Melbourne & The little bar cart...

I would of brought this little bar cart home - but alas we are in Melbourne at the Chapel street Bazaar and I couldn't fit it in my suitcase- how cute is it! Here are a few random snaps of the shenanigans from our recent trip to Melbourne.

If you are heading to Melbourne the Chapel street Bazaar is a must - If you are from Melbourne you probably already know how great this place is for antique and retro furniture, clothing and accessories. 

In true Aussie style we quenched our thirsts with a beer at an Irish pub.

After all of that shopping

Our digs for the week featured a not to shabby view over the Yarra and Melbourne city skyline, the Yarra is stunning for a brisk morning walk. 

Beautiful by twilight

We ate at many beautiful restaurants - for some reason we went with a numbers theme, Number 8 (crown) and no 35 (Sofitel) both are fantastic and highly recommended. The meal at No.35 reigned supreme even compared to the two and three hatted restaurants we have eaten at in Sydney.

Mum is all for the Spencer Pratt Crystal collection and bought me some more Amethyst  crystals.

And....My little sister is such a cutie, don't you think!

The confused look on her face? asking why are you taking a photo of me?

Number 1 - for someone traveling I think she looks stunning & Number 2 - I loved that she was teaming with the aeroplane theme! 

Melbourne Myer & Samantha the celebrity stalker

My first affiliation with the blogging world was daily readings of the infamous celebrity reporter Perezhilton.com. Last week when shopping with my mother and sister in Melbourne I was awe struck running into Miss universe Jennifer Hawkins coming out of the bathroom, I then turned into a giddy schoolgirl and borderline celebrity stalker when I realised there was a press pack and some type of commotion to mark the official opening of the Melbourne Myer store.

From left to right the people in the below photo Samantha Swain, Jessica Hart, Andrej Pejic, Jennifer Hawkins....Okay I might just be browsing Myer - but I am in that photo, accidentally on purpose.....

And in case you needed more evidence - here are some I snapped with my handbag camera.

The new Melbourne Myer store is amazing, I think seven or eight levels of men's, woman's and home wares are all in one store. The new store is one million times better than the old one - you know what I mean if you ever went to the old store it was a shambles.

Found a black velvet chair

 An innovative scaffolding table solution

 Amazing floral displays

And another display - Inspired by my favourite anthropologie lamp perhaps?.

To London, To London.....

Mum suggested Firmdale- Haymarket hotel for our trip to London later in the year...... Ahhhhh Yes please! Each room is individually designed by the hotel owner and developer extraordinaire Kit Kemp (I do believe I have a new idol to worship). Via the Luxury travel bible

The Profile: The self-taught Kit Kemp is the co-founder of Firmdale hotels with her husband Tim. Together they have produced a string of boutique hotels known for their style and originality. She was awarded the Andrew Martin International Interior Designer of the Year for 2008.

 

The Style: "Hotels should be living things, not stuffy institutions", say the Kemps. Kit Kemp's style can be described as having an 'English eccentric look'. Drawing upon the world around her for inspiration, Kit doesn't work to a particular formula when designing her slightly quirky interiors. Each of her boutique hotel interiors can be recognized as an individual work of art. However, there is a link between each of Kemp's hotels. Look out for bold prints, eye catching colours and fabulous attention to detail - the small portrait on the wall or a painted pattern on a bedside cabinet.

After seeing the sights of London (and visiting my friends Bridget & Al) mum & I will be heading to Paris!. This will be my first time to Europe so I am super excited, not so excited about the 24 hour flight though!!!

Any good recommendation of things to do in London OR hotels to stay in Paris? The agenda for the trip will be museums, shopping and eating all mixed together with lots of sightseeing!

When in Berlin..; KUNSTHAUS TACHELES.

I've been out of the blogosphere for over a week now, for shame.  However, my absence was filled with something absolutely amazing; Trinity Orchestra's wonderful tour to Berlin.

I've only been a member of the orchestra since September, seeing as I just started college this year, but it really is the best society out of all those that I've joined.  There's something about orchestra people that makes them easier to bond with than others, and this is partially why I had such an amazing time on our three-day tour.

We stayed in East Berlin, not too far from the Berlin wall, and fitted a surprising amount of sightseeing into two days!  However, I'm not writing this post to waffle on and on about Berlin's tourism industry.  Instead, I want to blog about a place I visited which was somewhat off the beaten track of your clichéd tourist destinations;

Kunsthaus Tacheles

I don't want to blow on too long about it because obviously you can read everything you need to know on Wikipedia, but I would definitely recommend a visit to the Arthouse should you find yourself in Berlin with a few hours to kill.  The house began as a Jewish department store, became a Nazi prison, and now is the most wonderful home to so many budding artists and musicians alike.  The whole place was like a different world, with an abundance of niches to explore, including a junk yard style collection of exhibitions, and a large house with floor after floor of beautiful and unique art.  Also, on the last night, we all went to a club called Cafe Zapata which was located in Tacheles, and was part of the old Berlin underground scene- brilliant.

Unfortunately, I've left the cable for my digital camera in Cork, therefore I can't post any of the photos I took in Berlin just yet (I got a couple of good shots of Tacheles.)  Watch this space!