You have hopped on a plane to Australia to see all the amazing sights that this country has to offer. You have been on the road for 2 weeks and you ended up in Sydney to spend your last couple of days in this pretty amazing city. BUT… You haven’t seen any kangaroos! This happened to a friend of mine who had flown all the way from the Netherlands to spend Christmas and new years in Australia. I wanted to make sure that they did not leave Australia without having seen the local wildlife, so I asked around and was told about this amazing place. We took our chances, hopped in our rental and drove up to Glenbrook National Park. Here is what happened next.
Food Ahh the essence of life or the essence of my life anyway haha, there is something so incredibly special about exploring the world and learning about different countries and cultures through food. A lot of what distinguishes a country is the food from France with their croissants and Italy with their Gelato to India with their incredible curries. I mean how boring would this world be without these incredible flavors and smells and the enjoyment that we all receive from tasting something foreign and exciting and new to our taste buds. So in today’s post, I thought I would share some of my top 20 foods from around the world (the must try’s), I would love to do every single country but that would take me waaaay too long lol and ain’t nobody got time for that! So grab yourself a tissue or a napkin or maybe a bib hahaha as I think today’s post is going to have you drooling. Warning – I haven’t chosen the classic well-known foods for each country, so don’t be alarmed if its something completely different to what you were thinking 😉 A global food bucket list oh yea! Here we go! In no particular order:
Ahh yes, the dreaded Instagram games. Whether you are a blogger, photographer, fashion model or just want to become an influencer, you’ve got to play the ‘games’. Instagram can be pretty stressful, constant algorithm changes means that you’ve got to stay on top, otherwise fewer and fewer people will see your kick-ass posts. You haven’t spent hours on a photo for it to only get a few likes. Hell to the no! There are a lot of ways to try and increase your engagement, like ensuring engagement on other profiles, commenting as much as you can, producing content that can be reposted by brands/pages and so on, but I tried out the Instagram promotion feature to see whether it would boost my account. Here is what happened….
I have been living in Australia for 7 years now and I often get asked what the best destinations in Australia are. Most people already know they want to see Sydney and Melbourne, but besides that, they are unsure where to spend their time. So, I have written down some my top suggestions for seeing the best of what this amazing country has to offer.
If you are planning a trip to Sydney and you are a visitor from overseas, then you can’t really leave Australia without having seen some of the countries famous animals. If a trip to Taronga Zoo is too long (it will take up most of your day) but you would still like to see (or even pat) some icons, then I suggest you pop into Sydney Wildlife zoo in Darling Harbor. It is home to different species of Kangaroos, Koala’s, a massive crocodile and several different types of reptiles. In this post, I will show you some of these adorable animals and I will give you some basic information on this zoo.
Another year is done and dusted. Time is going so fast and yet so slow at the same time. It is only fitting to review last year and set some goals and wishes for this year. Even though I am not a ‘new year – new me’ kinda girl – we all know that you usually only last a few weeks anyway haha! In this post, I will only review my first year of blogging. (although I started in April…) But still.
I found a new hobby. Am I good at it? Heck no. Do I have the right equipment for it? Nope. (Canon, if you want to help a blogger out, let me know) But damn, I have fun doing it. I am talking about astrophotography. I was invited by my friend Kim the other day, she is taking a photography course and had to do some astrophotography in order to pass the year. So she was kind enough to invite me and I eagerly tagged along. I ended up really loving it. Even though it was cloudy so the stars there were not out in full force. I also had found that I changed the setting the wrong way. Where I initially had the correct but then changed them into the wrong settings. (Lesson learned for next time) Anywho, Underneath are some of my pictures…
I only started blogging in April 2018. Before that, I was pretty down and was not doing a lot on a day to day basis. In order to get myself out of bed more and to use my fancy DSLR camera, I decided to start Bondi to Basic. In this year in review what I have been up to ever since I started this blog. Since I work full time I usually go out and about on the weekends and take photos for upcoming blog posts. So underneath you can see my year in photo’s what I have been doing for this blog.
Are you a blogger? A traveler? a photographer? All three or none of the above? I am sure that you then have tried to play the Instagram game! Starting a travel account, a fashion account, an interior account, a photography account or something else. You have probably, just like me, struggled with getting engagement, proper followers (No bots or just follow for follow people) and an increase in traffic (If you are a blogger). I started my blogs Instagram account a couple of months ago. Initially, I got lots of followers, likes, and comments, but as the time went on it got lower and lower by the day. I find this VERY frustrating and upsetting, so I thought I would try some things to see if I could improve my Instagram and get a larger group of followers. In this post I will show you if I have succeeded, and what I have done to improve my blogs Instagram account.
I know I have been posting a lot about Bondi and Bondi Beach lately, and I apologize for that. This will be my last post on Bondi Beach this year. I promise. I just really wanted to share some more photos of this pretty cool beach suburb. I went through my photos today and I found so many cool ones, at least in my humble opinion, that I decided I want to share them with you. I know, I am so sweet! From the beach, sunsets, Iceberg club, and surfers, underneath you will find it all.
