by Guest contributor | Aug 7, 2014 | Asia-Pacific, Travel blogger destinations
One of the most stunning suburbs I’ve come across on my travels around New South Wales is Balmain in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney’s harbour, Balmain is a chic and colourful neighborhood full of charm. Its million dollar views alone will leave you breathless.
The moment I arrived on Darling Street, Balmain’s main thoroughfare, I was bedazzled by the number of boutique shops, galleries, eateries, coffee shops and bars/pubs at my fingertips. Packed with locals and tourists – it’s a perfect destination to grab a bite to eat and relax and unwind. What makes Balmain pretty unique is it has a strong sense of community – something rarely found in inner Sydney.
Be warned the price doesn’t come cheap to be a part of this inner-city dream (trust me I’ve checked multiple times), and being 6km from the CBD with Sydney Harbour as your backyard pretty much explains why. For those who call Balmain home I envy you, you’re living in one of the most beautiful suburbs in Australia and maybe the world.
If a visit to Sydney is on the cards then Balmain should definitely be on your itinerary. Recently I explored this suburb and now I sort of wish I didn’t as I’m constantly daydreaming about going back.
Here are three cool things I got up to while exploring Balmain in Sydney
11am: Brunch is a staple activity for Sydney-siders and I decided to head to a funky little café called Thyme & Basil. It has a two-story outdoor deck seating area that overlooks Darling Street and is a lovely spot to soak up the sun and suburb vibes. Serving up fresh juices, aromatic coffee and hearty breakfast and lunch options, I couldn’t pass up the big breakfast and I wasn’t disappointed. Simply delicious!
1pm: Who can resist an indulgent visit to the master of macaroons, Adriano Zumbo. With a petite shabby-chic store on Darling Street – his Balmain patisserie features freshly baked tarts, brownies, artisan breads, pastries and a colourful rainbow of macaroons. My favourite flavours are butter popcorn and milkshake. You’re sure to walk away on a macaroon high.
TIP: Gladstone Park is nearby and a good spot to laze about and enjoy your sweet treats!
2pm: As there is no better way to explore Balmain than by foot, I made my way down Darling Street heading east towards the Harbour Bridge and ferry terminal. During this trek you can’t help but gaze at the residential buildings. The closer you get to the foreshore the more spectacular they become. Once at the foreshore of Balmain East, the view is incredible. Straight ahead is the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge; on the right is Darling Harbour and Pyrmont and on the left is Goat Island. It’s easily one of the best spots to go for a stroll, take some photos and you can even throw out a blanket and enjoy an afternoon picnic in the foreshore’s Illoura Reserve area. There’s also a basketball court nestled in this reserve if you feel like shooting some hoops with a stunning backdrop.
How to get there
Ferries run to Balmain from Darling Harbour and Circular Quay. Alternatively you can catch the 431, 433, 441 and 442 buses from the CBD.
Have you visited Balmain? Let us know your thoughts – drop us a line in the comments below.
About the writer
Danielle Muller (@stuffitgotravel) is a Sydney-based travel blogger and communications professional. Follow her travel adventures, stories and recommendations at www.stuffitgotravelling.com.
by Guest contributor | Jul 24, 2014 | Cruising and water adventure, Travel blogger destinations
Admittedly, going on a cruise wasn’t something I’d seriously considered, but my partner and I had a few spare days during an overseas business/pleasure holiday in Miami and I thought, why not check out what’s available? And that’s exactly how we found ourselves on Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas for a 4 night cruise through the Bahamas.
We boarded at the Port of Miami with similar ease to checking into a flight only instead of waiting at the gate or in the airport lounge we found ourselves immediately enjoying lunch on the ship. Rooms were cosy and perfectly fine for two, because really, who books a Bahamas cruise to stay in a cabin?
The ship offers all you’d expect – swimming pools, sun decks, restaurants, shopping outlets, a cabaret theatre for nightly entertainment, children’s activities and more (including a rock climbing wall.) Additionally, the wealth of excursions available can make it tricky to choose just a few and pack them into your time in port.
The first stop in Nassau allowed us to wander around the port enjoying the area before experiencing a swim with a dolphin on Blue Lagoon Island, a private island with plenty of opportunity to engage with dolphins, sea lions and more. Guests also have the option of visiting the popular Atlantis Resort and experiencing the water park as just one of the resorts several facilities.
Stop two, the private island of CocoCay, owned by Royal Caribbean and set up as your own private paradise. Guests are encouraged to make the most of the sunshine with lounge chairs and hammocks everywhere. A large range of activities including water slides, snorkelling and more are also available for guests.
The final port before our return was Key West, Florida where we ventured off to enjoy a bird’s eye view of the island via parasail before wandering the port village and enjoying a slice of the famous key lime pie (delish).
Prior to our journey, we were told by a colleague, “Once you’ve been on a cruise, you’ll never want to travel any other way,” and now it’s easy to see exactly what they meant. Destination, activities and general ‘we’re on holiday’ atmosphere aside, it simply makes sense.
