1888 Hotel Pyrmont, Sydney: REVIEW

Staying at Sydney's new 1888 Hotel - which only opened a few months ago, but is already forging a reputation for being an exceptional home away from home - exceeded every expectation I had about the newly refurbished boutique hotel. I knew it was going to be fabulous (I'd stayed at 'sister hotel' in Melbourne), but this was kinda off-the-radar-amazing in every way.

Part of the impressive 8Hotels portfolio (which includes hotels, apartments, and villas around the world, including Paris) the 1888 Hotel is an arhictect and interior designer's fantastical dream. Stylish and well thought-through finishing touches adorn every corner. More on that to see below.

Before you even enter the property, you are met with the grandness of a heritage facade. Here it is:

The story behind this (I am all about the story, the history, the heritage) is that it was, of course, built in 1888. In its previous incarnations, it was a woolstore, it was used for commercial office space, and it was a carpark station - before it became the hotel it is today. After 12 months of gutting and renovating, it opened in June 2013.

The second you enter the hotel you know you're not staying at a place that needs to adhere to uniform constraints as part of a hotel chain. No, there is nothing cookie-cutter about this place: it's filled-to-the-brim with personality and its own unique character. I mean, there is a Nick Cave portrait on the floor of my room! You just know this place is going to be fabulous:

And yet, it's utterly serious-slash-stylish and streamlined enough to stay here for work those work conferences and short business stays (if you're in charge of booking the hotel for the event, expect to be high-fived on your choice). Even the meeting room for smaller conferences is ultra-cool):

The big and little things made the 1888 Hotel a memorable stay: an iPad in every room, only Australian products stocked in the mini-bar (many are organic and up and coming, quality brands), the bath loofah and quality bath products waiting for you in the massive, old-school-style bathtub, stylish retro bespoke armchairs adding a pop of colour to every room, exposed, iron bark original beams and brick walls, three metre high ceilings, huge soundproof period windows, artwork by Australian artists, complimentary WiFi, Smart TVs with media hubs, custom-made bedding with luxury MicroCloud bed toppers and bathrooms with walk-in rain showers - it's all here.

Here are some of the exceptional, gasp-worthy rooms:

1888 'Attic' room

1888 'Attic' room bathroom

The 1888 'Willamson' room

The 1888 'Willamson' room bathroom

More about the hotel: 1888 Hotel is a heritage-listed 90 bedroom boutique hotel, eatery, bar and event space, located in Sydney's inner-city suburb of Pyrmont. 1888 neighbours the Sydney Fish Market, the Sydney Exhibition & Convention Centre, Darling Harbour, The Star, bars, a gazillion dining options, and shopping is a short stroll away. In fact, 1888 is just a few minutes’ walk from Darling Harbour, Cockle Bay, Sydney's CBD and Ultimo.

On the evening of my stay there, my companion and I enjoyed a drink at the hotel bar, before heading out to a dinner at The Century at the newly refurbished The Star (Sydney's casino). A post-dinner drink at Darling Harbour was just the ticket pre-bedtime on those dreamy beds.

What I also love about the location is that you are in the Sydney CBD, but on-the-outskirts-enough that you're not in the thick of the city madness. Also, there is a carpark across the road from the hotel - very convenient to come and go as you need.

And the staff: they seem to all be hand-picked to be exceptional, friendly people. Every single one of them seems to want to work there. In getting to know the hotel, I had loads of conversations with staff - and all are happy and proud to work there, and it shows. I would even go as far as saying the staff at 1888 Hotel is one of its greatest assets.

The foyer area is beautiful. I mean, look at it:

You might find you will spend lots of time there, lingering over breakfast (best buffet breakie... ever. So much variety the high quality... and or drinks in the adjoining eatery area. (If you Instagram all your foodie and drinkie pics, expect them to show up on the hotel MACs in the foyer area immediately - very cool).

The eatery precinct is fantastic, the ambience is cool, and it's a fab place to not only have breakast, but also enjoy cocktails the night before. The food is exceptional (see some of my Instagram photos here and here), the service is consistently excellent, the vibe relaxed and chilled and everything a holiday getaway or mini-break should be. Here is that lovely corner of 1888:

Overall, I simply cannot fault 1888 Hotel - it is flawless, friendly, and a fabulous spot for any kind of stay in Sydney. I'd gladly stay here again. And I have been raving about it to anyone who will listen. It's perfection.

To book or learn more about 1888, click here.

