Oh my, it's August now! I can't wait for spring and the Araluen Tulip Festival! It's coming soon!! (and yes, more photo opportunities!)
Anyway...spring festival aside, here's part 4 of the Sydney series. Today I'll be covering the iconic Queen Victoria Building (hereby known as QVB) and the Strand Arcade!
First up - QVB - a late 19th century building designed by George McRae. It is built in Romanesque Revival style, and occupies literally a rectangular area in the CBD, filling up a city block (it is surrounded by three streets). It is a very prominent building within the CBD, and has been around since the late 1880s. A statue of Queen Victoria is situated outside one of the facades (where the ABC Shop is located).
Marble sculpture seen on one side of the facade - amidst a background of green-topped domes. This is one of the two marble sculptures seen on the building.
Ventured inside the mall, and gosh it is so beautiful! Its like a mixture of old and new put together. There were plenty of shops and brands, and we also had some lunch on the ground floor, in a small cafe. And of course, I spotted a Haigh's chocolate shop there, and had to take a pic of it! I also spotted Koko Black, but didn't get to go there. Thank goodness I went to Guylian Chocolate Cafe on the same day - if not I'd definitely have chocolate withdrawal symptoms!
I've gotta mention - the tiles form really beautiful patterns too! I couldn't resist but take lots of pics of the inside, as I went up (and down) the different floors.
There are two clocks in QVB - the Royal Clock and the the Great Australian Clock.
Here's the Royal Clock - this clock activates on the hour, and was designed and made by Chris Cook. It is suspended from the transparent roof, and is an iconic landmark in the building. Simple design, but very impressive nonetheless! I like its shape and the beautiful clock face. I also realised it has been featured in some of my interior shots above.
The Great Australian Clock - weighing 4 tonnes and standing 10 metres tall (also suspended from the ceiling). It shows scenes depicting Australian history (seen from both European and Aboriginal perspectives). Pretty cool - to be honest! I took quite a number of pics of this.
Carefully restored stain glass near the stairways of the building.
Looking up at the iconic stained glass dome. I didn't get to see the dome up close, but I did manage to get pics of its details. It is so beautiful!
The open (circular) area where the dome is situated, and where the different 'corridors' congregate. One path leads in the direction of the Great Australian Clock, while the other path leads in the direction of the Royal Clock.
Looking down from the top floor - I spotted this interesting stairway pattern - it looked as if the stairs were spilling like a waterfall from the top floor to the first floor. So I decided to go down to have a look...
And I managed to snap some pics of the layered staircase along the way! They were literally stacked in the same curvy fashion. And when I got to the bottom, I got a pic of the beautiful tiles...and the last few steps on each side, 'spilling' onto the ground floor. I really love this layout...and yes I am still very fascinated by this beautiful work of art, even up till now.
Old fashioned lifts! I had a ride in one of them - and the last time I had a ride in one of these lifts was in Dijon (Hotel Le Jura), where I went for a conference. For some reason I'm fascinated by these lifts, and am always reminded of the tap dancing scene in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) whenever I am in them. Someday I will do a dance number in one of these lifts.
QVB logo on the carpet - near the main entrance. I first spotted it while walking down the stairs.
Left the QVB after taking LOTS of pics...and headed towards the Strand Arcade. It was raining that day so we stayed indoors most of the time.
The Strand Arcade - tucked away between some modern-looking buildings in the CBD. It was built in 1891, and opened in 1892. It's actually one of the last shopping arcades that originated from the Victorian era, and still retains its form. It was extremely popular in the early 1900s, and even up till today. Oh yes - and its architecture is beautiful! I didn't have much time to walk around there, but I did manage to get a number of pics. And I found Haigh's Chocolate there - which made me super happy!
The 'shipment' of Haigh's chocolates from The Strand Arcade. They're all gone now! I've been eating them up over the past few months. As for the Guylian chocolate - well, I have not touched them yet but they will soon be gone...I've got to savour it somehow!
Since we are on the topic of 'chocolates' now - here's a little tribute to my favourite chocolate shop ever (Theobroma Chocolate Lounge, Fremantle) - which unfortunately closed down sometime at the end of June. Up till now - I am still sad about its closure, because I have officially lost a source of good hot chocolate. Theobroma's hot chocolate is simply the best - and I have enjoyed it so immensely over the past 3+ years or so. It came as a big shock to me when it closed down, and it has been quite difficult to get over it. Thank goodness I have alternative places like Koko Black, and Callier hot chocolate from Nespresso (which I can make myself), but I will always miss Theobroma.
So anyway - here're some of my favourite snapshots of Theobroma. I accumulated quite a number of photos of the food there. And of course - here are some mandatory shots of the hot chocolate (I usually go for dark hot chocolate, but there was once I went for mint hot chocolate and it was good!). The dark hot chocolate is thick, smooth...and absolutely amazing. I got so addicted to it!
My mates and I have a soft spot for chocolate fondue, and we often justify ourselves by saying that it is made primarily of fruits! The melted chocolate is amazing, and most of the time I end up having it all.
I probably will never say no to cake or croissant drizzled with Belgian chocolate! These are my favourite desserts ever! I often have the Belgian chocolate croissant whenever I'm lazy for dinner - its absolutely amazing! And I enjoy licking up the Belgian chocolate (not literally of course!). The cake is a chocolate rocher cake, and it is heavenly too!
I think I've had lots of Belgian chocolate croissant over the past six months or so. When I first tried it, I was immediately addicted - and it soon became my 'default'.
Shared a fruit tart with two buddies too - and it was also pretty good!
And who could ever forget the individual chocolate pieces? I found some with treble clefs on them and had to take a pic of course...and I also took a pic of this adorable Fortune Cat chocolate piece. It was actually made of solid chocolate, and my friend bought it for me. I bought some chocolate buds from Theobroma before too, and the last thing I bought from Theobroma was a bar of chilli chocolate, which I haven't opened yet. I'll eventually open it...
I guess that's it for today's long post! I'm currently drooling no thanks to the pics of chocolate and hot chocolate, and I think I shall make myself some hot chocolate before bed! Catch you guys again soon!