No first impressions, a city, looking quite similar to my home in Sydney. Grey buildings, a grey cloud cover .... the first expense, a $60 cab ride. We stayed at Darling Towers Apartments in Collins Street which was incredibly accessible to everything within the Melbourne CBD.
DAY 1-
A walk to Queen Victoria Markets and exploring the city.
DAY 2-
BRUNSWICK STREET- I loved it here- an assortment of amazing vegan food and sweet little stores.
** The Vegie Bar in Brunswick Street, Fitroy.
I can highly reccommend the Lentil Burger with Sweet Potato Chippies.
It is renowned for vegan and vegetarian options.
DAY 3-
A 6 hour bike ride down the Yarra River with Madi.
On the route was a place called 'Lentil as Anything' which I had heard about on Instagram and the man whom we had hired the bikes from, recommended it. It abides by the 'pay as you please' model and has vegetarian/vegan meal options based on the philosophies of trust, generosity and social inclusion as it intends to make a difference in local communities. It provided us with a great food and a much needed break.
A cheeky little Bardot sample sale was much needed as I spent money that I didn't have....
For dinner, we all headed to Yong Green Food in Fitzroy where we annoyed a vegan dinner as Madi and I struggled to walk around due to persistent sunburn (we only had ourselves to blame).
DAY 4-
St Kilda Beach and Melbourne's Art Markets
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The art markets were so amazing. I think I was way too caught up in the moment to capture to many pictures. We purchased peanut-butter/nutella crepes and headed to watch a small independent band called Kooyeh. We were onlookers of the abundance of different backpackers, drinking sangria and head-banging in an amazing free-spirited atmosphere.
DAY 5-
A 35 degree celsius day. No plans were made. We ended up having the most amazing time in the royal botanical gardens where we had a picnic including an assortment of sushi and coconuts. I read under a tree and enjoyed its shade.
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Front to back- Bree, Kathy, Me and Madi on the footbridge over the Yarra River.
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I think this is the creme brûlée, coffee flavored ice cream...
The others couldn't quite resist N2 gelato as I enjoyed a vegan brownie from the guilt free store.
This was our last night. Kathy and I at about 11pm decided to head out on an adventure to find a spontaneous beer and discover Melbourne's night life. We said good night to the others and set out with some expert advice from a friend, to the Chinese Beer Garden, after walking on a roof top bar called Madame Brussels and discovering that one cocktail was a slimey $17. At the beer garden, $2 pink champagne was much more affordable for two travelling students.
All in all, it was a delightful trip with amazing company.
Thankyou for reading.
Tata for now,
Elena xx
** Pictures belonging to Bree Sawyer and I do not claim them to be mine.
