1.) The Skylines
Despite none of Melbourne, Brisbane or Sydney having any super tall buildings (excluding Sydney's CN tower type deal), all three have quite nice skylines. What I really like about Melbourne and Brisbane specifically is how unique the buildings are - a mixture of newer, angular ones with older, rectangular ones. Melbourne's really is one of the best skylines I've ever seen for a city without a single >1000 ft building - just a great variety of styles, shapes, colors. Brisbane was nearly as good, with similarly interesting architecture.
2.) The Art Museums reduced focus on Europe
I've long mentioned that I don't like the fact so many art museums overly focus on European art. Granted, seeing a few classics is always nice, and I do like older European art, from say the 1300s - 1500s. Too often though its the same romance era portraits adn still lifes. Well, Australia has some of that but far less than other places, and if anything they overly show Asian art. Of course, there's also a ton of Australian art - from older to modern. Each of the three main art museums I went to did really well to showcase Australian art, both aboriginal and non-aboriginal. These were, on its face, some of the better art museums overall that I've been to.
3.) Weather in Winter
I came to Australia particularly in winter because the highs/lows seemed like a dream given how hot, sweaty and annoying New York in Summer can be. The one risk, I guess, was rain but I got extremely lucky in that regard. On my entire trip, it rained three times. Instead, the weather stayed dry - generally stayed cloudless, and wavered between H/L of 65/50 in Melbourne & Sydney, and 75/57 in Brisbane. Admittedly, I think the locals found the weather colder than I did but that was mostly a problem in Sydney, where there was a fair bit of wind - the only times I considered wearing a jacket.
4.) The Cocktail Spots
Good cocktail bars are basically ubiquitous at this point, but even then, the ones in Australia were all quite great. From Apollo Inn where I went with my cousin that was great, if pointed more in the gin focused lane, to the various ones all owned by the same folks, to Sydney where I fell in love a bit with PS40, to finally even my last night in Auckland. Even if you throw out the Auckland bit (as this was in theory about Australia), we're left with some great places. The real surprise to me was the Brisbane ones. On it's face, saying four cocktail bars are all owned by the same folks would lead me to worry about those four, but the three of them that I went to were all good, all slightly different, and all
5.) The Rivers
Many cities are built around rivers - it was kind of a requirement in the early days (that or a harbor I guess). So Melbourne and Brisbane are not unique in that aspect, but they both make such good use of the rivers, both taking a similar set-up of most of the CBD / maximum urbanity on one side of the river, and art districts and greenery built on the otehr side. Brisbane is probably more stunning a walk around, but Melbourne even more green and kempt. On the whole, both cities use their rivers just phenomenally to their advantage and create endless wandering, people watching experiences
6.) The Banquet Menu concept
I don't know why other countries don't do this as much - basically serve a mini tasting menu that is just a selection of your normal dishes for a reasonable upcharge. How reasonable? The average banquet menu I got was about $90; on average where I didn't get a banquet menu and instead just ordered a starter and main, was around $50, closer to $60 if you include a dessert. Therein lies the great aspect, for that 1.5x charge you get generally between 3-4 small bites of starters, 3-4 smaller portion of mains and 1-2 desserts. Yeah, you're given what they want to give you from teh menu, but I never felt like i was getting the lesser dishes. And more than anything it solved my main issue when traveling alone to a non-tasting menu spot, in that I'm generally limited to trying just a couple things.
The Bad / Less Good
1.) The Lack of WiFi
The one startling aspect of the trip was how few places in Australia had free WiFi, namely bars, breweries, restaurants. In Brisbane it was almost as if it was a city-wide rule not to offer it. Not only did most places say they didn't have it, many acted as if I had three heads even asking for it. I mean, I get that in 2025 everyone has a smart phone, but I was still taken aback that majority of the bars I went to didn't have WiFi. I was able to get around it with hot-spotting from my work phone, but it left dinners more I guess one with the restaurant rather than doomscrolling.
2.) The Similarities in Cuisine with America
I can't really put this well into words but good Australian food (i.e. not fusion) is very similar to good American food - same produce-focus, same strong cooking on meats, same purees and gels and sauces, etc. The best plates from say Firedoor or Farmer's Daughters, or the various banquet menus could easily be served in the US under the guise of modern American cuisine and not seem really out of place. This is not a bad thing - the food was really good and graet for Australians that these places exist, but it does make you think that you travel all these miles to have a meal you can have in say Denver.
