Melbourne Archives - Traveling U

Unconventional Accommodations: Vacation Rentals

Marissa’s Birthday celebration in our Melbourne Rental home.

Our beautiful beach rental in Torquay, Australia. We really wanted to stay longer…

The world of Vacation Rentals has drastically changed. When we can’t find a home or hospitality exchange or if we are staying for an extended period of time we have found vacation rentals are the best option. We recently had the opportunity to stay in Australia for three months moving from Melbourne to Sydney to Brisbane and the places we rented were both affordable and incredible. Once again you get the true feeling of being part of another community and culture. We had people over weekly for dinner and to learn about where we should go in the surrounding area. Vacation rentals have all the benefits of home exchanges but with a cost. Usually the cost is as much as half that of a hotel and so the savings here also help the bottom line of the travel budget. Plus you get more room, a kitchen and great neighbors.

These are a few photos of our fun chic rental apartment in Sydney, Australia.

In Australia, we rented two and three bedroom apartments for around $120 per night. If you were to get a similar size hotel room it would cost well over $300 per night.

www.airbnb.comhas drastically changed the vacation rental industry. In the past the big boys were www.vrbo.comand we still check out their options but have found Airbnb to have an incredible selection and an easy interface to find what you want where you want it. It is also easy to pay and if you are on business, easy to expense. Other sites you pay for in cash and receipts are not quite up to travel expense report standards. Keep in mind that on many home exchange sites they will offer vacation rentals too. These are often at very low cash, paid at the time of rentals. It is always good to look there first and then venture into other sites. Rental sites often cater to special accommodation options like cabin rentals or boat rentals – so do your homework and search for the one that best fits your needs.

Here is our adorable neighbor Taj admiring his artwork that adorned our apartment we rented from his parents, a lively ‘Beach Shack’ in Brisbane.

The view from our window…. wow!

Alps+friends+of+nature+house+switzerland+2

This is the beautiful Swiss Chalet that the Kluth’s rented for us while in the Swiss Alps, complete with cowbells ringing in the morning to wake you up, fresh crisp air, intoxicating green everywhere you look and fabulous prices for a night stay. They are called the ‘Friends of Nature’ houses. At the time we went, it was $10-20 Euros a night… WOW!

Ultimately the way we travel is simple and flexible. Have your top ten destinations that you want to go. When you find airfare that is cheap for any of them, that’s the one you take. Then find the accommodations that fit your needs best. When you are rigid in your travel plans, you usually spend much more because you don’t look at any other options. We hope you discover the world as we have and you find incredible ways to travel your way both inexpensively and free.

We wish they would rent these out… we would be first in line!

Happy 18th Birthday Marissa!

There is magic in the number 18.

Especially when it is your Birthday and you are officially an adult. Marissa has been waiting for this day for an extended amount of time. Most of us who have passed this threshold probably remember what we did (or possibly didn’t do) on that day. Marissa likes the idea of being older so she can finally ‘look’ older, we try to remind her that one day she will be thrilled to look younger then her peers but that doesn’t seem to matter today.

Because she was away from her family and friends back home we wanted to make it special. Although she adores her parents (we took liberty with that, although we are sure it is totally accurate:), it is nice having her friends to celebrate with also.

She had made friends with a local Aussie, Brendan, who decided to organize a party for her. We were thrilled that she would have a few others to celebrate with for this big day!

Her first birthday melody came from Elvis!

We told her that we would be taking her to lunch (because dinner and afterwards was a surprise) she was to decide what restaurant she wanted to enjoy from all the ethnic and culinary food wizards in So. Yarra. Would you be shocked that she picked an American Icon, 50’s diner, ‘Soda Rock Diner‘. And all because of the barbecue sauce. We do not know where this girl really came from as she could eat BBQ sauce on almost everything, possibly even ice cream. She must have been missing it!

Your food is delivered by a skating waitress who is then proceeds to do a whirl or two leaving your table. Impressive!

Following her total barbecue indulgence (you can even see the extra bowl next to her plate), we headed off to the ‘Australian Grand Prix’. We couldn’t miss this opportunity since we were already this close, right?

