A long weekend in Melbourne

Day 1:

With its street art and laneway bars Melbourne is a city that stole my heart long ago, so I was hugely excited to jump on a plane and head to the coffee capital of Oz for a long weekend with three of my best girlfriends.

With two of us from Brisbane and the other two from Melbourne there was lots of laughter hugs and squeals when we finally touched down at Tullamarine Airport.

The Melbournites quickly whisked away to South Melbourne for our first foodie experience at the eclectic and ever popular St Alis. Here we feasted on amazing salads with prawns, a delicious salmon special, drank specialty coffee and enjoyed a chat with owner and Melbourne Personality Salvatore Malatesta.

Lunch at St Ali's

Following lunch we headed to the girl’s place at Richmond and bunkered down for some serious gossiping. On Thursday night we attended a rather un-girly event – the ANZAC match between the Warriors and The Melbourne Storm which was actually a whole lotta fun. Buoyed by the Storm’s win we had a few drinks near the stadium and called it a night.

It's footy time!

Day 2:

Melbourne is known for its shopping, food and street art and Day 2 in this beloved city saw us experience all three. We dedicated almost the entire day to wandering Bridge Road (where I picked up this little beauty at less than half price for an upcoming wedding) and the infamous Chapel St before catching a train and a tram (Melbourne has a truly fabulous public transport network) to Fitzroy for a spot of delicious lunch at Vegie Bar (you must try the burrito!) and some wonderful exploration of its colourful laneways.

Fitzroy Laneways

An afternoon cider at Naked in the Sky – the recently opened rooftop bar at Naked for Satan – proved to be the perfect place to enjoy the afternoon sun and a killer view of the city. The vintage pornography covering the walls also made for a bit of cheeky entertainment.

The view from Naked in the Sky

After some time spent recuperating and resting our tired feet we glammed up and cabbed it to Cookie for dinner. Yup more food and alcohol there was! We sat in the cocktail bar and ordered a range of food to share including:  

·         betel leaves with smoked fish, chicken & roasted coconut salad 14.50

·         prawn & glass noodle firecrackers with avocado & coriander sauce 14.50

·         penang lamb & eggplant curry 25.50

·         One other dish which I unfortunately cannot remember!

Dinner and drinks at Cookie

We also each ordered cocktails (mine was called the ‘Snow White’) and all of them were absolutely superb – as was the food - simply divine and great value for money.

The 'Snow White' 

After dinner, cocktails and a few G&T’s we headed upstairs for a quick dance before our sleepy eyes saw us head home.

St Kilda

Day 3:

What better way to start the day than breakfast and a wander at St Kilda. We went to Rococo’s which was the perfect place for people watching. A stroll by the water and a sit in the sunshine quickly followed before we were on our way to check out the city for a couple of hours.

Street Art in Melbourne City

Chillin' in St Kilda

As everyone knows Saturday night is party night and man were we ready for it! Pre-drinks and dinner were served up at home as we partook in the perfected art of grooming. Make-up, outfits, hair, nails…girly girls we are.

Then we hit Hoo Har on Chapel St.

Drinks flowed, dancing happened and catch ups with new and old friends too - a super fun night was had by all and whilst there were a couple of headaches the next morning it was nothing a bit of bacon couldn’t fix.

Hoo Haa

So that brings me to…

Day 4:

Did the time really go that fast already? We nursed ourselves with a sleep in and a cook up at home before packing our things and visiting Grapeseed in Armadale for one last treat. Then we drove to Brighton Beach and got our tourist on posing for cheesy pictures against the backdrop of colourful shacks. It had to be done!

Family photos

The trip to the airport came way too soon and although we entirely exhausted ourselves I would do it all again in a heartbeat. So that’s a recap of my weekend – what did you get up to? And have you been to Melbourne? Where should I put on my list for next time?