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Australia Trip

This trip is a campaign in conjunction with Go MightyTourism Australia and Air New Zealand. The concept was for us to choose things on our life lists that we’d always wanted to do and then we would go to Australia and make them happen, read about it here on Go Mighty

I don’t even know where to start with this post so I guess I’ll start off with this: Australia is amazing.

We returned home two weeks ago and all the experiences from our 10 days there have been swirling around in my head. We had a really great trip and feel super lucky we got to go. We started out at San Francisco where Paul and I took an Air New Zealand flight to Sydney. Flying Air New Zealand was a treat. During one meal Paul leaned over to me in disbelief and said, “this is the first time I’ve ever eaten airline food and it tasted good.” The plane was new and state of the art. It had a huge catalogue of tv and movies and plugs for your phone and laptop. I have never flown on an airline this nice before. When I mentioned to people in Australia we had flown with Air New Zealand everyone commented that it was their favorite airline. Apparently its a thing. The long flight was surprisingly easy, that might be because I can sleep just about anywhere but it felt quicker than a trip to Europe because of the distance and time of day.

australia!

We arrived in Sydney first and after checking into the fancy Langham Hotel and wasted no time to go shopping in Surrey Hills. We knew there were other activities planned so we decided to go exploring while we had a chance. I stopped in at Gorman and wanted to buy everything there, I’ll definitely be ordering from them online. Then we went to some thrift stores and walked all the way down Crown Street stopping into all the boutiques. We finished off the day with some ice cream at Messina Gelato.

Crown Street Australia

The next morning we were jet lagged and woke up really early so we took advantage and jumped in a taxi that took us all the way to the Gap to watch the sunrise. The Gap are these gorgeous cliffs that look over the Pacific ocean. That morning was one of my favorite things we did. After a little hike around we seven we saw a Kookaburra! We took a bus back into town (the ferry wasn’t running that early) and had breakfast at Bills which several people had told us about. We loved it. After breakfast we headed over to The Society Inc. to meet with Sibella Court for shopping and lunch in Balmoral. (I tell the whole store over here on Go Mighty.) It was really fun. Afterwards we checked out some of the fancy shops in Woollahra before meeting up with Maybelle Imasa for dinner at Mr. Wong.

gap1bills

The next day after breakfast we stopped by Bourke Street Bakery before heading toward the beach. We did the famous Bronte to Bondi walk which lived up to the hype. I just have to say that the beaches in Australia are ridiculously beautiful. The sand is white and fine and the water beautiful. (I wrote about it right here on Go Mighty.) Sydney has such a great beach culture while still balancing it out with a cosmopolitan city. We hung out at Bondi for a while and then grabbed a taxi back to the Sydney Opera House for a tour. It was really impressive (Read about the experience here.) Afterwards we grabbed lunch and then wandered over to downtown to explore some shops before crashing early.

australian-beaches

opera-house

The next morning we woke up and took a Ferry over to Manly beach. We loved being out on the harbor and being able to see everything from a different point of view. Afterwards we made it over to Rose Bay where we took a Seaplane ride (see here, it was amazing.) We went up to the northern beaches and ate lunch at Jonah’s. It was a really cool experience. We stopped by the Mud store because I really wanted to see it in person, I even got a few pieces to start a collection. It was about 3pm and we knew it was our last few hours in Sydney. We both agreed we wanted more beach time so we headed back to Bondi for a few more hours in the sun.

seaplane

Saturday morning we headed to the airport for a quick flight to Melbourne. We arrived at our hotel called The Cullen. It was an art series hotel that was beautiful and modern. I had heard a lot about the shops and artists in Melbourne so I was excited to check them out. (See my post on Go Mighty about it here.) After shopping we had a beautiful evening at a rooftop bar called Naked for Satan. It was really fun just hanging out overlooking the city.

Melbourne Shops

The next morning we got up early to go Hot Air Ballooning over Melbourne. I loved it! We got back and spent some time preparing for the party the next day at West Elm (I’ll talk about this in another post.) We fit in a trip to the famous Chapel Street Bazaar (it was like a giant antique store) and another afternoon in Fitzroy with Amy before we bid farewell to Australia and caught our Air New Zealand flight back to San Francisco.

Hot Air Balloon in Melbourne

 

  1. Alecia

    October 29, 2013

    I love Australia! At first when you said you woke up early and took a taxi all the way to the GAP, I was all like why did she want to go to the Gap in Australia when we have a million in the states? Then I read the next sentence and it all made sense.

    Looks like an amazing time!

  2. Bambi

    October 29, 2013

    How beautiful! How I am longing for summer!

