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All You Need Is Love

Just a big reminder on the corner of 54th Street and Avenue of the Americas (6th), that all you need is love. Wish we had time to get to the Hope sign on 7th Avenue as well!
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The Beauty of Central Park

Central Park was one of my favourite places in NYC. It is absolutely massive and endlessly beautiful. You could easily walk around the park for hours and constantly keep seeing new things. As we were visiting in the summer time everything was beautiful and green. My parents had been in NYC last March and it's amazing to see the difference between their photos and ours. Around March the trees were naked and snow and ice coated the whole park. But in the summertime the park is alive with people and a million different things going on. 

Areas you must check out in Central Park - The Mall (featured in the fourth photo from the top of this post), a stunning long walkway with arching trees proving some shade and the location of countless movies and TV shows; Minton Tile Ceiling at Bethesda Terrace (seen below), the terrace was created in the 1860s - completely unexpected in the middle of a park and absolutely stunning; Loeb Boathouse, grab yourself a row boat and row around the lake for a different perspective. There were still so many parts of Central Park we didn't get to see, you could easily spend days just exploring this area!
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Top Of The Rock

I'm just going to admit it, Top Of The Rock was one of my favourite views ever. It was definitely my favourite view in New York City. Top Of The Rock had been at the very top of my NYC list of sights for as long as I can remember. With beautiful views of the Empire State Building, Central Park and the Hudson River, the Rockerfeller Centre really offers you views of the whole city. The Rockerfeller Centre is an important point in NYC as it houses NBC Studios, the Rainbow Room and is the place where the giant Christmas Tree and ice-skating rink are found in the winter time. In summer it hosts a beautiful outdoor cafe.  

The best thing about Top Of The Rock is that they control how many people are allowed up to the top at the one time with a timed entry system. This was so good, as it meant that it wasn't crowded at all at the top and there was plenty of space for everyone to move around and take photos happily. The building has such an interesting history and story. You can find out more about it here. 
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New York, New York

My first trip to New York and mainland North America was something I felt like I had been planning for half of my life. And it finally became a reality late last year, after 4 and a half years of university and working as many hours as I could at my casual retails jobs. Our USA trip wasn't something I wanted to rush or do on a major budget, so instead we decided to wait until we had enough time and money and until Thom had finished his apprenticeship, so that we could really enjoy the adventure. Over the next few weeks I would like to share our adventure with you, which was about 4 weeks all together. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any travel questions!
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How To Save Money When Booking Trips


It's no secret that travelling can be extremely expensive! It can sometimes even cost you thousands of dollars extra if you're not paying attention to what you're paying for. I often get asked for tips about booking overseas travel and this is what I always recommend to people. Here are my tips for saving money when booking your travels:

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The Melbourne Star

For some reason I often find myself somewhere looking at an incredible view with no camera except for my iPhone. It's getting quite annoying, but luckily sometimes even iPhone photos do the job! While shopping at Harbour Town on the Docklands one day, Thom and I spontaneously decided to take a spin on the Melbourne Star. Although not as big or famous as the London Eye and despite it's many breakdowns, it still offers some beautiful views of Melbourne's city, as well as the surrounding suburbs.

Nagambie

It's always nice to get away for the weekend and relax! In Victoria the possibilities are endless, with so many weekend getaway destinations only a few hours drive away. We recently spent a weekend in Nagambie with my extended family. It was so lovely and peaceful, looking out over the water and just doing nothing. Country Victoria is definitely beautiful. On the way home we drove across the state and over to Bridgewater to visit the waterhole pictured below. Thom knows some really beautiful spots around Victoria, you would never find this one if you didn't know about it! It was so quiet and peaceful being completely surrounded by nature. It was the perfect way to end the weekend

Brighton Beach

One of Melbourne's most popular beach tourist attractions are the bathing boxes at Brighton Beach. You can't pick up a Melbourne Travel Guide or look up "what to do in Melbourne" without someone recommending you go and see them. And they are super cute! While the beach is nothing too special the bathing boxes are definitely really cute, and if you're looking for real estate, cost a fortune! You can also find cute bathing boxes along the Mornington Peninsula, including Safety Beach and Mount Martha. 
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Melbourne Architecture: Louis Vuitton

Melbourne has some incredibly beautiful buildings, but my favourite by far is the current Louis Vuitton building on the corner of Collins Street and Russell Street in the CBD. 

The building was built in 1886 as a medical practice, and since then has been home to several different businesses - including an exclusive club for women in the early 1900's. These days it is home to the luxury brand Louis Vuitton, and I have to admit, they seem to be a great combination. Melbourne has many many beautiful buildings around it's city (another amazing one is the Melbourne GPO - currently home to Australia's first H&M store on Bourke Street), and I'm not sure why this one stands out to me more than others, but I love it. The detail in the architecture and the way that every level offers different features makes it something really special. It's infallible.

Hawaiian Dreams

There's no doubt about it, Hawaii is the picture perfect palm tree paradise, with palm trees lining all the streets and fruit treats everywhere. With it's endless blue ocean and perfect sandy beaches, Hawaii is exactly as beautiful as the postcards. Here are a few more pictures of my time in Waikiki.
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Hawaii in a Nutshell

On your way to Hawaii and don't know where to eat, stay or shop? We've got you covered...  
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North Shore Turtle Tour


For our last attempt to find Sea Turtles in Hawaii, we jumped on the North Shore Turtle Tour. What could go wrong? The word turtle was in the name of the tour, surely that meant we were going to see some turtles! The North Shore Turtle Tour offers a tour of the East and North Coasts of Oahu, doing a big circle up the East Coast, across the North Shore and back down the middle to Waikiki. It was a full day of exploring some of Oahu's most beautiful features that we never would have found on our own! The Turtle Tour includes 12 different stops all around Oahu, including many of Oahu's hidden secrets, that you never would have found solo. 

