Monthly Archives: October 2013

Sydney’s Top Shops

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travel, travel tips, destination, Australia

It’s got the beaches, it’s got the restaurants, it’s got the nightlife and it’s got the weather. But that’s not all Sydney has to offer – it is also a premier shopping destination as well. The city’s retail sector has a diverse range of shops and emporia, with everything from international labels and classy home wares to local designers and unique trinkets. And with cheap flights to Sydney available across a range of airlines, it’s becoming easier than ever before to travel Down Under to check them out for yourself.

Tuchuzy

Bondi Beach is a mecca for the beautiful people – and the wannabe beautiful people – Tuchuzy offers the threads that will work for everyone. Mixing classic cut basics with more cutting edge designs, you can find big hitters like Chloe, Givenchy and Helmut Lang nestling alongside local designers just starting to make their mark.

Attic

Not one for those on a budget, but Attic offers some of the chicest clothing designs around. Celine, PAUW and James Perse all have collections in store. The clothes tend to err on the minimalist rather than the exuberant, but they are exquisitely made. Situated in the Woollahra district, Attic also has a sister store, Arida, in Potts Point that features more high-end designers, including Stella McCartney and Lanvin.

Orson and Blake

If its classy home wares you are after, a good place to start is Orson and Blake. They collect an eclectic array of items from across the globe – everything from African stools to Japanese fabrics and Scandinavian bowls. With two outlets, in Crows Nest and Supa Centre, it’s a difficult task not to be seduced by something in this treasure trove of a store.

Dinosaur Designs

Located in one of Sydney’s most iconic shopping locations, the Strand, Dinosaur Designs is a must-see for jewellery fans. Offering its own designs that take their inspiration for nature and the inimitable Australian landscape, the creative couple behind the shop have also branched out into furniture with unique chairs and tables cast in resin nestling in a space that feels part shop, part art gallery. Also, pop next door to The Corner Shop for hip clothes and bags from up and coming international and Australian designers.

Blood Orange

Nestled in Elizabeth Bay, Blood Orange is a very chic experience. Exposed brick walls with discreet displays of cool basics and a smattering of top-end designs. Home to Parisian label du jour, APC as well as items from Alexander Wand and sandals from K Jacques, a jaunt to this leafy suburb is worth it for Blood Orange alone.

Ksubi

Ksubi is hip. Famed for its awesome denim collection, cool sunglasses and unique, edgy designs, it caters to a younger crowd drawn to its vibrant Rosebery store. Their extensive core collection is regularly augmented by its Kustom pieces, limited edition runs by local designers, so its always worth popping in to see what’s currently gracing the racks.

Red Eye Records

You’ve got your new outfit, perhaps something to decorate your home and a stunning piece of jewellery, so what next? What better way to end your Sydney shopping outing than a trip to an institution – Red Eye Records. A cornucopia of new CDs, old vinyl and band merchandise, if you can’t find something worth listening to here, it’s probably not worth listening to.

Whether you are looking for the perfect present for that special someone, browsing for inspiration or simply looking to indulge yourself, Sydney’s shopping scene has something for everyone.

John Peters is a globetrotting freelance writer.

Travel Talk

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To travel is one of the most enriching experiences you can give yourself and your loved ones. It is an opportunity to discover the world around you and to experience different cultures, cuisines and customs. The 13th Century Persian poet, Rumi, puts it best when he said that “travel brings power and love back into your life.” Traveling does give you a whole new perspective on things and lets you view those around you in a very different light.

Whichever tourist attraction you decide to visit next, it is sure to give you, and those who accompany you in your travel, a very enriching experience. Imagine all those new places to explore, new interesting food to taste and loads of colorful personalities to meet along the way. Traveling costs may set you back on your savings a bit, depending on how you decide to splurge or scrimp on each travel, but traveling in itself is one priceless investment and I am sure you will agree.

Let us meander and see more of the world around us, and while you plan your next getaway, do not forget to check out these cool and amazing infographic about traveling that Best Travel Videos put together.


