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From the Pen
of Emily and Jenn
This month, my husband and I traded in almost all of our frequent flier miles on Etihad Airlines to fly from our current home in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to Sydney, Australia. The 14-hour flight seemed to take forever, but it was much shorter than it would have been from our usual home on the East Coast of the United States. And it was well worth the long trip.
We arrived to glorious springtime in Sydney, and the sparkling harbor, the glistening Harbor Bridge, and the shining Sydney Opera House lived up to their famous pictures. They are truly stunning. But despite the wealth of sights to explore, this trip wasn't really about seeing and doing it all. It was about taking a break from the fast pace of my work-related travel (long days and nights of scouting in an effort to bring the best of the best back to you!) in favor of strolling, eating, seeing, and doing at a more leisurely pace.
We chose Establishment Hotel as our Sydney home. The hotel's 31 rooms each offer iPads stocked with a selection of complimentary movies that can be seamlessly displayed on your TV, free Wi-Fi, Bulgari toiletries, rain showers, a convenient downtown location, and preferred access to some of the most sought-after bars and clubs in the city. At just over half the price of many of the highest-end properties in the city (Four Seasons and Shangri-La, among others), our decision to stay there was a no brainer.
While in Sydney, we took advantage of the vibrant dining and wine bar scene. Our favorites included hot-rod Italian wine bar Mille Vini and Burke Street Bakery (for flat whites and rhubarb tarts), both in Surry Hills. We also dug the stellar sushi in tiny, trendy sushi e downtown. Beyond eating, we immersed ourselves in the boutique shopping along Oxford Street in Paddington and roamed the beaches at both Bondi and Manly.
After a few nights in Sydney, we made our way to Melbourne, a city known, in part, for its food and design culture. This time we stayed at the well-located and business-friendly Park Hyatt. Highlights included lunch at Cumulus (don't miss the asparagus), the fresh jams and jellies at Babka, hot chocolate at Koko Black, and a nightcap with the incognito in-crowd on the well-worn leather couches at Melbourne Supper Club. Yes, yes, it is true that this vacation was largely about eating, drinking, and loafing, but that was precisely the point!
-- Jenn
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Greetings!
Welcome to the November 2011 edition of The Purple Passport Newsletter! Read on to find out more about how you can Put Your Stamp on The World this month.
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Pacific Standard Time: Getting Arty in Los Angeles
 Just because the holiday season in Los Angeles is typically sunny, not snowy, doesn't mean it's any less seasonally festive. Holiday lights on palm trees and a manually frozen ice rink downtown are just a couple of visual delights that transform the Southland into a "wintry" wonderland. This year promises to be even more visually stunning as the Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980 initiative is in full swing. Launched in October and continuing for six months, Pacific Standard Time is an unprecedented collaboration of cultural institutions across Southern California coming together to commemorate the historic birth of the LA art scene. Exhibits at myriad participating art museums and galleries are exploring every major LA art movement during this formative period.
 We're super pleased that many of our favorite art venues are making unique contributions to Pacific Standard Time. At the Getty Center, you can scope Crosscurrents in L.A. Painting and Sculpture, 1950-1970, which charts artistic innovation in the postwar era. At the Hammer Museum, you can take a gander at Dig This! Art & Black Los Angeles 1960-1980, a collection of influential works by African-American artists. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art shines a light on California midcentury modern design (furniture, ceramics, textiles, etc.) with California Design, 1930-1965 - "Living in a Modern Way." And at Bergamot Station, the Santa Monica Museum of Art is showcasing pottery virtuoso Beatrice Wood: Career Woman - Drawings, Paintings, Vessels, and Objects.
 Read more about each of these venues in our Los Angeles Guide, and be sure to check the individual museum websites for schedules of special events, lectures, and programs in conjunction with the exhibits. To help coordinate your visit, take a peek at our Pacific Standard Time Passport, with all the museum info plus good places for an art-break coffee or cocktail in one convenient place. It'll help you save time----Pacific Standard time, that is!
Photo of the Getty Center courtesy of sheilaellen on Flickr Creative Commons; Photo of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art courtesy of pink_fish13 on Flickr Creative Commons; Photo of the Hammer Museum courtesy of the Hammer Museum |
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Fave Feature - Photos Tab
 Speaking of visually stunning...all of the picks in our various city guides are pretty awesome to look at. While each venue review appears with a featured photo, we also have the handy "Photos" tab feature, which allows you to take a peek at our picks from every angle, especially useful when you want to get a closer view of a hotel room or restaurant table you're thinking of booking. When you're on the "Info" tab, simply click on "Photos," then scroll through the shots using the "Next" and "Previous" buttons. Have your own pic of one of our selected venues? Click on the "Got Photos? Upload Them Here" button just below the picture viewer (or "Send Pictures" in the directory on the bottom of the page) to upload your shot. We're ready for your close-ups!
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More Purple! - The Hunt
 We dig good old-fashioned scavenger hunts, the kind that send you all around town in search of obscure, specific items (pipe cleaners, anyone?)----it's always a thrill to stumble upon secret finds. Here at The Purple Passport, we've adapted that concept for our scattered-across-the-globe staff. Every week, The Purple Passport team goes out in search of a designated item (like historical landmarks, favorite bookstores, and the best sandwiches) in whatever city our globetrotting team members happen to be in at that time. Tune into our Thursday Diary of The Purple Passport posts to read all about our noteworthy finds on The Hunt!
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Venues of the Month - Rodeo Drive and Worth Avenue
 Though we love to shop, the crowds, stress, and looming deadline of holiday shopping can make us downright grumpy. That's why during the season we aim for one-stop-shop experiences where we know we can pick up something for everyone on our list in no time flat (and even indulge in a little something for ourselves). Both Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and Worth Avenue in Palm Beach are our dream holiday-shopping destinations. The two areas on opposite coasts are like twins separated at birth: both have swaying palm trees that melt away stress, boutiques representing the best international designers, and delish cafés at which to refuel. And, given the fine weather in both beachside destinations, you can get your shopping done in flip-flops (albeit bejeweled ones).
 On Worth, we might grab some funky accessories at Gypsy for our trendiest girlfriend, luxurious linens for mom at Leta Austin Foster, and artisan slippers at Stubbs & Wootton for hubby (and a yummy cashmere sweater at Cashmere Beach for ourselves...). On Rodeo, we might break things down by designer: Cartier for mom, Chanel for the girls, Armani for our special someone...and Jimmy Choo for us. No matter where your holiday list takes you, these retail oases are the next best thing to Santa's Lane! Photo of Rodeo Drive courtesy of arturogarrido on Flickr Creative Commons; Photo of Worth Avenue by The Purple Passport |
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About The Purple Passport
The Purple Passport was born out of a passion for travel, a love of the world's great cities, and a desire to spread the word. Our founders, best friends Emily and Jenn, have been traveling internationally together for over a decade----with purple-colored passport covers in tow. Now they've created this one-stop-shop, web-based city guide for all your urban travel needs, from researching a trip start to finish to creating an itinerary shared with your own favorite travel companions.
In keeping with our founding spirit, The Purple Passport personally visits every single spot that we review. And we always pay our own way, never taking compensation for covering a venue on the site or in our newsletter, which means you'll get the most honest, unbiased travel information for the world's most exciting cities. It's a portal to a world well-traveled, and we invite you to PUT YOUR STAMP ON THE WORLD!
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