Exploring Melbourne

If I were to draw parallels between British cities and the Australian ones, Sydney felt like a cross between Birmingham and London whilst Melbourne felt a lot more like a bigger (i.e. denser) and more modern version of Edinburgh with its relatively more cultural going-ons, its food markets, the weather (wet and cold) and its refinement. Fair to say, I really liked Melbourne.

I'd heard great things about the foodie scene in Melbourne and we were not disappointed. We stayed near the MCG (Air BnB again, a lovely studio for £45 a night!) and were within walking distance of most places in town. Ed found Sezar ( a modern Azerbaijaini restaurant) via Zomato and that's where we dined on our first night in town. Amazing place - do check it out.

Like Sydney, I had a very limited shopping agenda for Melbourne and it was to stock up on my Aesop essentials as they are far cheaper than in the UK. I also wanted to check out the Sass and Bide outlet - I've been lusting after their snowbird cape and was hoping to find one cheap-ish.

Melbourne has a brilliant public transport network and travelling within the inner city limits via tram is free. We took advantage of that to do a quick survey of the city's offerings before venturing to St.Kilda.

Some have raved about St.Kilda whilst others have turned their nose up at it. I think it depends on where you go. We thought it was quaint but weren't that enamoured by it. It has lots of seaside shops and cafes plus there is Luna Park if you fancy a bit of adventure. We didn't. It was very cold too ( even by Edinburgh standards - those Arctic ocean winds!) and we were quite happy finding a cafe to grab a drink and slowly make our way back into town.

My favourite bit about Melbourne was its markets. We checked out two - the Queen Victoria Market and the South Melbourne Market. The quality of the seafood, fresh produce and coffee were all exceptional. I loved the fresh oysters at the South Melbourne Market - tasty and less than 50p!

For a final spot of shopping exploration, we headed to Chapel Street and the Docklands. I did not find my Snowbird cape although I've now added the Soldiers and Riders cape to my lust list (It wasn't a priority buy at over £400 and I'll hunt it down on eBay someday). 

Given the foodie and social scene here, we wanted to check out a few more places. On our last night, we drank at the Double Happiness bar and ate at the vietnamese street food place next door called Rice Paper Scissors. They were both was exceptionally good!

Have you been to Melbourne too? And if so, what were your favourite bits? Ann x

Wearing Carven Paris Map blazer, Gap skinny jeans, Muji shirt, Tom Ford sunnies and Bloch ballet flats

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