The Best Place to Stay in Sydney Australia

https://shows.pippa.io/moderrn/the-best-place-to-stay-in-sydney-australiaI traveled to Sydney Australia two years ago and it became one of my favorite destinations. Due to this being my first visit to Sydney, I stayed in the Central Business District area of Sydney Austrailia. The best place to stay in Sydney Australia, in my opinion, would be in the neighbor called the Rocks. When I heard about the fantastic architecture in the Rocks, I grabbed my camera and proceeded to explore the neighborhood.

The Rocks

Because of "the Rock's location to the main attractions, it makes the area the perfect spot for the first time visitor to Sydney. Since "the Rocks" is in close proximity to these attractions, you can walk to the Opera House, Downtown, and even catch a ferry at the Sydney Harbor. In addition to main attractions, there are also shops, cafes, and restaurants close by in the neighborhood.

Runner Up: Bondi Beach

I'm a big fan of being close to the ocean and Bondi Beach is the perfect neighborhood. One of the reasons Bondi is a great location is that the area has fewer crowds than the busier locations in Sydney such as around the Opera House and the Central Business District. While Sydney Austraila is known for the Opera House, Koalas, and Kangaroos, it is also known for its amazing beaches.

Summary: The Best Place to Stay in Sydney Australia

In conclusion, I think you will be pleased with any neighborhood you select in Sydney Australia. After you travel to a new place you develop an orientation on where things are and the best way to experience the city. Because I love amazing architecture, the Rocks is a neighborhood that I found myself visiting often when I was in Sydney. Similar to my post about the Skyline Gallery in Roppongi in Japan, I will be doing more travel features in the future.

London Mood Board

I plan on visiting London this year. Before I embark on my trip, I thought I'd look for inspiration before going. One planning tool I have been anxious to try is creating inspiration Mood Boards of places I plan to travel to. I picked up the idea to create mood boards from Pat Kay and Benjamin Lee. It's almost similar to creating a shot list but mostly it's to get gain inspiration. Below is my London mood board for this year.

London Mood Board: Photo Inspriation

Alex Cornell

Alex Cornell is another photographer who I have been looking at for inspiration. His Instagram includes great photography from stunning locations.

Alixe Lay

Alixe Lay has taken some amazing images of London. I first became aware of her instagram through the Matador Networks page. However, it was her photos of Bath, Somerset that caught my attention.

Onder Turkmen

Onder Turkmen has many great gems of London and Europe in general on his Instagram page. In addition to photographing a great city, his creative use of reflections in his photos is inspiring.

Summary

In conclusion, creating this London mood board before traveling to a destination is exciting. In the past, I always played things by ear before taking a trip. Usually, this was because I didn't want to over think a trip. However, I have found that having a plan is extremely helpful and encouraging creatively.

Skyline Collection in Roppongi, Tokyo Japan

Since writing my recent blog post on Three Great Items For Your Next Trip to Japan, it made me think of the photos I took on Japan. After looking through my photos last year, I came across this photo I took from last year. During my trip to Japan last year, I happened upon an exhibit in Roppongi, Tokyo. I took this photo of a Nissan GTR at the Skyline Collection in Roppongi, Tokyo Japan. On my trip, I brought with me the Sony a7R II to take photos. The Sony a7R II makes for a great travel camera because of its size.

Roppongi, Tokyo Japan

If you're ever in Tokyo I would recommend stopping in Roppongi. Everyone usually comes to Roppongi for the views a top Midtown Tower, but Roppongi has enough attractions to get you to stay for a bit. Among a few are:

• Fujifilm Square
• Mori Art Museum
• The National Art Center
• Tokyo Midtown

Skyline Collection in Roppongi, Tokyo Japan

Three Great Items For Your Next Trip to Japan

During the Spring of 2017, I traveled to Japan for three weeks. I had traveled to Tokyo back in 2013 and I wanted to make a return trip ever since. Below are in my opinion, three great items for your next trip to Japan.

Prepaid Sim

I have been to Japan twice. During my first trip to Japan, I quickly found out that access to free WiFi is almost nonexistent. There are some areas which you may find free access, but gaining that access is a tremendous effort. For my second trip to Japan, I decided to get a prepaid sim card for my cell phone.Most of the mobile internet companies offer either a prepaid sim or a wifi hotspot. I decided to go with the prepaid sim because I did not want the concern of needing to charge the wifi device. My recommendation is to research internet companies before going to Japan. I choose to go with a company called Sakura Mobile.The great thing about Sakura Mobile is that they offer options to deliver the prepaid sim right to your hotel room. I like this because you don't have to walk around the airport and compare prepaid data plans on the fly. A couple of things that I thought were annoying about the prepaid sim was needing to fill out several forms in order to use it. Also, you will need to return the sim after the end of your trip to Japan. But I thought the negatives were more than worth it. Your first trip to Japan you will get lost. Having WiFi on my phone ensured that I'd at least find my way back.

Google Translate

I wrote early last year about the using the Yomiwa app as a quick translator for Japan. I learned however that the Google Translate app is probably a much better fit for travel in Japan. This was primarily because of the new feature that allows you to point your camera at text and have it translated into English. I found this tremendously helpful on the Shinkansen (Bullet train) as they sometimes will not have an English menu. The Translations in Google's app aren't 100% accurate, but they provide you a hint if you're not fluent in the native language.

Medicine

Lastly, I would recommend bringing medicine with you on your trip. I always used to take this for granted until I caught a cold during my last week in Japan. Because medicine in the in pharmacy stores are written in another language, you're not sure what you could be purchasing. Make sure you pack both headache and cold medicine along with your trip.

Summary: Three Great Items For Your Next Trip to Japan

In conclusion, I found these three items for your next trip to Japan great to have. They also come in handy if you're traveling to overseas in general.