Brendan met us there and the three of us ‘competed’ for the win. But of course, it was Marissa’s birthday, so we let her think she was the campion. What else could we do?

Dale was super hyped to see a ‘Formula 1’ car but while he was looking around, I decided to just ask a few questions (I know, I am super shy that way:). Would they allow Marissa to sit in the ‘Formula 4’ for just a few photos because it WAS her birthday, after all? The guy in charge said that they don’t ever let anyone sit in the cars BUT he would make an exception. This is her lucky day!

The young single adults in the area surprised her with flowers to start off the night, what more does a girl need? Along with a full Aussie Barbecue with a little bit of an american twist, a artfully decadent cake from a celebrated bakery, “Le Bon“, and games. She seemed elated by the friendship that was shown to someone not only new to the area but leaving the next morning.

Here is a special tribute by her dad:

Today in Australia, tomorrow in the US, is this beautiful girls birthday. What an incredible 18 years it has been, from the time we brought you home from the hospital at just under 5 LBS to now, a beautiful healthy young woman. Thanks for letting us drag you all over the world! I’m not sure there are many 18 year olds that can say they have had their birthday on four continents! I hope today is as special as you are and that there are even more adventures to come. Love you Marissa!

The next morning a few Melbourne friends came to say ‘Bon Voyage’. We will miss our newfound home.

Farewell Melbourne!

Melbourne Graffiti meets Marissa.

What more is there to say?

*Pictures taken by Dale Bartlett

Free Tour…. our favorite word ….FREE.

Marissa was so excited to watch, “Into the woods” at the

Moonlight Cinema at the Royal Botanical Gardens,

Melbourne. We soon realized our zeal to see an outdoor movie fizzled a little as we were ill prepared, arriving without enough blankets and no pillows to be comfortable. However, we still enjoyed the adventure of watching a movie under the stars… and big bats. It also helped that with our Telstra cell phone discount we only paid $11AUD instead of $20AUD.

Here is our colorful feathery friend who sat posed for us while we attended the, “I’m Free” Melbourne tour. The tour guides are fantastic as they navigated a huge crowed for almost 3 hours through the historic streets of Melbourne. They share the rich (and sometimes not so flattering) history of Melbourne.

“O Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?”

Where is Juliet, we might ask?

Graffiti is both a huge problem and beautiful art in Melbourne. It is against the law to graffiti anywhere in Melbourne with the exception of a few areas where both business and the artists work together to preserve the beauty of street art. In some places it is typical tagging and is an eyesore, but as demonstrated here it can help create both a visual and cultural delight.

Healesville and the White Night – Is that full or what?

Our adventures were just beginning at Healesville Sanctuary, we are excited to see what we will encounter. Marissa is hoping for some cuddling Koala time (Dale is secretly thinking the same thing).

There isn’t any Koala holding going on but Marissa still seems happy to see them.

If we were that kangaroo, we would want the entire treat too. Why would you want to share it?

We could play this over and over – it just makes us smile! Marissa was really excited to meet him but see what happens…

Don’t miss out on the fabulous bird show, ‘Spirits of the Sky’.

Who knew that birds are so smart… actually the rumor has been out there for a while but this black breasted buzzard has an edge on smarts.

We don’t see signs like this in too many places! We hope to see them crossing our pathway here.

The other show they offer at Healesville is, ‘Tales from Platypus Creek’. This is the only Platypus show in the world, so sit back, relax and enjoy a bit of the show.

Look closely as the Platypus keeps swimming up to cuddle her arm.

Melbourne city is a buzz of noise, lights, entertainment, food and an endless amount of people coming to see the ‘White Night’ extraordinaire.

The theme we noticed over and over at ‘White Night’ was ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Every few minutes the projections on this building would change to a different photo. There were different buildings throughout Melbourne that were being highlighted for this night. The city (which was closed to everything but foot traffic) was bustling with so much activity and adventures to be seen around every corner…many were there until it ended at 7am the next morning. As their Premier pointed out, ‘This 12 hour celebration of art, music, film, and dance will light up Melbourne’s city streets, laneways, gardens, and buildings, showcasing performers and works from Victoria and around the world.”

