After eight hours of back and fourth banter about where we should go (and everything was on the table--I'm talking about everything from the Cook Islands to Cairns), we decided on Melbourne simply because the weather would only get colder the longer we'd wait. I know what you're thinking, we're Canadian, we can handle it. Not when we've climatized to the Australian "Autumn." Nope.
Now you're probably getting hyped up about this whole Prince William and Kate business. So I'll talk this opportunity to crush all of your dreams. No, the real Prince William and Kate were not in Melbourne and we did not see them, sorry to disappoint. It's more of a "would the real Slim Shady please stand up" kinda moment. You'll see.
We jumped in a cab on Thursday morning to go to the airport. Our taxi driver was a lovely man from Hungary (because no one is actually from Sydney--it's like Vegas, who's actually from Vegas?). I was too tired to function because hey, it was around 7:30 am, so Morgan had to take over the conversation with our taxi driver. I lost and regained consciousness throughout the conversation, only to catch the part where our driver thought Morgan looked like Prince William, and by default, I guess, I looked like Kate. I couldn't tell if he was being serious or he too did not enjoy early mornings, so I just took the compliment, laughed excessively, and we continued on our way to the airport.
After arriving in Melbourne, we were picked up in a limo and taken to our five-star hotel (because we're royalty, get it?). Okay, I'm kidding. We took a taxi to our five-star hotel (actually not kidding--we're high class/high maintenance travellers).
After sitting in the room and playing the classic Libra game, "what do you want to do?" "I don't know, what do you want to do?," we started walking to the CBD to check out what was there.
Two friends, Ben and Matt, from my New Zealand Contiki tour happen to live in Melbourne. We got in touch with Ben who was eager (were you eager?) to show us around his beautiful city. We walked up and down the streets and alleyways in the CBD until we found a perfect spot for lunch. In the alleys, there's several tables and chairs set up, and along the sides, there's various restaurant fronts. You simply take a seat in front of one of the restaurants and eat your lunch in the street.
Those of you who know me probably can assume that I was absolutely gushing at how artsy this city is. Not to mention there's actually a website that provides a Hipster Map of Melbourne. Yes, that is a thing. Morgan was unimpressed. Even if you don't plan on going to Melbourne anytime soon, I encourage you to check out this map and play my little "Where's Waldo" type Hipster Bar Search game below:
When I said Melbourne is super artsy, I meant super artsy. The architecture is rather modern and complex, not to mention colourful. To my readers back home, you know our Edmonton Street Performer's festival? Well, that takes place in Melbourne every night along the water: there's painters, and singers; sword swallowers, and flame throwers; even a dancing Elmo playing the bagpipes, I kid you not, I have video proof. But Hosier Lane is by far the artiest place of them all. It's literally an alleyway detected to street art. It's also my new happy place. Possibly the happiest place on earth a) if Disney didn't steal that slogan and b) if it didn't smell like garbage. And I can confidently say that this is the safest I've ever felt in an alley before so that's neat. Yay for Melbourne breaking down stereotypes!
Here's the part where I disclose some very secretive information so make sure to keep it hush hush. The upstairs, called State of Grace, is a casual restaurant, but behind a set of closed doors, beyond a bookshelf, and down a flight of stairs is Fall from Grace: the bar. Beyond a bookshelf you say? Yes, yes I do. Think of something out of Harry Potter with secret passage ways. In order to get to the downstairs bar you had to find the correct book on the bookshelf, pull it towards you, and voila, the shelf slides to the side revealing a staircase. Magic. Also hella cool. Thus, this became my new favourite place. And, of course, the bookshelf was a nice little touch because hey, English major. Books and booze, what else could you need?
The bar itself had a 1920s Chicago vibe to it, with the exposed brick, sheet music along the pillars, a piano, chandeliers, wine racks, vintage furniture, and the bartenders in bowler hats, suspenders, and bow ties. It was magical. So yes, I did teleport back in time here.
Ben and Matt also took us to the Hipster part of Melboune (YAY for plaid!) where we had dinner and a few drinks at another interesting bar. We didn't explore the whole thing, but the front part had a live band, the middle section had a photo booth, old band posters, and some video games, and out back was the exterior portion, with more music, more people, and more drinks.
Morgan and I explored some of the other mildly touristy things, like the Sunday Market, the Edge Experience, and the largest casino in Australia. But we realized that even though we were initially struggling to figure out what we should do in Melbourne, our time went by too quickly and we never managed to see it all. So next time I go to Melbourne (oh, it's happening before I leave Australia), I have a list of things I need to cross off before I can leave. Including the waffle place and the Krispy Kreme shop because yay for sugar.
Overall I'd say we had a pretty enjoyable trip, but our only regret was not bringing more pants and sweaters. I know, we're poor excuses for Canadians.
Stay tuned for Prince William and Kate's next adventure: Prince William, Kate, and Friends take the Gold Coast. Oh and watch out for our adventure comics launching next fall. Kidding, but maybe not kidding.