*Thank you to 8 Hotels for the opportunity to stay at 1888 Hotelas their guest.

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Pensione Hotel Melbourne: Review

I needed to get reaquainted with Melbourne. Fall in love with it again.

A few days away with my significant other (we hadn't been away for eons... ever, actually, post-kids). And so, I needed a retreat to base ourselves while we enjoyed the mini trip of a lifetime: to see our beloved Liverpool Football Club and explore the beauty of Melbourne. The home away from home had to be central, within walking distance to everything, immersed smack-bang in the middle of that famous Melbourne vibe, so we could drink in as much of it as possible

The Pensione Hotel Melbourne... it fit the bill in every single way.

This fabulous boutique hotel has 114 rooms. The rooftop sundeck - a beautiful haven in the midst of a surprisingly quiet 'concrete jungle' - is licensed: think chilled sangria and Corona beer buckets delivered up there for you and your buddies during service hours.

The goregous building façade is heritage-listed and dates back to 1905 – and the original building dates back to 1866.

The 8Hotels group took over the establishment in 2008 when it was a three-storey restaurant, and have been successfully running it since. The Pensione Melbourne's GM Calisha tells me it's hugely popular with tourists of all types, and especially those travelling to the precinct to attend conventions at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre nearby, just up the road alongside the Yarra River in the suburb of South Wharf.

I was given a tour of the rooms by Calisha and I was so very impressed. There is an apartment-style room for those who want long-term stays and the added extra of a kitchenette, and each room is lovingly appointed, with the cosy and modern feel you expect from a boutique hotel.

Here is the front entrance of the beautiful Pensione Hotel Melbourne:

What I love about the establishment is that it captures the essence of that old world grandeur; it has a warmth and charm about it which is immediately welcoming the moment you set foot in there.

It's a very short walk from Southern Cross Station, the free City Circle Tram which runs every 10 minutes (this tram can get quite crowded, but you can hop on the usual, paid trams almost outside your doorstep, too), the huge and opulent Crown Casino (only a five minute stroll from the hotel), The Convention Centre, Etihad Stadium, and popular bars, cafes, restaurants, boutique shopping, and one of my shopping highlights: the Spencer Outlet Centre. For more on the location, and a map, click here.

The hotel has 24 hour reception, WiFi internet, car parking (on request), and laundry facilities.

The Pensione Melbourne Hotel displays the fresh signature style prominent within the Pensione brand and 8Hotels: fantastically good and courteous service, boutique interiors and convenient location. It ticks all the boxes.

We stayed in the courtyard suite, the only room of its kind in the hotel. It's cosy and inviting, and features your very own courtyard, which is kind of a sanctuary when you're in the heart of the bustling CBD.

This suite is a perfect treat for a romantic getaway, and features an ensuite, double bed with luxurious MicroCloud mattress topper, tea and coffee making facilities, plasma TV with Foxtel, and that fabulous and completely private courtyard to relax after walking around the city, and enjoy your own private drinks session or meal under the stars.

The next morning, we enjoyed a typically-Melbourne cosmopolitan breakfast at the adjoining Pensione Café (you can even pop in there for brekkie or coffee if you're passing by).

It's undergoing a makeover right now, right in time for the warmer weather and more al fresco breakfasts, drinks, meals, and coffees. Click here for more on the Pensione Café  including opening hours and menus. Here's the eggs benedict brekkie I had (extra large serves... shared with the partner):

Before we headed off back to Sydney later that day, there was one more important thing on the agenda to do: book a massage for my hardworking partner in life.

Accessed via the hotel or the shopfront, True Thai gives one of those unforgettable massage experiences you swear you'll be back for. We're talking intense thai-style massage for the weary, or a gentler massage for those who want a loosen up. Here's Rada from the front desk.

For more on massages at True Thai, click here.

And for more about the Pensione Hotel Melbourne including enquiries, bookings, information, and even a short video of the hotel, click here. It's perfect for any kind of traveller, and I will absolutely be back here when I next come to Melbourne.

For more on the 8Hotel group - which includes hotels the world over, including Fiji, Paris, Bali, even Thredbo - click here.