So much time of our holidays is spent in transit, waiting at gates, riding in taxis, queuing up for checking in at hotels, airports, etc. Why wouldn’t you unpack just once and actually enjoy your transit time, stress free and hassle free. Cruising is (for the most part) all-inclusive, making it easier to budget and allowing you to make the most of your holiday experience without any extra surprises. No worrying about who to tip as gratuities are all pre-paid (which can be a huge relief for many travelling to cities in the USA.)
One tip to note, the demographics or the cruise (as we quickly discovered when we also boarded an Alaskan cruise a few weeks later) can change dramatically based on destinations. For the Bahamas, we found ourselves surrounded by younger singles (23-45) as well as couples, newly-weds, larger groups of friends travelling together and families.
Sold on cruising as our new favourite way to travel, all our ‘wish list’ holiday talks now start with where to sail next.
About the author
Gwen O’Toole is an accomplished writer focussing on travel, events management and food and wine. She also published a fiction novel while spending the past eight years as a magazine editor and travelling the globe before launching The Ideas Library, a creative services and event management company. She is regularly featured in a variety of travel and leisure publications and blogs.
Have you got a cruise anecdote to share? Drop us a line in the comments below :-)
by Guest contributor | Jul 10, 2014 | Career and mindset
I’m not sure if change is the enemy or comfort is? We have all been there, we lose our job, our partner leaves us, you move to another town and of course the fact that nothing ever is NOT changing. What is it about change that makes us so fearful? Is it that we are so protective of our comfort or is it that comfort has made us soft to the wonders of change − why can’t change be comfortable and comfort changeable?
I have often pondered this dilemma, if you will, and I have some conclusions and ideas around the notion of change.
What is it that comfort, also referred to as certainty, gives us? For starters it gives us certainty; certainty means we have control and aren’t likely to be thrown into a situation where we might not know what to do.
Comfort is familiar, it’s secure and we know every nook and cranny of our comfort zone, which gives us some relief and reduced stress or difficulty.
How comfortable can we be if we are at the mercy of our comfort, and the minute something shatters this comfort we go to bits? Wasn’t our comfort once an uncertainty, an unknown too?
Change, even when it feels excruciating, I believe, is life’s way of saying, “have a pit stop and think about how you would like things to be now; what changes and amendments would you like to make?”
Sometimes change is unwanted, but we must deal with it. The truth is, even when change is unwanted, it’s an opportunity to evolve into something better. Coping with change, I think, is a shift in mindset. We can see it as something scary, unknown, full of uncertainty or not; we could see it as opportunity and a breather.
Change may feel uncomfortable, but if you are here reading this, have you not survived it? Have you not learned and grown from it? And just maybe you are in a better place than before the change occurred.
8 practical tips for dealing with change
1. Don’t over think it, understand why it has occurred but don’t let your imagination take over. It’s very easy for the mind to over embellish things.
2. Consider the positives to have come from this change. There will always be positives, you may just have to look a little harder sometimes.
3. Start making a list of things that are in your control that you can start putting into action to regain your stability.
4. Consider how you would like things to be and what you would like to be doing moving forward.
5. What are some of the mistakes that have occurred previously that you can learn from and make positive adjustments with?
6. Make time for some learning and meditation and journal your thoughts.
7. Make time to hang out with trusted friends and get out of your head for a bit.
8. Move, move, move, take action and do not procrastinate; make your to-do list, your action plan and run with it.
I can’t promise you that change will ever be painless. Sometimes it will be, sometimes it will hurt, but how much it does or doesn’t depends on whether we seek to latch onto the certainty of a comfort no longer in our lives or surrender to the certainty of change and all the good it can bring us.
By Petros Galanoulis – Dip Life Coaching, Vedanta Studies.
by Guest contributor | Jul 7, 2014 | Career and mindset
If you’ve not encountered the basics of law of attraction exercises, read on. Small changes in your habits and mindset can have a huge impact on the reality around you.
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” –Eleanor Roosevelt
Dreams and law of attraction exercises
When we sleep, we dream. On average, adults dream four to six times per night during a stage called Rapid Eye Movement. Dreams are a powerful source of insight, and we can harness them as part of our law of attraction exercises suite of tools, to improve any aspect of our lives.
It’s important we listen to our dreams as it’s the language of the universe talking to us. If we can understand and decipher the symbolism in our dreams, we can tap into the hidden messages being revealed to us, empowering us to live our true destiny.
In my clinic I often tell my clients who are having problems or difficulty making a decision to ‘sleep on it’. This allows your subconscious mind an opportunity to solve the problem.
It’s surprising how your dreams can provide helpful advice, whether we ask for it or not. Law of attraction exercises working their magic!
Many of my clients tell me that that don’t dream or can’t remember their dreams. This means they are missing out on tapping into a powerful source. Here are five strategies to help remember your dreams.
5 ways to listen to your dreams to turn them into reality
Law of attraction exercises: sleep prep
As you prepare for sleep say, “When I wake up I will remember my dreams”.
You are giving your subconscious mind a direct order that you want it to help you remember your dreams.
Law of attraction exercises: crystals
Place Howlite crystals near your bed.
Law of attraction exercises: writing
Keep a notebook close by and during the night or upon rising, jot down your dreams while they are fresh in your mind. Include as much detail as possible including colours, objects, people, emotions or symbols.
