They say you can only tell how truly beautiful a city is in the rain.
Okay, that was a gravely rough version of the exact lines from a Woody Allen movie. But if I were to use that as a benchmark, the very short weekend I had spent in Melbourne is something I find myself looking back on countless times. The photos will hardly show how charming the city is. Period. There is no 'but'.
Flying in from Sydney, it only takes about one and a half hours before you touchdown Tullamrine. My impression of Melbourne came as soon as everyone boarded the plane. I was a seat away from a 20 something girl who bought a small bottle of wine and skulled it like her life depended on it. Across the aisle, were French tourists. Ugh how cute were they. And the rest were just seemingly cool hipsters. I felt a sense of panic on how I was going to fit in. Good thing I was still hungover (literally) from the wedding the night before.
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| St. Patrick's Cathedral at night |
I didn't have anything planned as I just wanted to cruise and take the city in
ala local but I must have done some right as I was really lucky to have good friends accommodate tourist-ole-me during the weekend I was there.
My weekend was spent heavily on walks around the Melbourne CBD, tram rides every so often, beer (lots of beer) and a couple of coffees that I'm pretty sure opened my eyes to how shocking coffee in Japan is. Though I wouldn't classify myself as a coffee drinker, I do know that I will jump on every chance to bask in Australia's coffee culture when I get back.
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| Bourke St. Mall |
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| A Melbourne landmark, Flinders Street Station |
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| Federation Square where locals gather to watch the Australian Open on the big screen opposite to this angle |
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| Degraves St. This one's a must see! It's like the cool, not to mention, real version of Diagon Alley. You won't find wands and broomsticks here but you will find artsy corners, interesting-looking people and good coffee. Really good coffee. |
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| It's not everyday a gigantic purse sits in front of you, you know. |
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| St. Patrick's Cathedral in daylight |
I was catching a flight back to Sydney around noon so there wasn't ample time to have a sit down for a proper brunch. My friend also had to go to uni so what followed was just a quick send-off at Southern Cross Station where I caught the airport bus. While in transit, I looked back on the weekend's photos and smiled like an idiot. It was probably one of the best weekends ever.
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| BEST BUTTERMILK PANCAKES EVER at Pancake Parlour. *cries* |
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| DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) at Docklands |
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| Docklands |
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| Victoria State Library |
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| Take a walk along Southbank. You'll thank your feet for it forever. |
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| Very glad we got to share such a proper meal on my last night in the city |
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| Nando's. Their claim to fame is their Peri-peri chicken. |
I'm really hoping I could take a few days out of my trip to go visit Melbourne again. Perhaps this time, I'll do more planning. I'd love to check out the other streets and it would complete the experience to go see the Great Ocean Road.
That or just sit at a hipster cafe, clutch on my cup and be pretentious while I ignorantly gaze at everyone.
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