Exploring Cornwall
We spent our first week in the United Kingdom in Cornwall, the south-west tip of England. The Cornish area has plenty to offer within an hour drive- from sleepy towns abundant with stone cottages and castles, to endless valleys of green farmland, and bustling beach towns like Newquay and St. Ives.
Taste of Tokyo: Sushi, Ramen and More
Tokyo is full of food: some delightful, some intimidating, but all delicious. We enjoyed futuristic sushi, traditional Soba noodles, and also developed full-blown ramen addictions. There are so many enticing must-try restaurants in Tokyo, you'll probably find yourself enjoying more than three meals a day.
Shibuya, Night and Day
Shibuya! Home to the world's busiest crosswalk (in the world's most populated city!): a five-way free for all surrounded by skyscrapers and mega-screens that's said to have up to 1,000 crossers at a time during rush hour. When you imagine Tokyo, this is it. We stuck around after sunset to see Shibuya at it's best, neon lights and all.
Shinjuku In The Rain
Shinjuku embodies the urban side of Tokyo: government building skyscrapers, upscale department stores, crowded streets teeming with bars and cafes, and the world's busiest railway station. Since the weather is brimming on the beginning of typhoon season here, our first day out in Shinjuku is through the drizzle.
Japan's Countryside, Ichinomiya
Ichinomiya, Chiba is a quiet, rural country town along the coast of Japan with plenty of rice paddies, a scarce amount of restaurants and nearly zero English translations. Our Airbnb was in walkable distance of a convenience store, a supermarket, and the train station but not much beyond that. Luckily, we were able to borrow bikes and explore further along to experience Ichinomiya's cafes, coastline and surf shops.
Shopping in Denpasar
Denpasar, the capital and largest city of Bali, is a primary hub for authentic Balinese market shopping. It's hectic, intense, chaotic but also lively, fascinating and full of color. We both found unique, handmade souvenirs for $5 - $10 and had such a fun experience that we're considering going back for more. The toughest part was getting there with a two-hour round trip riding tandem on a motorbike.
Land of the Endless Lefts
On the west coast of the North Island lies Raglan, a sleepy surf town with a old town feeling renown for it's surf. Downtown Raglan is inland set on the harbor, with Wainui Road leading ~ 15 minutes out to Manu Bay and Whale Bay for seemingly endless point breaks. Shaun had been looking forward to coming to Raglan for a long time!
Kia Ora! Introduction to New Zealand
New Zealand! Part 1 of our adventure has ended (Australia) and we're embarking on Part 2 in NZ - starting in Auckland. We only spent 3 days in the cosmopolitan center and we spent a fair amount of time exploring, despite the torrential weather.
Exploring Coolangatta
Coolangatta is the southernmost point of the Gold Coast, right on the border between Queensland and New South Wales. The area maintains it's small beach town feeling despite the several high-rise complexes that line the coast. Cooly is home to a handful of scenic beaches and iconic surfbreaks - including Snapper Rocks, D-Bah, Greenmount and Kirra.
Cronulla's Hidden Gem
Collecting seaglass might only be an American trend (??) because we were the only two people gasping at the vast amount of perfectly tumbled seaglass covering a secret beach's coastline.
The Streets of Surry Hills
The Sydney suburb full of trendy young people. Surry Hills, as described by the Airbnb neighborhood guide: "Cool places and cooler people comprise one of Sydney's coolest neighborhoods." The streets are lined with cafes, each creatively competing to be more unique than the one next door. Boutiques full of knick knacks and perfectly disarrayed decor. The nightlife consists mostly of speakeasy-themed bars or converted warehouses.
Along The Central Coast: Terrigal
Luckily this is our first week that we have a car, because the coast here is lined with point after point and each miniature bay/cove is another cute town, upon another cute town…Our first day in Avoca, we drove to Terrigal (roughly 3 miles north).
Cabarita Beach
The beaches are picturesque here. The Cabarita Hill is a lush green, meeting the white sands lined with black rocks all adjacent to the vivid turquoise ocean with crystal water. The colors are insane, comparable to Hawaii. Perhaps better.