Law of attraction exercises: dreaming
Buy a dream dictionary, or download an app so you have a reference guide to interpret your dreams and their meanings.
Law of attraction exercises: waking up
Try to wake up slowly and relaxed (rather than to the startle of a buzzing alarm clock). Those first moments of waking between sleeping and dreaming provide a clear insight into your dreams.
Remembering your dreams
If after a couple of weeks, you still can’t remember your dreams don’t give up, give yourself time, it takes practice and perseverance.
Have the persistence and strength to follow through. I tend to dream more when I’m relaxed and in tune with myself and have absorbed powerful and vibrant energy from places of nature.
I often advise my clients who are stressed, anxious and unable to turn off the ‘mind chatter’ to get back to nature, it provides everything we need to revive mind, body and spirit. Being calm and having a quiet mind allows you to tap into the universal mind and receive your visions and ideas.
Remembering and interpreting life changing messages in your dreams provides the insight into making your dreams a reality. Write down your ideas and insights and start a plan of action. You are showing your intention to the universe that you are ready to turn your dreams into a reality.
Everything you see began with someone’s dream, a vision. Decide to take action, have faith in yourself, a desire and a strong expectation to succeed. Let your dreams serve you, so you can draw inspiration, insight and guidance from your night travelling adventures. Your dreams are yours, become limitless.
Let your dreams enhance your possibilities, inspire and motivate you. When you listen and absorb the messages, creativity will follow. Become a life artist, create the life you want for yourself.
Begin it now, life is too short, listen to your dreams, live your dreams.
Make changes
Want more practical law of attraction exercises and advice? Read more here about how to implement gratitude, manifest money and mindset miracles to make shifts in your reality.
Do you take heed from your dreams? What are your experiences manifesting or working with the law of attraction? Let us know in the comments.
About the writer Luke Sheedy is a gifted life advisor, motivator and free thinker. He combines his metaphysical talents to advise clients on their natural strengths, talents and abilities. Luke helps release what is holding you back, so growth can occur and your life’s plan can unfold naturally.
by Guest contributor | Jun 20, 2014 | Career and mindset
Scared of change? No worries – look at change like planning a trip, and the process becomes a whole lot easier to take (and much more fun)!
Taking a step in the opposite direction, whether that be career, relationships or life in general can often feel like a difficult thing but it really doesn’t have to be and we can learn a lot about the similarities between planning a trip to changing the direction of our life.
The first thing, and perhaps the easiest thing to do (for most people) is to decide where to go and this is where the fun starts…
Ten steps to making amazing, memorable and achievable change in your life
- How are you going to get there? There are many ways to achieve the same objective, for example – if you want more money you have two options – earn more or spend less, which one works for you ?
- Who are you going to take with you? Sadly not everyone will make the trip with you, they may have other destinations they want to visit and that is ok – it is their passport and they can get it stamped anywhere they want to. On the flip side, you will meet some wonderful people in the new place you get to, so bid your buddy farewell before you get to the gate.
- What do you need to leave behind? When you are in busy work-mode, you don’t take that with you on a trip and you don’t take your schedule with you either. What behaviours and attitudes have you created in your current life that you don’t want to pack to take with you for your change of direction? There are always costs for excess baggage!
- What do you need to take with you? Optimistically you arrive at your destination determined to have a good time. Get your head space right for your transition. HOPE for the better will be the critical travel companion, anything else you can pick up at the lobby shop.
- What are the minimum entry requirements? You wouldn’t arrive at the airport to board a plane for far off destinations without checking to see if you need a visa to get into the country. Why would you expect to take a major change of direction and not consider what are some of the criteria for the new path you are taking. Does the new life require you to be fitter, healthier, more focused, less distracted? Work on those things before you go because if you haven’t already started, chances are you will be turned around at the gate.
- Do you need to learn a new language? Change the way you speak to yourself about change, doubt, fear, success and getting to where you need to go. Leave the should, can’t and other restricting language behind.
- Does the location fit with your needs? I don’t sleep a lot, not a big fan of the heat and I like to be up late. A sleepy little hollow in a hot climate is not the best place for me to go for a holiday, I need activity till dawn and reasonable temperatures even cold temps. Is the change you are seeking going to give you what you need on a very basic level? If you don’t enjoy high pace competition or a spotlight, don’t take a new role that is going to constantly have you outside of your comfort zone. Every now and again is fine – but not every day, you will just burn out.
- Is there a stop-over on the way? The longer the distance the greater number of stop-overs you need, the longer the trip time. Be realistic; don’t expect to make huge changes in a short space of time without incremental transitions.
- Is there a TAX? There is always a tax. There will be good things, things that you love that may not make it to the new you status – and that is ok, you never lose them you just don’t focus on them as much anymore.
- What are some of the things you want to see when you get there? You have to be clear about what you expect to see as a result of the ‘new you’ status. Be clear, very very clear because it is only with clarity that you can truly transition.
About the author
Cheryl Daley is an internationally-known writer, speaker, mentor and coach in change management, leadership, team dynamics and empowerment.
