Newcastle, Australia : Home sweet home

We often sit for hours reading travel blogs, searching through photos and watching videos about travel and the incredible places around the world, usually stuck in a trance of wanderlust dreaming of ‘getting away’ and exploring.

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But it is so easy to be blinded in this trance and forget about where you are now, right in this moment. You may think so sometimes, but your home town doesn’t always look like this…

This does not go for everyone, but it is common that we bypass our home and its surroundings because it may not seem as extravagant as a French castle or swimming in the Mexican cenotes, but it may be, because sometimes when you really look around you find something like this…

Think about it… the places that are home to French castles and Mexican cenotes are also home to hundreds or thousands of people who may be looking at your home as a dream destination. This goes for people all around the world!

Newy born and bred

Growing up in Newcastle, Australia I have seen and heard my fair share of complaints about how much of a ‘boring’ and ‘ugly’ place it is as well as numerous Facebook and Instagram posts captioned,  ‘Get me away’, some even being creative and changing the location to ‘Spewcastle’.

But I am here to say, not only to my fellow Novocastrians, but to people all around the world, Newcastle is just as extravagant as the French castles and Mexican cenotes in its own way, even being placed in the Top 10 cities in 2011 by Lonely Planet and i am sure that your home town is pretty special too.

For those of you that have no idea where Newcastle is, it is located on the east coast of Australia about 150km North of Sydney (I am assuming you all know where Sydney is), not only having an impressive line up of beaches but also being home to the largest saltwater lake in the Southern Hemisphere, Lake Macquarie.

Check this out, beaches!

I always seem to find myself trying to discover the best beaches around the world but am always left feeling a little disappointed because nothing ever compares to Newcastle.

You know our beaches much be good when the sand from one of them gets exported to the famous Waikiki Beach as part of a shoreline replenishment program.

Are you hungry yet?

If the photos of the landscape don’t make you believe me that Newcastle is extraordinary, wait until you hear about the range of food!

My top 4 food locations around Newcastle:

• Darby Street – The handy thing about food in Newcastle is that some of the best places are all within the same streets. Darby Street is a unique art and shopping precinct as well as the home to some of the funkiest cafés, including; Three Monkeys, Coco Monde, and The Depot. Best known for its popular brunches and nightlife, Darby is a funky and enticing outdoor dining experience.
• Beaumont Street – Similar to Darby, Beaumont Street is home to 42 restaurants and cafes, however, Beaumont offers a more cultural experience. Whether you feel like French, Thai, Chinese, or even Vietnamese, Beaumont has it all!
• There is still nothing like a pub feed- no matter what suburb you are in around Newcastle, i can assure you that you will be no longer than 10 minutes away from any Pub or RSL. These can be the cheapest and largest meals you will purchase and eat. No matter what Pub or RSL you go to I assure you they will have Chicken Schnitzel (Schnitty) and there is a high chance that it will be the best chicken you will eat (especially if it is smothered in gravy).
• Doughheads Newy- I was going to leave the list at the top 3 but how could i leave out the best donut place in Newcastle. You all know that i love my donuts and Doughheads Newy provides the goods with their own version of the maple bacon donut, nutella donut, cookie dough donut and a bunch more that will make your mouth water just hearing the name.

Is your home town as boring and bland as mine?

Newcastle is not as bad as we Novocastrians make it out to be, maybe we are really trying to keep it to ourselves so all the Sydneysiders don’t find out and storm our beaches.

If you are stuck in your trance of wanderlust, dreaming about getting away to some exotic, foreign land, step outside your own home and have a good look around. You never know, your home city may be more exotic than you could have ever imagined.

Try to see it through the eyes of a visiting tourist. A new perspective might be just the thing you need to brighten up your time at home.