Time got away from me this week, but I’m determined to pick up my game a bit with the Sunday Stories posts, so this week it’s two weeks rolled into one!

Out & About

Last Sunday, we went to the top of the Eureka Tower, the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. It was an uncharacteristically clear and sunny day, which you learn to make the most of when you live in Melbourne. We went to the viewing deck on floor 88 for perfect views over Melbourne. It was fun to see our new city from a totally different perspective, but I think the view from the Q1 Observation Deck at Skypoint on the Gold Coast is much better!

After we came back down to earth, we headed to Dendy Beach in Middle Brighton. It’s one of the wealthiest bayside suburbs and is famous for the colourful beach bathing boxes lining the beach. I have been dying to see them, especially as our furnished apartment came with a huge print of the bathing boxes. It’s been taunting me from my home office since we moved in!

It’s about a 25-minute drive from the city, and by the time we arrived Melbourne had returned to its preferred state – cloudy and miserable. This didn’t stop us (or hundreds of tourists) from enjoying the cute huts – see my full post about the famous rainbow row for a technicolour overload!

This past weekend it’s been a scorching 42 degrees C (over 100 F!). After being a cold weather sook all year, I’m definitely getting what I asked for! I can also stop saying “I’ll believe it when I feel it” in response to warm weather forecasts. Point made, Melbourne!  I can see why Melburnians don’t hate winter quite so much – summer ain’t their strong suit! Hoping for some milder days soon. Fortunately, Melbourne is a very pretty city in summer.

We went out for brunch on Saturday morning, spent the rest of the day in the air conditioning. Normally I hate spending time indoors when it’s a sunny day, but when it’s 42 degrees I’ll make an exception! We ventured out again after dark for my birthday drinks.

On Friday night, I had drinks for a friend’s 25th birthday in Elsternwick. I’d never been there before and was happy to find a cute, colourful high street just 10 minutes from the city. These pastel-coloured heritage shopfronts are pretty common in Melbourne (see also: Fitzroy, Carlton, South Melbourne, Richmond, Prahran..), but I still get a kick out of them!

Eating & Drinking

Madame Brussels

What do you get when you cross a 19th-century brothel with Astroturf, tennis whites and a garden party on a Melbourne rooftop?

Madame Brussels.

It’s easily one of my favourite summertime rooftop bars, partially because the décor is so ridiculously girly and their fruity cocktail jugs are the best in town. I’ve been twice in the past fortnight, catching up with girlfriends and then again for my birthday drinks. Last night, one table was inside a shallow orange paddling pool, so the occupants could keep their feet cool in the pool while sipping drinks at their table. Now that’s innovation.

Brighton School House

Last week, I was surprised by Brighton School House’s creative menu and impressive riffing on the “school days” theme in their church-turned-cavernous-café. I also scooped up the bargain of the century at Koy, a Turkish restaurant inside the South Melbourne Market that has a great Thursday night dinner special. Earlier last week, I caught up with friends over drinks and seaside views at The Baths in Middle Brighton.

Photo of the week

I love seeing people use their bathing boxes, finding some joie de vivre on a grey summer’s afternoon on the beach.

On Instagram

Your favourite photo this week was from Catseye Beach in Hamilton Island – seems I’m not the only one gaga for the amazing water here! You can follow me on Instagram @thewanderbugworld

Reading

Harry Potter à L’École des Sorciers. Don’t laugh! It’s the French translation of the first Harry Potter book. I wanted to push myself a bit more with my French study, so diving into a French book was a great start. I skip through magazine articles too quickly, but that doesn’t cut it with a novel. The language used is really diverse but useful. It really helps that I read the book so many times as a kid that I know what should be happening in the plot if I start to get a bit stuck –  the translation is very faithful to the original.

Highlights include learning that the French translation for toad is crapoud and a magic wand is a baguette magique. Also, with a name like Poufsouffle who wouldn’t want to be in Hufflepuff?!

Have you ever tried reading a book in a foreign language?

Highs

At the start of this year, I made a goal to get my travel writing published – somewhere other than on a blog! It seemed too silly to speak out loud, so I mostly kept this goal to myself. I’ve been published twice this year already, and today I had my first piece on Resource Travel go live, about photographing Queensland’s tropics. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Lows

No life is perfect, but this week I can’t complain!

Wanderlusting

One of my good friends, Claire, is currently living it up in Scandinavia. For the past fortnight, I’ve living vicariously through her as she’s been hopping in Finnish saunas, meeting Santa Claus, checking out an aurora borealis in Norway and swimming in Iceland’s Blue Lagoon. Sub-zero has never looked so appealing!

Claire works her ass off as a full-time nurse, and she never ceases to amaze me how she still manages to find the energy and creativity to plan epic trips around the world. Part of the reason I keep this blog is to document my travel experiences while working or studying full-time, and it’s people like Claire who inspire me to stay hungry for more travel.

Words

“Forget your perfect offering

there is a crack, in everything

That’s how the light gets in”

– Leonard Cohen

One of my favourite pieces of wisdom, which I wrote on the mirror in my childhood bedroom when I lived at home. Worth remembering!

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