius' arms, my heart goes out to her with full of admiration for her unconditional and sacrificial love. Love should be selfless, isn't it? 

The other characters were all unique in their own ways. The innocent and demure Cosette, the suave and charming Marius, the loving yet strong-willed Jean Valjean, the strong-principled and justice-filled Javert and of course the villianous and humorous Thenardiers. 

As usual, the company has carefully hand-picked the best actors for Jean Valjean & Javert, who never failed to impress the audience with their strong vocals as they sang numbers such as "Who Am I", "Bring Him Home", "Stars" and "Soliloquy".  What's worth mentioning is little Daniel Stow who played Gavroche, who has successfully portrayed the spunkiness and liveliness of the character, often earning great applause from the audience. 

All in all, this production has managed to bring an all-Australian cast together, for an excellent theatrical experience which struck a chord with everyone present.  We've managed to get really good seats on Row B, giving us an even better experience as we could even hear the natural voices of the casts and see every expression (joy, anger, despair and desperation) on their faces. 

This may be the third time I'm catching Les Miz, but every performance is a fresh experience for me and I'll continue watching it if given the chance!

Tomorrow is my last day in Melbourne, as  I will be flying home in the evening...boo! :(. Will make full use of  whatever time I've left to visit the St Kilda arts market. 

Melbourne Day 8 - 4 July 2014

Today was yet another exciting day as I went for another day trip to the Yarra Valley.  I've been wanting to visit this place as I've heard so much about the beautiful vineyards and valleys. 

After setting off from Federation Square at 8pm, we headed towards the Dandenong Ranges. The bus stopped over at the Hardy Gully Nature Walk, a rainforest and picnic grounds where gigantic mountain ash trees are found. Most of the trees are a few hundred years old and they are probably at least 30-50 metres tall, stretching majestically into the sky.  Although I was freezing from the cold, it was a great experience to stroll in this beautiful rainforest and to breathe in fresh air, amidst the calling of native birds. 

After leaving the nature walk, the bus cruised along the Dandenong Ranges while heading towards the next exciting destination, the Puffing Billy. This part of the trip was something I've been looking forward to. The Puffing Billy is a steam train which has existed in Victoria since the 1900s. It's one of the few steam trains which still existed in the world today. The present line runs between Belgrave and Gembrook, through beautiful forests, fern gullies and farmlands of the Dandenong Ranges. The entire train ride from Belgrave took 20 minutes and ended at Menzies Creek as part of our tour.  It was an amazing experience sitting in this antique train cabin and hearing the siren of the train and the steam puffing away!

After the exciting train ride, we continued on our journey to the Yarra Valley.  This place is indeed beautiful and breathtaking. Seeing scores of valleys, vineyards, farmlands and cattle grazing simply takes my breath away and reminded me of God's wonderful creation of nature.  We had a delicious spit roast lunch and wine tasting at the Fergusson Winery and Restaurant. I'm disappointed with the quality and variety of wines though. They didn't have a good variety of sweet and fruity wines and I ended up buying only a bottle of Moscato. Guess I should have joined the winery tour instead to visit more wineries. However time doesn't allow me to do so due to the wildlife tour at Healsville Sanctuary. 

The Yarra Valley Chocolaterie was our next stop. They offer a wide variety of white, milk and dark chocolates in various packaging. Bought a few packets for my family and colleagues.  

The last stop of our tour was the Healsville Sanctuary. This is a wildlife park to see native Aussie animals in their natural environment. There are koalas, kangaroos, emus, platypus and more. A zoo guide was assigned to our group to bring us through the different sanctuary areas, with detailed explanations of the various animals and their habitats. I had expected to be able to cuddle koalas and feed kangaroos but unfortunately, we were not able to do so. Most of the koalas were asleep and I didn't manage to get good photos of them. We were allowed to have an emu feeding session though. 

The day was long but eventful, as I was given the opportunity to get close to and appreciate the beauty of nature. 

What's up tomorrow? It's the day I've been looking forward to, Les Miz musical! Yeah, cant wait to come face to face with my favourite musical, which I've been yearning to watch again for the past 20 years! :)

Melbourne Day 7 - 3 July 2014

The day's itinerary revolves around  Melbourne's arts precinct. I started the day at Flinders Street and Federation Square. After a hearty breakfast of churros and latte, I strolled along St Kilda's road across the Yarra River, making my way to the Arts Centre and The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).

At NGV, I visited the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition. Even though the entrance fee costs $26, it's worth every penny as it showcases excellent Italian artworks from Spain's Royal Court, Museo del Prado. There are more than 70 paintings and 30 drawings from the early 16th to 18th century, spanning some 300 years of Italian art. Some artists being represented included Raphael, Correggio, Titian and more. I was just taken away by the quality and magnificence of these artworks and amazed by how they've been beautifully preserved after all these years. Never before have I seen such a wonderful collection of Italian art anywhere!  I'm just so glad this exhibition has coincided with my trip and that I've made the effort to pop by for a look! Unfortunately, photography is prohibited, thus I'm unable to share what I see here. 

Besides this exhibition, I also visited various galleries in NGV which showcased Asian and European art. No wonder the NGV has been highly endorsed by all art lovers. Their collection of both native, Asian and European is also one of the best I've been! What created a lasting impression was the European art gallery which had paintings of all genres on the walls which was about 10 metres high!