Not us, we had had a fun filled but exhausting day although we made it 10:30 pm.

Here is a moving projection on the Flinders St. Train Station…. grab a quick snack and a seat. Enjoy!

Crocodile, Emu, and Kangaroo….but not to pet.

Find local Markets to buy many of the items you would regularly buy at the store. Many of them have interesting food to try, to boot.

This is one of the many streets in the Queen Victoria Market.

984275_793044760743720_9108741026525032149_n

Dale decided to taste a few crazy meat selections: Crocodile, Emu, and Kangaroo….. Marissa and I opted to pass!

This was a little bit more up our ally as far as food goes but by the time we saw it, we had already eaten. It is a must for our next visit. Grilled peaches, vanilla ice cream, with a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinaigrette. Doesn’t that wet your appetite? It does that for us in just writing this!

Move over Harry Potter! Marissa found a magical hat made of some sort of seed pods, it was unusually strong. Or was it just magic?

What a way to decorate up the town by covering the trees. Now we know what to do with all the crocheting lessons Michelle’s grandmother taught her. Keep an eye out for our trees when we return home:)

Getting there is half the fun unless….

We stopped at our daughters for dinner and one last moment with our little grandson but as we tried to start our car…. the optimum word, tried, it would not. We found a tow company and car shop as our son-in-law whisked us away to the airport. We took a deep breath and realized we had made it in time.

We have been so busy making sure we have everything we needed for our extended stay in Australia that we didn’t really sit to relax until we were at the airport and couldn’t do anything but wait for our plane. It actually was refreshing…. Yep! The airport was refreshing and relaxing.

Delta actually handed out treats and water while we waited as a thank you for flying the “Friendly Skies”.

The first leg of our trip… L.A. here we come!

We just got the bad news in L.A. that the inflight entertainment system was not going to be working for our flight to Australia… no problem, it’s only a 15+ hr. flight. Yikes! I know, what great adventurers we would have been.

While boarding the plane one of the attendants said that it looked like they got it fixed. Do we look a little excited?
That was until the captain came on and reported that there was MORE bad news, not only would the inflight entertainment not work, it also included the reading lights, charging stations, etc…. Now we really needed to think deep for entertainment!

We safely arrived in Sydney…. that is the most important part, right? Just in time to board our 3rd and last flight to Melbourne. We love the service on Virgin Australia (and they have entertainment, if you download their APP beforehand, which Dale had).

The ride to Melbourne was smooth flying …. until we reached the ground and found that we were the only passengers standing there wondering where our luggage was and everyone else was gone. Oops, somehow they didn’t make it on our flight. It was about this time that Marissa started wondering about our ‘blessed’ day of flying when the wonderful people at Virgin Australia felt our pain and offered us food vouchers while we waited. This wasn’t all bad as we checked in for our rental car, got a bite to eat and PUFF the luggage was there – that was rather quick. Now off to our new ‘pad’ for the first month of our Australian stay.

We put a lot of thought and searching into finding the apartments (and areas) that we would be staying in. It was great to have Marissa so excited about the art deco decor!

Here is the outside of our back veranda. So hiply fun!

The first night in Melbourne we took a Tram to the city to enjoy some street performances after all that sitting on the plane and most importantly…. we needed to stay awake, we had to keep walking!

Where was this guy when we needed entertainment on the flight?

On the way home from our Valentine’s Dinner we found a secret little walkway to our new house. What a way to end a ‘romantic’ dinner and walk……with Marissa:)

Actually we are really thrilled to have this time with Marissa before she spreads her wings (as she is turning 18 in a few weeks). This is a last for us and we want to cherish all the time we have together. We feel blessed!