    Love from rainy Germany and a summer-themed cake:
    http://lasagnolove.blogspot.de/2013/10/sunday-sweetbuttermilk-berry-cake.html

    Bambi

  3. kelly rae

    October 29, 2013

    I ❤ Australia. I really want to go back. The last time I was there was at the end of 2008 to study. Looks like a incredible time you guys had.

  4. Emily

    October 29, 2013

    I LOVE Sydney (We honeymooned there, and Darwin) . The Gap is one of the most beautiful places I’ve EVER been – although I believe it technically overlooks the Tasman Sea.

  5. STEL STYLE

    October 29, 2013

    Australia is amazing!!! I love the people and their fashion style!!!

    http://www.thestelstyle.com

  6. Nicole @ Treasure Tromp

    October 29, 2013

    oh this makes me miss Australia so much! I studied there in 2008 and fell in love

  7. Justine Johnson

    October 29, 2013

    Looks incredible!!!

  8. Lisette Wolter-McKinley

    October 29, 2013

    What an epic adventure! Lucky girl!

  9. Beckie - The Cullen

    October 29, 2013

    We love this little wrap up – your time Down Under was packed to the rafters with fun! We’re so happy you were able to stay with us in Melbourne. Next, bring the whole family!

    Beckie

  10. Ashli | sommarmorgon

    October 29, 2013

    My beautiful home land! Makes me miss it so much. I’m so glad you enjoyed Australia!

  11. Paulette Leto

    October 29, 2013

    I am SO jealous! I’ve always wanted to go to Australia! If I can ever make it happen someday, I will have to remember Air New Zealand. My last flight (round trip from Chicago to Houston) was on Spirit and that wasn’t much fun at all. Oh well, you get what you pay for!

  12. michelle

    October 29, 2013

    Wow, what an adventure, I love the hot air ballooning, what fun!

  13. Ruzu @princess_corner

    October 29, 2013

    Very lucky, wish to travel to this country
    love your style

    xo

  14. vintage movement

    October 30, 2013

    Oh my goodness when I saw this post title I panicked at the thought I’d missed the opportunity to attend an ‘Oh Happy Day’ craft workshop in Melbourne – would have been so disappointed!!. I adore everything you create. Thrilled you had a great time here – didn’t know West Elm was opening in Melbs – very exciting :).

  15. Dominique Paolini

    October 30, 2013

    Looks like the trip of a lifetime.

  16. Valerie | Lily on Fillmore

    October 30, 2013

    This looks amazing –glad you had such a lovely time! Those hot air balloons look like a dream…

    xo, http://www.lilyonfillmore.com

  17. Quyen

    October 30, 2013

    What incredible photos! I have family in Sydney and I have yet to visit them. I can’t wait to do it soon though! Love the hot air balloons!
    http://liveitinerantly.com

  18. emily

    October 31, 2013

    So happy to hear you had a great time Jordan! It was a real warm fuzzy feeling to see your glorious photos of Sydney town… glad you got to go to Jonah’s… & isn’t Gorman ridiculous (I hate them!! so bad for my bank balance)

  19. Julie

    November 1, 2013

    Looks beautiful, makes me wanna go!

  20. Yamila

    November 1, 2013

    Thanks for making me miss Sydney so much. I am an ex sydeny sider now living far south in Patagonia, Argentina. I grew up in Bondi beach (when it was not trendy) and was living with my children and partner near Coogee Beach until last year. We miss the beaches, the food, the relaxed way of living.
    I am glad you enjoyed your time in Australia!
    We are going back for christmas and can’t wait to eat seafood and have a cold beer!

  21. Joolz

    November 1, 2013

    What a fun trip! My sis has been to oz twice- she loved absailing (at the blue mountains?) and climbing the Sydney bridge (incidentally it was modeled after the iconic Newcastle bridge, where my relatives hail from!). Can’t wait yo hear more deets about the trip. Did the kiddos stay with DesignMom?
    If you’re interested in Australian designers- Megan Nielsen Design and Make it Perfect are two awesome Australian sewing pattern designers!

  22. Michelle

    November 2, 2013

    Love your work!
    Am so happy you loved Sydney…it’s my hometown and I still live in Bondi. X

  23. Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls

    November 4, 2013

    Jordan! I still can’t believe we were in Sydney and Melbourne at the same time! Dinner at Mr. Wong was amazing and running into you again at The Cullen was surreal. Thanks again for coming to say hello to Megan Morton and meeting my amazing class at The Establishment Studios! We must try to bump into each other in another country next time! LOL. xo Maybelle

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