Pensione Hotel Melbourne contact details:

16 Spencer Street, Melbourne 

Freecall: 1800 816 168 (Australia only)
Or phone: +61 3 9621 3333
Fax: +61 3 9621 1922
Email: melbourne@pensione.com.au

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Temporary Everythings

Well, what do you think? It's was my first. I was 18 and I picked it off the wall of a tattoo parlor in Hampton Beach. It's two characters supposedly, life and be present....a Carpe diem a of sorts--I don't know, that's what the artist said, and that's what others have told me. I can't read Chinese. It might as well be Korean.
In my more radical days, when everyone had half their head shaved and we'd all walk around in shorts patched with dental floss,  I would tell anybody who asked that  it was Kanji for "cultural appropriation."  They would laugh indulgently at the imprudence of youth and go back to their kale and quinoa burritos. It seems to me now that our our towers were much more ivory than we imagined because regular people don't know what cultural appropriation is and Kanji isn't even a form of Chinese.
Flippancy  has long been my way of saying I don't walk to talk about it.And I don't either. I was so impetuous I nearly got the character for rain written on my body.

It's tribal, so whatever.

For awhile I  felt guilty because I wasted a great tattoo location for a language I don't speak from a culture with whom my familiarity extends only as far as the understanding that their New Year is different than my own.  And for a long time this was a sufficiently humorous punishment. But I'm too busy mispronouncing every French word I know to think too long on it, these days. 

Yet even here in France I've remained in pretty fair contact with the United States. Obama or one of his minions sent me an email ever three or four days up until his second inauguration. Apparently they need a lot of help or money, or maybe just something for the interns to do--so they send me emails. It isn't the life I would have chosen for them, but it's the cards they were dealt
I've been dealt a new hand myself- DHL delivered a package yesterday with a letter from Obama and he wanted to talk about Kennedy's legacy and commitment and, the Peace Corps. It was signed with the fattest permanent market possible or had been photocopied to the point where his signature no longer resembles the original. Very exciting stuff.
Yes, mis amigos, we've finally got our destination and it's finally time to tell you that we expect to be moving to China to teach English at a University. We'll not know where exactly or when exactly until they feel like telling us. We've got visas and vaccinations to attend to, miles to go before we sleep and a whole lot of promises to keep.  I think we could not have done better in terms of comfort and as some of you may recall I planned to live in China at some point in my life anyway. I'm excited for a fresh chance at adventure.  Best of all, we will be trained in Mandarin--so I may learn what my tattoo says after all.  


Anything could still go wrong and knock us out of the running--it's been quite a process. But that's life for you. Carpe Diem, indeed.

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Video Montageeeeeeee

Whelp, I was looking through my camera and found a lot of shaky footage of family and friends from my trip back to the States and thought I'd share a smile with you. Obviously I didn't have my camera handy every time someone said something funny or a moment was made, but I nevertheless think this is a decent record of what went on and where.
After experimentally posting it directly in blogger because youtube (no capital for you!) decided that the third party content I used as a soundscape counts as property infringement, I've opened an account with vimeo and there hasn't been trouble yet.
When you consider that less than 100 people are likely to see this video and that some of them may be moved to buy the music, it becomes obvious why both youtube and that record label need to slow their roll. But since they want to set their ringtone to scorched earth, I will gladly light my blow torch.
And so, in the spirt of "sticking it where you still can,"  I've provided a link to download that song and many others for free:

01 - Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built
02 - Twin Shadow - Five Seconds
03 - Screaming Females - Rotten Apple
04 - FIDLAR - Cheap Beer
05 - Wavves - Hippies Is Punks
06 - Dum Dum Girls - Season in Hell
07 - DIIV - Doused
08 - Lotus Plaza - Monoliths
09 - Gypsy & the Cat - Bloom
10 - Tame Impala - Elephant
11 - Thee Oh Sees - Flood’s New Light
12 - The Babies - Alligator
13 - Divine Fits - Baby Get Worse
14 - Cat Power - Ruin
15 - Haim - Forever
16 - Roosevelt - Sea
17 - Blood Diamonds - Phone Sex [ft. Grimes]
18 - Elite Gymnastics - Andreja 4-Ever
19 - Still Corners - Fireflies
20 - Chromatics - Cherry
21 - The xx - Chained
22 - Sky Ferreira - Everything Is Embarrassing [Demo]

DOWNLOAD FULL ZIP

Happy Trails. 

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Five hundred miles of Apple orchards in my way

My song for America:



It's time that I make like an apple tree and leave.

But please know that you're coming with me. In s a small way, in spirit.

In fact, parts of you are still in my blood, in my marrow.

