Welcome to the last full week of November! That’s right – we’re on the final run-up to Christmas. How have things gone so fast?
For one thing, it’s when weeks go as fast as the last 7 days; it certainly doesn’t feel like a week ago that I was writing our previous IG Edition. But this time round, we’ve got some great stuff to show you, including a couple of shots from our quick trip to Melbourne, a new coffee release and our top tips for creating the perfect party platter.
Anyway, I’m sure you’ll enjoy our latest IG Edition plus our Travel Recap towards the end of this post.
Also don’t forget to sign up to our free weekly newsletter if you haven’t done so already. I email out this update every Friday with a rundown of the week’s posts so you’ll never miss out on any of our content, giveaways or competitions.
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Cheers – Jim & Christina xx
Is there anything better than hot buttered crumpet and a cup of coffee to start the day? I really don’t think there is. Plus we’re lucky to be given the opportunity to try Nespresso’s latest limited edition coffee line, and it’s quite an interesting one.
It’s called the Suluja ti South Sudan (which means ‘Beginning of South Sudan in Kakwa, the local indigenous language of the region) and is a coffee that people thought was going to disappear due to the conflict of this volatile region. Nespresso have worked with local coffee growers to regenerate the industry.
This coffee, which was only ever available in France before now, is really lovely. Very smooth even as an espresso, smokey and chocolatey, it’s well worth keeping your eye out for this one if you have a Nespresso machine.
Tonight’s super moon was absolutely stunning. It’s the closest the moon has been to Earth in 68 years, and it won’t happen again for another 68. As you can see, we don’t have the right equipment to take astrological photos, but this one does give you an idea of the scale.
We’re lucky to see this much of the moon over Sydney; it’s a cloudy night and the moon isn’t going to hang about for long.
Mrs Romance and I love a good platter. Up until now, we’ve made do with a couple of cheeses and some crackers and dips, but Mrs R has decided to improve her platter-making skills.
I’m very happy!
Check out our top tips for creating the perfect platter here in one of our latest posts on site.
Just in case you didn’t get the message, here’s a gratuitously close up shot of the platter Mrs R has made!
We’re out for lunch today at Establishment in the city. Ordinarily I try to avoid Establishment. This bar, which has been going for a surprisingly long time, is about as far from my favourite type of watering hole as you can get, but during the day it’s actually not that bad.
Service is quick and the burger… well, you can see for yourself!
If this isn’t the saddest thing you’ve ever seen, I don’t think we can be friends any more. I’m going to do something now that I don’t usually do: it’s time to name and shame. This is the Lord Wolseley Hotel in Ultimo and things are clearly not right here.
I’ve been coming to this pub every week for about 11 years and have seen many changes in that time. But this is the first time it’s ever actually run out of all the beer.
It’s an early start this morning: we’re at the airport flying down to Melbourne. Yes, that’s my double espresso. Let the lord have mercy on all of us!
The only thing I’m sad about is that I won’t be staying long down in Melbs – just overnight – but it’s better than nothing.
And up we go. See you again soon, Sydney!
I love the Melbourne Central Shopping Centre in La Trobe. the Shot Tower and its purpose-built cone-shaped roof is so iconic to the city.
But this is the reason we’re here in Melbourne. We’re on a business lunch at the top of the tallest building in Melbourne and the 2nd biggest in the country: the Eureka Tower. 88 floors above the city, you get some incredible views.
Let’s hope the results of the meeting are as magnificent as the landscape!
Before I know it, I’m back up in the air heading back to Sydney. I’m flying solo this time having left Mrs Romance to play. I’ve got plans for a very quiet weekend!
Mrs Romance seems to be having a blast already without me. She’s heading out of Melbourne on a girls’ escape with her mates.
I do love a road trip, but I also enjoy developing my butt-groove on the sofa, so I’m not too jealous!
Meanwhile, I’m back in Sydney in time to enjoy the sunset and a ferry ride. Things aren’t so bad, are they?
This week’s Travel Recap
Each week we go back in time over some of our favourite travel destinations using never-before-seen photos of our travels. Here’s where we’ve been looking back on this week.
A peaceful moment poolside at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara, California. We only had a night here on our road trip south from San Francisco to LA, but would love to spend longer in this beautiful hotel.
Here’s our full review of the Bacara and what you can do here. Plus here’s our full itinerary for the drive south – and what a drive it is!
We were very excited to be staying at the Centara Grand Hotel at Centralworld in Bangkok. Not only does it have this impressive rooftop pool, it’s also home to our favourite rooftop bar – Red Sky and this awesome Spanish restaurant – Uno Mas. It’s understandable then that this hotel is our go-to whenever we’re in this incredible city.
Here’s our full review of the Centara Grand. It’s a lovely hotel in one of the best locations in the city.
The last in our pool envy series on Instagram is this beauty at the Berjaya at Times Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This is said to be the largest outdoor rooftop pool in the country… and I can see why!
The Berjaya is a beautiful hotel – certainly our top choice in KL. It features in our First Timer’s Guide to Kuala Lumpur – check it out for more info on the Berjaya and KL!
Lady Liberty at New York New York in Las Vegas stands guard over one of the most peculiar cities we’ve ever been to. The Strip is really something to be experienced, and this hotel and casino has the best way to see it: there’s a rollercoaster that runs all the way round the outside of the building!
Check out our other tips for Sin City – here’s a link to our full Vegas library.
If there’s anything that says California, it’s palm trees! Mind you, they’re not native to the state. In fact 90% of all trees in Southern California are imports!
The boulders of Skull Rock Nature Trail in Joshua Tree National Park, California are amazing. We drove through this beautiful park on our way to Palm Springs as part of our road trip ‘the long way’ to Las Vegas and we can’t recommend it highly enough.
For more on our road trip, plus our free downloadable of our itinerary, click here!
There are plenty of things to do in Vegas as you can imagine. But this has to be the best. This view from above – thanks to Maverick Helicopters – is on the way to the Grand Canyon. This has been on my bucket list for so long, but to be actually landing in the canyon then be treated to a glass of sparkling when we’re there… the best!
Check out our full story of our experience (and one of our first ever videos) here!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this round of the IG Edition. It’s certainly been a lot of fun making it! Hope you have a great week and we’ll chat again soon.