A further reason why Melbourne is a badass

If you are not a fan of street art, then I suggest you look away now because I am about to post a whole LOT of it. Street art is one of Jordan’s great fascinations and ever since we were young, I have heard him wax lyrical about the beauty of Melbourne art. So it didn’t surprise me one bit when we were dragged into every dodgy alley or side street on the hunt for some famous names. And I have to admit that even I was slack jawed at the sheer scale and skill of some of the works. What’s more, Melbourne City Council embraces the practice and dedicates whole areas where street art is perfectly legal. (It took me a while to stop looking around expecting the cops to fly around the corner when I saw someone spraying in broad daylight and out in the open). Here are my favourite shots…

- All images via Wishful Thinking -

The calling

We woke up early on Saturday morning to chilly winds and lashing rain. It didn’t prevent us from doing our ritual weekend walk on the beach [with coffee] but it did mean that we had to wrap up warmly. After finishing chores and errands, we decided to hunker down for the night and had a little beer and cheese party whilst going through old photos of our travels to Europe. We had a great time reminiscing over silly haircuts, bad fashion choices and of course, our favourite travel destinations.  Greece is right up there as one of our favourites so when I saw this rustic Ithaca villa, I knew I had the perfect post.

Images | EST Magazine

Homeward bound

Yep, that’s right, in just over a week I will touching down on the motherland. South Africa. For those who know me, they will know that this trip is bittersweet. Although I love going home to see my family and friends, it’s absolutely gut wrenching to get back on that plane and say goodbye. It’s a country filled with both sad and wonderful memories for me and it never fails to be an emotional rollercoaster. The last time we went home was well over 6 years ago. That’s an awful long time to go without the familiarity and strength of family. But it’s a choice we made in order to settle in the UK (going back and forth was proving way to unsettling). And now here we are, in a new country with the knowledge that this is almost certainly our permanent home. Very far away from everything we know and love. And we are shit scared that the trip back home will throw it all up in the air for us.

It was that scary car crash over Easter that made me pull myself towards myself and see the trip for what it was. An opportunity. A chance to reconnect with family, to revel in the beauty of our home country, to laugh with friends, to gorge on our favourite foods, to relax at home with those we love, to celebrate their lives (my grandmother turns 80 and Jordan’s mom turns 50 while we are home). So what started out as a reluctant trip, has turned into a total fit of excitement for me. If we are being honest here, my bag is already packed and waiting by the front door.

Melbourne is a badass

It feels like light years ago but I have thought about Melbourne every day since we visited it. It was quaint and modern, bustling and contemplative, pretty yet grungy – you can be sure all those cheesy travel journal words you find in airplane magazines applies to Melbourne. We embraced ALL this spectacular city has to offer: food, art, trams, chilly weather and a whole lot of fine alcohol. Here are my favourite (unphotoshopped because I am still in lazy ass mode) shots…

(and just in case you are wondering where the street art shots are, they deserve a post all on their own)

All images via Wishful Thinking