Travel Saving Tips:

We talk a lot about using frequent flyer programs to help with the cost of airline tickets. Last year Delta announced their new and improved for 2015 frequent flyer program. Here is a side by side comparison for the same flight last year and this year:

2014 – SLC to LAX – Base Miles ; 590 MQD (now needed for medallion) $75
LAX to SYD – Base Miles – 7487; MQD – $946

2015 – SLC to LAX – Base Miles 200 MQD – $40
LAX to SYD, Base Miles – 2535 MQM – $507

They have not only made it more difficult to become a Medallion member by adding MQD and then only counting less than half the dollars spent, but they also give you less than half the miles flown. Right now we would say that Delta has the worst Frequent Flyer program in the industry.

AAdvantage seems to be leading the pack right now with the most customer friendly program. ‪#‎delta‬ ‪#‎skymiles‬ ‪#‎americanairlines‬‪#‎aadvantage‬

When evening hits Melbourne lights up like something magical.

The historic and beautiful Melbourne Train Station.

What does this remind you of?

Our last night in Melbourne we spent a wonderful relaxing evening at the LDS temple….. after quite a long trek to get there. Quit a bit of walking to the tram, then train, and taxi. Thankfully someone we met there gave us a ride back to the city afterwards, what a relief.

If you are interested in knowing more, check out: lds.org

The beautiful lake at the Botanical Gardens

We were able take a walk the next morning to see a few more tourist spots before heading off to Brisbane. First the Botanical Gardens (again), you could literally spend days exploring because there is so much to see. Some evenings they have an outdoor movie night and very often venues in many different areas of the park. You have to really check weekly to see what is being offered.

It is a great place to relax, take a picnic, read a book or just people watch (what? Did we just say that:)

They also have art shared at the Melbourne Museum from Aboriginals. There are many creative works but Dale and I concluded that they really like DOTS. Most of their paintings are done with a series of dots. Take a look..

A couple of different art forms displayed at the Melbourne Museum from local aboriginals. The artwork on the wall was made up of tiny little dots and the dolls were made of some kind of yarn or string.

We shared this yummy salmon salad because neither of us were extremely hungry. It had wonderful flavors although we may have enjoyed cooked salmon a bit more… just preference.

Travel Saving Tips:

1- In Melbourne we decided NOT to rent a car because Sydney was so expensive (about $645 for 5 days). We saved $ by using a taxi sparingly but we mostly walked, took the tram or train.

2-We shared a lot of meals.

3- Buy the weekly or monthly pass (depending on how long you are here) for the tram and train, it saves you $.

Another FREE Tour?

We enjoyed the Free walking tour so much in Sydney and learned so much…. why not do the same in Melbourne?

Anyone up for some exercise?

Melbourne prides themselves in their Graffiti Artwork amongst
many of the alleyways through out the downtown area. Some
are so intricate and detailed it seems a shame that they are not

perhaps in a gallery waiting to be

shared with the world.

More of downtown Melbourne’s artwork.

This is not only a trolley but a moving restaurant. No need for additional entertainment!

Who doesn’t like cute little penguins? Apparently in the evening they come up on the rocks in the St. Kilda Marina where our friend, Andrew keeps his boat. Although we accompanied him there before lunch, we were hopeful that we would see something. No luck! Hopefully when we return to Melbourne.

The wind in St. Kilda was so strong the birds in the video where almost standing still in the air. Entertaining….

How would you enjoy a little time in the hot tub about 15 -20 stories up …..hanging over the ledge?

We met a couple on the pier in Sydney that ended up at the same hotel in Melbourne with us, we enjoyed a great conversation that night on the pier so while Renee’s husband was working she joined us sightseeing for a few days. She braved the wild wind of St. Kilda then enjoyed a beautiful walk through the Botanical Gardens with us to the quint Tea Garden Restaurant.

Our ‘Clean Up-Crew’ was a few local birds that must of been a bit hungry.

Travel Saving Tips:

1- Find FREE or inexpensive tours where ever you are going by googling the area and ideas for your destination. The FREE tours that we found were incredible and of course, we left a tip.

2- Take the opportunity to find out places that are free to visit in the area such as museums, botanical gardens, etc… In Melbourne the Botanical Garden is free.

Tag: Melbourne