It will be a long time until I see the stars from your shores again but all the stars are the same, in this hemisphere at least--and I can see them from almost anywhere I've ever been.
I know sometimes you must want to lift your roots and see it all for yourself. But you are the rock and I respect that resolve.  Maybe I'll see you in year or three. I've got a tallent for loving at a distance, and there are a few things we really don't understand about each other. But it's not the end. I don't think I'll ever believe in endings.

How could I? When I know we will be such beautiful stars.

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New Years in old haunts

I've been back in the US for a few weeks now and I've seriously neglected not only the blogs I stalk but also you, my curious clicker. I guess I've been pretty busy, catching up and eating well. Sebastien and I have been to DC, Boston, Cape Cod, Mill-E-Walk-Kay and now chilling out in Columbus, Ohio. We skipped southern VT, and put off Toronto Canada, and once again ended up not meeting up with a billion people we meant to. But we had some good times and some great foods. Did I mention the foods? Because I may have come back to America just for the sheer diversity of foods.  Just a little bit.

Australians are fatter than us. Tell all your friends.

Christmas was at my mom's place. It went exceptionally well. Surprisingly so, in fact. I guess it has to do with my youngest sibling being 16 all of a sudden and the fact that Sebastien isn't one to sit on the couch and watch the women work.
I left my camera in a friend's car, on the trip back from Revere beach and it just arrived via le mail, broken. My "big gift" from my mom, an Ipad, was also broken upon unboxing and I'm pretty much fed up with the mail system and electronics altogether. At least I didn't have need or want of an ipad.

Yeah, I'm all set with where this is going.

This trip wasn't about gifts. It has really been about laughing till my sides hurt and seeing more stars in a night then I saw in a year. Boston is always a good time and I loved catching up with my friends from High school there. One of my besties has a new boyfriend and I'm so happy to see where this is going.

 Not only are they adorable together, he  also lent Sebastien and I his copy of Skyrim. We subsequently saw very little of Boston this trip by day but a whole lot of Skyrim by the afternoon, when we awoke. Must obtain copy. Must keep boyfriend of bestie. Anybody who would willingly part with that game is better than any of us deserve. If she breaks up with him, she's getting punched.

Cape Cod is so, so beautiful. The salt air and the sound of the wave crash make me want to mix my metaphors with something that burns going down and comes back up as poetry I only share with the  midnight sky. I have to stop myself from trying to drink the sea's water whenever I stand at her edge. It's an urge I have never been able to explain.  But the ocean is our oldest friend and my closet relative.  It's so nice to be in total darkness walking down a quiet street, testing my blue eyed night vision, sharpening my skills-- such privilege!  I was amazed at how many coyotes and shooting stars I saw. I had forgotten the way there are no yellow lines or sidewalks or need for either on some of my favorite roads. I wish my camera had been there to capture how calm Chatham harbor can be at 3 AM, or that I could better explain the taste of a Cape Codder when no one around you is calling it a vodka, cranberry.
My mom made my absolute favorite dish, scollop casserole. Pronounced:

scal·lop

   [skol-uhp]  Show IPA

noun.

 Not to mention both her signature pineapple upside-down and cheese cakes, respectively.  I visited with all of my brothers and sisters and their kids too.  Everybody is in a much better place than where I last left them. I leave invigorated.  My cousin had the first baby among her siblings and it's so cute seeing her parents get to be grandparents for the first time. I know they're overjoyed. 

This one is actually my mom. She's basically as cute as the kid.

Here in Ohio we've been with Sebastien's family taking a lot hikes.

Yesterday's hike involved a lot of jogging back in the half dark when the park was clearly closed. It's cool, I needed the run and whenever I jog in the wilderness I always feel like Legolas trying to catch up with Hobbits and Orcs. 

But who doesn't, really?
Hey, Hocking hills is hardly New Zealand or Middle Earth, but damn if it ain't the grand canyon of Ohio....I don't know if it is but Sebastien's dad will tell you as much.

We'll be here until the 4th and I'll have one week left in DC to get some paper work done while Sebastien heads back to Paris, ahead of me. I have no idea who I'll stay with for a week in DC but I'm pretty sure I've got credit I can cash in on. I think this is the last year I'll ever give sausages as gifts. Life is just one big dick joke to some of my friends....sort of explains why we're still friends, I think.

En bref, 2011 was a great year for me. I finally made it to Africa and this year I have designs on Asia.       Can't you just see me and Seba backpacking through India? Plus, I sort of plan to move to China someday once my non-existent kids are bigger. We have put in our applications for the Peace Corps so more of Africa I may soon enough see. Bringing it back briefly to Skyrim, if I may-- I realized that I refuse to die without seeing the Northern Lights or vacationing in Bora Bora.

