#Sydney Sandstone

[vanishingsydney]

Stone mason's yard. Specialising in heavy tonnage of semi-finished blocks of Sydney Sandstone, now quarried at Maroota, about 70 kilometres north-west of Sydney. The distinctive local sandstone was the 19th century building material of choice in Sydney, and there were many small quarries scattered throughout the Inner West. A thriving industry by the 1850's, they'd all been pretty much worked out before WWI. Until new sources were found, Sydney Sandstone was a rare, mostly recycled material for repairs, which weren't needed much anyway due to its extremely high durability. Still highly prized and sought after today. And still very expensive. Annandale.

[be-a-hero-kill-yourego]

Contemporary Pool - Poolhouse

Inspiration for a mid-sized, modern backyard renovation with a rectangular pool house

[katnapsh]

Sydney Poolhouse Poolhouse

Example of a mid-sized trendy backyard stone and rectangular pool house design

[dirteaicecream]

Contemporary Pool Mid-sized trendy backyard stone and rectangular pool house photo

[ellanewton]

Pool - Water Slide Water slide - mid-sized contemporary side yard concrete and rectangular lap water slide idea

[jovaniclark]

Sydney Poolhouse Poolhouse Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary backyard stone and rectangular pool house remodel

[thegreatlandone]

Poolhouse in Sydney Mid-sized trendy backyard stone and rectangular pool house photo

[hybridefiance]

Traditional Landscape Ideas for a substantial traditional retaining wall landscaping.

[sevendevilsinwesteros]

Poolhouse Poolhouse (Sydney)

[vanishingsydney]

MacLaurin Hall. A gothic revival riot. Without doubt the most intricate building of it's kind in the Inner West. Built of Sydney Sandstone between 1902-1909 to re-house the Fisher Library of The University of Sydney, completing the southern end of The Quadrangle (begun in 1855). Copper roof and clocktower. The book stacks were stripped out in 1966, and moved to a new larger building, where it remains the State Library-of-Record. The Hall now used mainly for concerts and as a ceremonial venue. The last significant gothic revival building in Sydney, as the style had gone well out of fashion by the time of construction. Designed by NSW Government Architect, Walter Liberty Vernon. Heritage Listed. Camperdown. 

[vulpineninja]

Contemporary Pool (Sydney)

[katnapsh]

Contemporary Pool Sydney

Mid-sized trendy side yard concrete and rectangular lap water slide photo

[the-worm-that-gnaws-in-the-night]

I will forever love how if you drive 45 minutes out of Sydney you can reach the end of the world.

[reengineeredluminary]

Sandstone cliffs at Bronte beach, Sydney

[cusaqphotos]

[pynkhues]

Hey Sophie, I'm going to be in Melbourne soon! Do you have any tips for what to do, see, or eat?

Hey! Ah! How exciting! Melbourne's a really fun city to visit, and I feel really does have something for everyone.

Hmmm, tip wise, I think I'd say:

grab a Myki card for public transport. You can buy these at any news agent, train station or petrol station. Melbourne has a free inner-city tramzone, which is great for getting around the CBD, but you should also take advantage of Melbourne's incredibly good train network which'll open up the broader city to you. A Myki card works on all forms of public transport - buses, trams (for trams outside of the free tram zone) and trains - so they're pretty straight forward.

On that note, the PTV app is pretty useless for public transport (you're better off using Google maps tbh), but it does let you top up your Myki instantly via your phone, which makes it useful. The TramTracker app is very good for trams though, especially because you can type in the number of the tram you're on and know exactly which stops you're heading towards. The logos look like this: (trust the doggo)

Don't drive in the city - it's a layer of hell.

Have a little bit of cash on you. Most places take cards or smart watches, but you'll need gold coins for certain things too, particularly accessing certain gardens or markets.

Pack for all weather. Melbourne's known for having four seasons in a day, and having lived here for almost five years now, it's not an exaggeration. Layering is your friend, and always have an umbrella!