The first stop was Diamond Head and beautiful views of the Ocean. Unfortunately our day started off rather cloudy and a little gloomy, so our pictures are quite grey. However, even through the clouds you can still see the beauty that lies at Diamond Head.
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Hawaiian Sunsets

There's no such thing as too many beautiful sunsets, especially when you're in Hawaii.
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North Shore Adventures

We did spend quite a bit of our time in Hawaii exploring the North Shore. The whole island of Oahu is so beautiful that it would be a complete shame not to explore as much as you could! We decided to rent a car for a day, so that we could travel freely around the island and stop wherever we wanted. It was one of the best decisions we made!
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Kualoa Ranch

Kualoa is a family owned ranch on the east side of Oahu. Established in 1850, Kualoa is still a working cattle ranch, stretching from the mountains to the ocean. Kualoa is extremely popular for filming movies and TV shows, with Jurassic Park, Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, 50 First Dates, LOST, and Hawaii Five-O all taking place amongst the mountains of Kualoa. We booked a full day tour of Kualoa Ranch, which included two activities whilst there, a beautiful buffet lunch, and hotel transfers.

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Top 6 Travel Websites

Booking your own holidays can be confusing. There are millions of different websites, airlines and hotels out there, and knowing where to start can be very overwhelming, especially if it's the first time you're doing it! I always book all of my travel details myself. Everything from flights and accommodation to airport transfers and tours. If you're willing to put the time and research in, it can often save you a lot of money! Here are my go-to websites when planning my next adventure.

Germaine's Luau

If you haven't noticed already, I love cultural experiences. No matter what country I am visiting, I like to take part in some kind of cultural activity. In Hawaii the best cultural experience to take part in is a luau. A luau is a traditional Hawaiian party or feast, that usually includes entertainment. There are many many different luau's in Hawaii, but on the recommendations of some locals, we chose to visit Germaine's Luau, on the the island of Oahu. It was a good choice! 

The North Shore Surf Bus

Whilst Waikiki is a great place to base yourself on Oahu, we like to explore, and wanted to see the whole island. So we decided to take a tour on The Surf Bus to explore a little more of the North Shore. The Surf Bus offers a range of different activities, and a custom itinerary with the options to pick up to three different activities. You decide what you would like to do, and the tour guides on The Surf bus drop you off, pick you up and organise everything for you, they're amazing. 
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Hanauma Bay

If we're being honest, my time in Hawaii was one big search for sea turtles. I really wanted to just come across one swimming in the water! I mean, that would be pretty magical. So with that goal in mind we set off to Hanauma Bay for a day of snorkelling on the reef. Hanauma Bay is both a Nature Preserve and a Marine Life Conservation District. The reef of Hanauma Bay is essentially a crater, developed from a volcanic explosion about 32,000 years ago, with the rocks and reef in the water creating a great home for some exotic marine life. 

Waikiki Beach

Waikiki Beach. The beautiful paradise that is becoming even easier for Australians to visit! Only an eleven hour flight from Melbourne, Honolulu on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu is everything that Hawaii should be. All tall palm trees, shaved ice and locals with perfect bronze tans. It's everything you imagine it's going to be and more. Everything about Waikiki Beach is iconic. The perfect golden sand, the hotels touching the beach, the mountains and volcanoes in the distance, and the millions of surfers, it's just perfect. Each time I have landed in Honolulu, Waikiki Beach has been my first stop to soak in the sun and the whole Hawaiian atmosphere, and just remember how lucky I am to be in Hawaii.  

My Travel Bucket List

My travel bug is pretty severe. There are so many places that I want to visit, it feels like I just can't wait for any of them! I have been lucky enough to tick some amazing places off my bucket list, but there are still so many places I want to see! My list of destinations is always changing as I learn about or discover new places. There are an infinite amount of beautiful places to explore in the world, and I am always adding new places to my must see list! For now though, here are the top destinations on my bucket list in no particular order: 

Mount Martha Pillars

It was hard to believe we were still in Melbourne when we were standing at the Pillars at Mount Martha. Only a 45 minute drive from the CBD, Mount Martha on the Mornington Peninsula seemed like a beach straight out of Europe with it's crystal clear water, steep cliffs and pebble beaches. After seeing pictures of the Pillars on Instagram I dragged a group of friends down to experience Melbourne's very own secret cliff beach for ourselves. It was amazing! With no signs indicating it's location, no parking area, and absolutely no view of it from the road, you would never know it was there unless you were looking for it. 

There was only a very tiny path leading from the road to the edge of the cliffs, and then you had to climb down the face of the rock. Scary! But it was spectacular, and definitely worth the struggle and the grazes! The water was beautifully crystal clear, and the thrill seekers jump from the highest possible platforms, plunging into the ocean. After jumping you have to climb back up the rock to get out of the ocean. It is absolutely one of Melbourne's hidden treasures, with minimal people and plenty of space to yourself to enjoy the day and the endless scenic views. Very impressive Melbourne.