All The Fuss About Melbourne

From the very moment I announced I was moving to Australia, I cannot begin to tell you how many people asked “are you off to Melbourne? It’s so edgy”. Now, by my own admission, I am not “edgy” or especially hip, nor do I think anybody who uses expressions like “too big for their britches” ever is. But with that in mind, I usually make a conscious effort to distance myself from anything that falls into that trendy, hipster category; Melbourne included. 

But living the other side of the world it seems a total shame not to make the most of my location and take in as much of Australia as possible. So in April of this year, I held my breath as the Skyscanner page processed my flight booking for a long weekend down in Melbourne. 

I went with a friend who, for the most part, shares my outlook on life - early nights and brunch. So we arrived late on Thursday evening, checked into our hostel and both felt the need to go out on the town but opted for an early night instead as the next day promised an early start and a long drive along the Great Ocean Road. Probably for the best as the pair of us passed out almost immediately after getting into our bunk beds.

By 7am the next day we were up, showered, hair and makeup done and b-lining for a nearby car hire so we could start our epic adventure. Being under 25 meant I couldn’t get insured on the car so I got to ride shotgun and just enjoy the scenery along the way (that is, until the car sickness kicked in). 

First stop was the sunny seaside town of Torquay for a mill around the local shops, a beach photoshoot (for the gram) and brunch at Growlers. I was pleasantly surprised to find that even outside big cities there’s so many gluten free options or alterations can be made with such ease to accommodate for us fussy eaters. From there we made our way over to Bell’s Beach - although we didn’t stay especially long, it was more just to briefly check out the surfing event and oggle the competitors. Next on our drive was some pretty waterfalls in the National Park for the sole reason of taking some tropical-themed Instagram shots (all of which looked dreadful) but it made for a picturesque walk and a good way to stretch our legs after 6 hours in the car. The final stop on our road trip was the 12 Apostles and we managed to make it there just in time for sunset which would have been the perfect end to a wonderful day had we not had another 4 hour drive back to Melbourne afterwards, but c’est la vie. No surprises by the time we made it back to the city at 11pm we were in no mood to be going out, so we once again hit the hay and got an early night.

From my extensive social media research prior to moving to Australia, I’m well aware that Melbourne is “the place to be” if you’re a big fan of brunch. So on Saturday morning we got ourselves out of bed bright and early and headed to Archie’s All Day for what was supposed to be a quick brunch before exploring the city. In actuality, it quickly spiralled out of control into a boozy $200 brunch and an intoxicated purchase of some AFL tickets at the MCG… you might as well go all out, hey!

Now at the time I didn’t know any of the rules of AFL and in my tipsy state it sort of just looked like rugby with shorter shorts, but either way it made for a fantastic day out. However, being in our twenties meant that we no longer have the stamina for an all day drinking sessions so we hopped back to the hostel for a nap before heading for dinner off Swanston Street and some cocktails. Two of my favourite bars we visited that evening were Rooftop at QT, a fun little rooftop venue (although definitely one for the summer over a blustery Autumn evening) and Beneath Driver Lane, a speakeasy type bar tucked away off Elizabeth Street.

Our final day was spent actually exploring Melbourne. We ventured to the shopping district, along the waterside and the lanes but before we knew it it was time to head back to the airport and the delights of NSW. Our visit confirmed for me that I’m definitely a Sydneysider but it wasn’t as hipster as I’d prepared myself for. I’m glad I got to see some of Melbourne but think we will definitely need to go back at some stage to cram in the rest of the city as there’s so many other spots friends have filled us in on and we never made it down to Brighton and St Kilda. Perhaps fewer early nights and more boozy brunches next time?