I spent almost 4 hours at NGV alone! After leaving NGV, I made my way to the Australian Centre of Contemporary Art (ACCA). Though the gallery is not as big as NGV, the artworks there are pretty impressive and very well curated. I love how photographs from all walks of life adorn the four walls of the first gallery I entered. Interesting way of representing artworks from different artists. 

The arts precinct is well-located along St Kilda Road. Just across the road is King Albert Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens, two very popular and beautiful gardens. I didn't have time to visit the Royal Botanic Gardens as I was running short of time but I made a point to visit the Shrine of Remembrance which is also just across the road.  This attraction is a monument to honour Anzacs who had sacrificed their lives during World War II. It's quite similar to our Kranji War Memorial but more grandeur and significant in structure.

After leaving the arts precinct, I met up with Hwee at Harbourtown in Docklands for more shopping. We didn't find what we wanted there as most shops were closing, so we decided to dine & shop in Bourke Street instead.  Dinner was at a small cafe called Shan Dong Mama which served authentic Shan Dong cuisine. The fish dumplings are just so yummy!

I think the beautiful part of this trip is not just about the holiday itself, but opportunity to spend time and catch up with old friends!

Melbourne Day 6 - 2 July 2014

I met Hwee for breakfast and shopping today at DFO @ Spencer Street. It's been 6 years since we last met and so much to catch up! I'm so glad this Melbourne trip gave me the opportunity to meet up with old friends. 

I've not had much opportunities to shoot the cityscape of Melbourne city and took the opportunity to do so this morning at South Wharf & Polly Woodside. Love the skyline of the city so much!

We shopped at DFO @ Spencer Street, followed by the city centre. Bought shoes, socks, tees and jeans for the kids and a pair of boots for myself (finally!). 

For dinner, Joyce drove us to a suburb known as Footscray for seafood. For less than 100aud, we had black pepper crab, sesame toast, vegetables, claypot rice and grilled pork and ate to our heart's content! The seafood is really fresh and priced reasonably compared to restaurants in Singapore. 

I had a misfortune today though. My trusted DSLR slipped from my hands in the morning and crashed to the ground! Upon closer inspection, thank God the UV filter had cushioned the impact of the fall and lens was left unharmed. The filter has earned itself a new "spiderweb" though. Photos turned out ok & I reckoned there was no damage to the interior, but I'll need to bring the camera to Alan Photo when I return to replace the filter and to examine the lens. 

What an adventure today! I will be visiting the arts precinct tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Melbourne Day 5 - 1 July 2014

Another exciting itinerary on the menu today! I booked myself on a day tour to Ballarat and Sovereign Hill.  The tour set off from Federation Square at 8am and took about an hour to reach Ballarat. 

The town of Ballarat is full of charms and nostalgia, as the houses and establishments have all retained the Victorian-style architecture since the 1850s. According to the tour guide, it used to be one of the richest suburbs in Victoria, as they were all built for the gold miners who had made their wealth in the mines. 

On our way to Sovereign Hill, we passed by Lake Wendouree, a very beautiful lake. We stopped over for a few minutes for photo-taking.  This place is so pictureque and peaceful and I momentarily felt like I'm in a fairy tale. There were ducks swimming in the lake and for the first time in my life, I heard them quacking in the wild!  On another instance, there were a flock of ducks flying and belting their feet across the lake waters. Seeing them in the wild took my breath away and made me appreciate the beauty of nature. Wished I could just spend my remaining years in this serene place!

We reached Sovereign Hill about 10.30am. Sovereign Hill sits on the site of a former gold mine during the goldrush in the 1850s. Entering this attraction caused a rush of adrenalin as everything there has preserved its Victorian look, from houses and shops to old horse carriages and blacksmiths. Even staff working in Sovereign Hill are dressed in their period costumes! It's really interesting as there are even "woodcutters" chopping firewood for burners to keep people warm during winter! Coming here brought me back in time and gave me a strong sense of nostalgia everywhere I went. 

Some key highlights of the attraction included the Gold Mine Tours, Gold Pour, Coach Rides, Candlemaking and more.  I went for the Gold Mine Tour which took about 30 minutes. During the tour, we were brought to an underground mine in a train, where we also had the opportunity to walk the mine to get a first hand experience of what miners underwent and the harsh and risky conditions of their jobs. It's definitely an experience I've never had before!

There was also an appearance by Redcoat Soldiers at 1.30pm, where they marched along Main Street and fired blanks into the sky!  Thereafter, there was a foam-making machine producing foam to mimick snow. 

Out of curiosity and vanity, I went for a "Victorian Makeover", where I had the opportunity to dress like "The Lady" in a Victorian setting!  Check out the photo below! Now, do I look like The Fair Lady? :p

Sovereign Hill has many cafés & restaurants in relaxed traditional settings for people to dine in Victorian splendour.  I bought their famous meat pie at the Hope Bakery for lunch, fresh from the wood-fired oven.  Love the pie as it's really yummy with its piping hot meat filling!

We left Sovereign Hill at 4pm, bringing back with us sweet memories of untold stories of gold miners and the nostalgia of a gold mining town in the 1850s. 

I reached home with aching back and shoulders due to prolonged photography but today's experience was indeed unique and extraordinary.  Tomorrow's itinerary is shopping! Will be meeting Hwee again to shop & catch up. I also hope to visit some art galleries if time allows.