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Halloween Characters on Stamps

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It is a free theme for this week’s Sunday Stamps and since it is a few days to go before Halloween, I decided to share with you these famous scary characters. You’ve probably tried dressing up like them in one of those Trick or Treat events you’ve attended.

The first stamp features Mary Shelley’s unforgettable character Frankenstein, which was brought to life by the actor Boris Karloff in the 1931 film adaptation. He then played The Mummy in its own film adaptation a year later.

This last stamp, on the other hand, features another well-known character, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, who was brought to life by Hungarian-American actor, Bela Lugosi, in its original film adaptation in 1931.

I do not know what was it about the 1930’s and scary films, but I would love to see these original films in black and white, if given the chance. It would be amazing to see how they brought these extremely terrifying characters with the limited technology at their disposal. By the way, these stamps came with a bunch of US State map cards, which I shall share in my upcoming posts!

Oh well, I do hope you have a pleasant week ahead and do share some Halloween-related stamps or postcards you might have stashed somewhere! 🙂

Malta: The Perfect Stag Party Destination?

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It’s pretty easy to arrange a bog standard stag do. Check that everyone’s free, find a vaguely convenient cluster of pubs to drink in (possibly even the ones that you normally visit) and then make your way from one to the other over the course of the evening.

If the organiser considers himself a bit of a joker, you might have a suitably “hilarious” fancy dress theme to make it obvious to everyone that you’re celebrating the end of your friend’s singledom.

So far, so boring.

Others are a little more adventurous. Travelling stag-dos once used to take the ferry across the Channel for the various carnal delights of Amsterdam and its notorious Red Light District. Then, as the Euro area expanded to include cheaper areas with stronger beers, Poland and Czech Republic became popular, to the extent that today Prague is full of groups of boozy British blokes.

The expansion of the aviation industry over the past years means that more imaginative souls can do better than that, especially with a decent amount of planning.

Gentlemen, I give you Malta.

An Island in The Sun

Malta is a small island 50 miles or so from Sicily in the Mediterranean that was part of the British Empire for a hundred and fifty years, up to its independence in 1964. It remains part of the Commonwealth. One big advantage therefore (though perhaps not for creating humorous anecdotes for the wedding itself) is that the vast majority of its residents speak English. Asking for directions or more beer isn’t going to be a problem.

Feel The Heat

Another huge plus is the weather. Whereas there’s a certain kind of fun to be had in slipping over in the icy streets of an Eastern European city in the dark of winter, in Malta it’s hot enough to wear a t-shirt and shorts all year round. You can’t wind surf or jet ski in Amsterdam

No Hassle

At a mere three hours flight away, getting there and back in a weekend is more than feasible, whilst if you book your Malta airport shuttle transfer online it means that you can drink as much or as little on the plane without worrying about renting a car or taking public transport.

Small But Mighty

Malta is a relatively small place, to be sure, but at more than 450,000 people, it has a larger population than a number of UK cities with big reputations for wild nights on the town. As a consequence, there are plenty of things to do both in the day and evening. These range from climbing and abseiling, to the previously mentioned water sports, to karting, cycling or a sedate round of golf. If the group needs something a little less intense in order to recover, you could always consider taking a look at Malta’s history. For anyone interested in history more generally, or just those with a sense of the wars their fathers and grandfathers fought in, Malta was an important part of the war against the Nazis. There are a number of scuba diving companies that offer the chance to visit some of the wrecks surrounding the island that are a legacy of Malta’s pivotal role in the British navy maintaining control over the Mediterranean.

Nightlife

For nightlife, the place to go is Paceville, a vibrant area of clubs and bars and where stag do groups can find a lively atmosphere, music, fairly cheap booze and plenty of beautiful women looking to party. Packed with different options to choose from, Paceville is a well known landmark on the European dance scene and frequently hosts top DJs. In short, Malta has everything that a self-respecting group of lads could ask for.

Guest post provided by Holiday Transfers, an airport shuttle service with a passion for travel. Follow @HTransfers on Twitter for more holiday tips and advice.

image is from Wikipedia