Hook turns are a real thing here, and whether you're driving or just crossing the road, they're worth being aware of.

Places to visit

Melbourne's famous for its street art, and while you can just wander around and observe yourself, doing a tour is particularly fun (and makes sure you see the best stuff!)

Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) is one of my favourite places to show out-of-towners (although that's probably partly just because it's me, haha). It's a museum of film, tv and games, and explores the moving image as both a form of commercial entertainment and as a form of art. Their cinema is often playing really interesting films too.

National Gallery Victoria is always worth checking out.

Chapel Street is known for it's little galleries, restaurants and indie shops, and makes for a fun day out.

Queen Vic Market and South Melbourne Market are both iconic and for good reason. They've been operational since the mid-1800s, and you can often feel that when you're in them. They can get packed though, so just a heads up.

I love love love heritage buildings and exploring history through place, so will always recommend checking out the National Trust's historic sites in Melbourne. Rippon Lea Estate is a personal fave and only about 20 minutes out of the CBD on the train. They shot parts of Miss Fisher there, and even if you don't get to tour the house (although I recommend you do!) even just exploring the gardens are beautiful.

Abbotsford Convent & Collingwood Children's Farm are right next door to each other and a pretty amazing day out.

If you fancy seeing a movie, my all time fave cinemas are The Classic and The Lido, which are owned by the same family. Either spot is worth checking out.

If you're looking to see a show or performance, you can look for the big ones at any of the big theatres, but for smaller, exciting indie stuff, I'd check out the programs at Malthouse, La Mama, Art House, Meat Market, and Footscray Community Arts Centre,

What to eat

Wellllll, this ultimately depends on your budget, haha, since Melbourne restaurants can run the gamut. Some of my favourite restaurants that are a bit more on the expensive side but great for a special occasion:

Maha's probably my favourite restaurant in Melbourne? It's modern Middle Eastern cuisine and their seafood in particular is divine. It's a set menu, and like I said, a little exy, haha.

Mabu Mabu is modern Australian First Nations (Torres Strait Islander) cuisine and is very good! They sell some of their own sauces too, and I highly recommend snagging their pineapple hot sauce! It's also very easy to get to, as it's located in Fed Square right next to the Koori Heritage Trust which often has Indigenous exhibitions on (and a great gift store if you're looking for anything to take home)

Chin Chin's - delicious South East Asian fusion cuisine. Again, a little exy.

Transformer - incredible vegetarian restaurant. They do both ala carte and a fixed menu. Highly recommend their fixed menu! They're also very good with dietary requirements, particularly if you're gluten free or if you have annoying allergies for a vegetarian restaurant like me, haha (tomato and eggplant).

Cheaper eats that are also delicious:

A little out in the South Side 'burbs, but Saigon Mamma is my favourite Vietnamese restaurant in Melbourne.

Rice Paper Scissors is good too, as is Chocolate Buddha, Green Man's Arms, and oh! Studley Park Boathouse is a fave. It's beautiful location-wise with pretty standard (but good) pub eats, and they've got a lot of water birds you can feed and boats you can hire pretty cheap ($30 for a kayak, $40 for a row boat) to row along the Yarra River. It's also really close to the Convent + Children's Farm if you fancy making a day of it.

If you're willing to travel a little further out of inner Melbourne, I'd also suggest:

Healesville Sanctuary - the bird show is i n c r e d i b l e. I took my nephews last year and the older one still talks about it, haha.

Mornington Penninsula Hot Springs - Mornington Penninsula is a great day trip from Melbourne. It's only just over an hour drive, and it's pretty stunning. Full of wineries and beachy walks. The hot springs are so relaxing though, and really centring if you need it.

Mount Macedon - home of the Hanging Rock of Picnic at Hanging Rock fame! Plus it's just a beautiful area.

Cranborne Gardens - the Royal Botanical Gardens in the city are beautiful too, but I'm particularly partial to these ones.

Hope this gets you started, and just let me know if you have any other questions!