4.) The Craft Beer
There were a few good spots that I went to so it wasn't all bad, but I did find the beer scene in Australia to be a bit uninspired. I blame the Brits (of course) because their shitty pub-style pours have more or less taken over Australia, these low ABV standard ass lagers and ales. Australian pubs were the same, which is to be expected, but most of their craft options were in that vein. Not everywhere - Sea Legs in Brisbane was quite nice (the decor / setup specifically), and Batch Brewing had some great beers, including a truly great milk stout, but on the whole you can probably reduce focus on beer in Australia.
5.) The Cost of Food
People say Australia is expensive, and I would agree in one specific area: normal food. This became quite clear even despite the favorable exchange rate at the moment. Oddly, the tasting menu places or banquet menus weren't all that bad compared to other 'Western' countries, but at more normal restaurants where I went for lunch, I still felt I was dropping $50-60 USD for an app and a main, with or without a drink. Oddly, alcohol was consistently cheap, as were club entrances (and even drinks at EDM clubs), but for whatever reason, I found food to be the one thing that was relatively expensive.
The Great:
1.) The Vibes
Really, I've rarely been to a place that just oozes cool and good vibes more than Australia. This was most pointedly true and pervasive in Brisbane / Gold Coast, which everyone told me to expect - Australia's version of California. But even in Melbourne, with the people just milling about. In Sydney, variosu people I ran into in bars, clubs, coffeeshops. Everyone just seemed content. Now, I know that isn't 100% true - people have struggles in Australia just like any other country, but for the most part Australia seemed a genuinely happy country, and one that was happy to have me as a foreigner visit.
2.) Koalas
The first touristy thing I did after my time in Melbourne (where I did tourist stuff, but was also with family for much of it) was visit Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, which lived up to its name tremendously - just overwhelming you with koalas. In that first moment, I realized that I'd been underestimating koalas as a favorite cute animal. Specifically, the moment it changed for me was when I got to touch and rub the back of one. Koalas are basically impossibly soft, cuddly and fuzzy. It was magical - I still get a smile on my face just thinking about it. Same with picturing them curled up asleep high up on a branch. Just perfect creatures.
3.) The Greenery
Australia is a startingly green-friendly (in terms of nature, not eco/recycling - though I'm sure they're in on that too) place. All three major cities I went to, that all house at least 2.5m people, have large botanical gardens in their city center. Ok, Brisbane's technically is outside the city center, but they have a small second one on the city center as well. All three have taken large swaths of river / sea front property and turned it into open parkland. The hills of Melbourne's Red Hill wine region were such an inviting start to the trip as well being the first thing I did in Australia. There was just a constant feeling of being one with nature - something the best American cities have as well, but compare even Sydney's amount of park space to Chicago or Toronto (my favorite cities to compare it to) and it isn't close how ahead Australia is.
4.) Oxford Art Factory
The one true club I went to on this trip was a risk. Oxford Art Factory still had really good reviews, but it had been twelve years. So much could've changed. The biggest risk was what if I was kind of mis-remembering the experience. I know I had a great time with my cousin in 2013, but that was also before I got more into the EDM type music and have now gone to places around the wrold. Well, good news - Oxford Art Factory still rocked. And I got two different, but interesting shows to test it - first in their smaller bar with a collective of five young amateur DJs, which had jsut a great, homely vibe where everyone seemed to know each other (and welcomed me, a relative outsider), and then the second night in the bigger area imbibing what seemed to be an old pro doing it perfectly well. Just an awesome, awesome experience over two nights. Arguably the best back-to-back night at an EDM club for me in a long, long time - in that often one night slips below the standard of another; here they were both just great.
5.) Saint Peter
I went to a lot of great restaurants on this trip, but the single one I will truly remember and take with me is Saint Peter, the great fish butchery spot in Sydney. It is well reputed for a reason. I've heard of nose to tail, but never in fish terms. They really did use fish in everything. The mind blowing dish was the fish charcuterie plate, having things that looked like ham, even tasted like ham, but was fish. But also there was using fish eye to make cream in the dessert, a fish nduja sausage type thing that was used in multiple dishes. Everything was just excellent, unique and memorable. For my final real meal in Australia, it was a way to truly go out on top.