Located in the heart of Bondi Beach lies a small apartment hotel, Adina. Located at amidst bars, cafes, restaurants and boutique shops in Sydney’s most famous beach neighborhood. Just minutes walk from the beach lies a 2 story – small, contemporary hotel equipped with all the necessities that you require for a mini-break from life. Making my way to Adina was super simple and straightforward. Hopping on the 333 bus line from Circular Quay conveniently drops you off at Bondi beach. From there it is an easy 5-minute walk to the hotel. The reception area is very modern and open. With several couches, computer and access to the pool, it is very welcoming. A minimalist color palette, with soft lines and a decorative stone wall, gives a modern, but not cold feel. Varying room categories fit all types of travelers, even those who travel with children or with other couples as they offer inconnected rooms.
I am one of those people who stubbornly refuse to try something new. My dad had been trying to get me to listen to podcasts from when it first came out. But no, I didn’t think I would like it. Only a few months ago a friend of mine convinced me to try it, and I have been hooked ever since. The great upside of this is that I literally have hundreds of podcasts to listen too. Now, this is going to sound strange, but I love murder mysteries and true crime. So the podcasts that I listen too are all related to that subject in some way. In this post, I will show you some of my favorite podcasts I listen to regularly and that has me hooked.
I needed to escape the hustle and bustle of busy North Sydney the other weekend. It has been hectic at work and I needed a quick break before the summer season started. The beauty of living in Sydney means that there are loads of great weekend break destinations within a few hours. So this mini-break I decided I wanted to go to the beach, especially because it was going to be 32 degrees and I needed some chill time. So that is what I did, I booked a hotel and off I went. I wandered the streets of Bondi, watched a sunset and enjoyed some time at the beach. If you are interested in going on a weekend to Bondi Beach then check out my post underneath.
A Dutchy, Kiwi and Canadian walk into a cricket stadium. Sounds like the start of a dad joke, doesn’t it. But it happened last Sunday. I have never been to a proper game before and I was always curious what it would be like. I am Dutch, so I did not grow up watching cricket. And it is a lot more entertaining then what most people realize. So when I got the opportunity to go to a T20 game I was down. Australia was playing the final game against India at the Sydney cricket ground and my boss had some tickets left. It was a great game, but Australia lost. It was such a great experience anyways. The Indian fans are so hooked to the game, they truly support their team. Every wicket or catch they would go MENTAL. It was great to see. Underneath are just some pictures of this great evening.
One of the most stunning cities you will ever visit is without a doubt is Paris, The city of love. It truly has it all, some of the most stunning architecture, the Seine, delicious food, museums, Catacombs, Disney Land, Arc the Triumph, The Lovre museum… and some sort of weird building that is called the Eiffel Tower? I don’t know, you might have heard of it… I have been to this amazing city on many occasions and I have loved it every single time. I have spent hours on end writing an encompassing guide for you because there are some things you MUST do when you go. Get a cappuccino and a French banquette and get comfortable cause this is a long one.
Each year for my birthday I go on a little adventure. Whether it is to the Gold Coast, Jervis Bay or to Bali. I love to get away for a bit, think about life and recharge for another year. This year was the year that I traveled to Bali, Indonesia. Since I live in Australia it is only a short trip away and the weather is amazing, and the hotels are cheap. However, this trip turned into a bit of a nightmare where I had to delay my flight back home and even ended up in the emergency room in Sydney. If you are curious about what happened and what you can do to prevent this from happening, then I suggest you read on…
You can read hundreds of Sydney City guides and not many will talk about the Chinese Garden of Friendship. I wrote one of those city guides myself, shame on me! I have been living in Sydney for 7 years now, and I had never been to these gardens. And boy do I regret it. These gardens are absolutely stunning, tranquil and are cheap to enter. In this post, I will show you what you can expect when going to these gardens, which I suggest you do when you are in Sydney, cause they are pretty amazing!
The world has some amazing man-made landmarks that should be on everyone’s travel bucket list. So if you are planning your trips for 2019 and you need some inspiration, then let me help you decide where to go. I have written down 10 (in my opinion) some of the most iconic landmarks you should see in your lifetime. While most of these names will no doubt be familiar, and you sure have seen most of them on Instagram or online, you won’t be able to appreciate their iconic stature until you are right in front of them. In this post, I will show you some of the most iconic landmarks in the world.
I love Sydney! There I have said it. I have written many all-encompassing guides to different walks in Sydney, different suburbs as well as a full city guide. After pondering over what I would write about next I realized that I hadn’t written anything about Sydney by night. I can’t tell you enough how cool this city is when the sun has set! And then I am not talking about clubbing and whatnot (that’s not my thing) but I am talking about The Opera House, The Harbour Bridge and all other highrises around these buildings. This is truly a sight you must see at least once in your life. I can spend hours on end watching the city glitter at night whilst many many boats float past. Some blaring music, some enjoying the scenery whilst enjoying a dinner and some private boats just going to a sail on a water summers night. I have never seen a style of posts like this with other travel bloggers ( I couldn’t find it) so here it is. Sydney by night, what you must see, where you must go to optimize your Sydney by night experience and where the best instagrammable spots are to make your folks back home jealous. You are so very welcome…
November in Sydney is Jacaranda season, YASSS! This stunning tree in blossom is a fairytale we all want to be in. From Paddington to the North Shore, these trees line quiet suburbian streets giving a unique feel and look. In this post, I will show you where to go and what to expect when searching for these magical trees.