Ok, Bora Bora has no connection to Skyrim whatsoever but it's still pretty dope.

Seba likes to joke that we should go to Tora Bora instead of Bora bora presumably because he's mean.

My only resolutions for the coming year are to look even better naked and spend all my money on excellent clothing, great food and travel.

Well, that's about all I have time for, atm. We're making the Bûche de Noël tonight, I'll link pictures if it comes out cute. I have two great posts coming up thanks to some old drawings and book reviews I found. One involves David Duchovny, the other involves the Snark Squad. Be looking out for those.
Personally, I'll be burning the stub of a white candle for my intentions tonight. I hope the New Year brings you closer to your goals and the ones you love, closer to the self you want to be and the state you want to be in. You're kind of a sucker for waiting until now, but I guess it's not too late.

Check out the Quadrantids meteor shower on January 3rd if the weather is good where you are, or tune in at 1AM to hear it pass! Have a safe New Year's Eve, please.  Taxis rides are always preferable to ambulance bills, so make good choices. Wow, grandma, wow. This is why I'll be settling Catan and eating all Trader Joe everything instead of whooping it up with the young and the restless. Whatever you do tonight, make sure to have fun.
:)

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Two Days in Amsterdam

I wish I had more time to tell you all the things I took mental notes on concerning our two-day trip to Amsterdam. But I really do not.  Instead, I will share my general impressions and photos that speak to my musings. Have to hurry, so have to keep it simple, keep it light.


Point the first: Amsterdam has the best fries in teh worldz.

Well, maybe it's the sauce--you can get a cone full of them anywhere--but the homemade stuff we got at Vlaamse Friteshuis was the finest in the city. (Trust and believe we came to this conclusion through rigorous experimentation)The sauces you see are Dutch Mayonaise and Joppiesaus. Granted, to my most of me,  mayo sounded gross, but you need to try it yourself--it doesn't taste like what we have back in the US. Swearzies.

#2
Amsterdam is a bike snob's wet dream

Totally getting out of your way, please keep ringing your bell. No seriously, keep ringing it. This world is your bike lane which I have mistakenly crossed through--pretending I didn't know you've got places to go and that your destination is more important than my own. We're clear. Moving on.

My relationship with law enforcement is much less oppositional when doing what I want to do isn't illegal.

For I have been to Mecca, the cheese is dope there. The dope is also dope there. (YUP) But that cheese, though, we went to a tasting of six different kinds of Gouda. If you're in town, check them out.

Fun Fact: My best friend and I travel well together.

Even if Eurobus had us going nuts.

I didn't take pictures in the Van Gogh museum because no one else was doing it and I hate being chided. However, I remember seeing these paintings:

Sometimes I want to lick the color right off the canvas. 

These were all done during his French period. Dutch paintings are too dark for my taste.
Pictured below is from his time in Holland. 

This was not cherry-picked.

Ever since I read The Botany of Desire  nearly a million years ago, I've been interested in seeing this flower market.

We got there at day break and had the Bloemenmarkt all to ourselves.

It was my first time eating Indonesian food too.
We were wicked stoked to get there just before the early supper special ended.  (I'm a very exciting person, I know...) The coconut milk drink (not pictured) tasted like flavors making love in my mouth....if such a thing was possible and also not disgusting to describe to readers as imaginative as yourselves.
Mmmmmmmmm, delish.

We also came across a lot of great street art.

Though I admit some of those are accidentally cheeses.

New rule: Trust what I know. From now on, we'll always use the application Guide Pal and Guides Gallimard map/travel guide--they've given us great ideas,  easy to follow directions and plenty to try out and explore on a reasonable budget--in London, Budapest and Amsterdam.
I recommend them highly.

Verdict: Amsterdam is the Vegas of Europe. It's a great place to go with a few friends and a lot of money. Book wayyyyy in advance and don't expect the prices to be reasonable on the weekend. We went midweek and would go midweek next time. Yes, we want to go again--durring a different season when we have more money and don't have to take that horrible bus. Eurolines, you're proof that I can't be a diplomat. Thank you. I hate you very much.

Well, that's about it--be checking into the Chipster Diaries if you want to hear more about the foods we tried in the Netherlands. (Linked above is his post about Joppiesaus flavored chips. Check it out!)

And so I'm off--wish me luck. I've got more traveling to get done--we leave for the States today!

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