Melbourne: eating & drinking & cry-loling
first thoughts on australia:1. everyone is annoyingly nice. like the bus driver was like WELCOME TO MELBIN EVERYONE ENJOY OUR AWARD-WINNING TRAM SYSTEM AND HAVE A GROIEAT DOIAY.2. i loved dan’s office, The Age. everyone is hustling around and it’s a big glass cube with a cafe at the front and a nice lawn. and everyone is dressed in business chic. reminded me how much i love city life.3. lots of restaurants and grab-and-go spots on my tram ride - i want to eat everything. how do people not get fat here.4. it’s CRAZY expensive. my benny was $19. no tip or tax at least.5. i am happy to be able to drink tap water againother overall thoughts:everything is perfect and stunning here. it would be SO easy (read: too easy) to transition to living here from Vancouver. quality of life is prime, there are soooo many events, everyone is always out eating and drinking and mingling. like i dig that. the city does a lot to keep its people entertained. there is free wifi everywhere downtown and the tram system is free downtown.Van could learn a thing or two.however if i HAD to generalize (lol) - sometimes they’re a bit much. like they love to BE AN AUSSIE and TALK ABOUT IT and be OVERLY FRIENDLY. but then on the flip side they love to make a fuss. like i saw a raaaging argument on the tram where this kid was like “theres not much room” when a man got on and next thing you know his gf is calling this other older lady an f-ing b. also i saw soooo much road rage, aussies don’t let ANY jaywalking slide without leaning on the horn and probably swearing. and like an old lady got mad at me at the train station where i was like oh sorry i’m in line and shes like WELL IT DOESNT LOOK LIKE IT lol. like i’m sorry these things would just never happen in Canada.weather was great - very unpredictable in Melbs and i got to experience the sweltering 38 degrees and the “i didnt pack for this” 17 degrees. i was in Melbs for 3.5 weeks and experienced EVERYTHING on my list. defs made the most of my time. also lots of sipping chai lattes, catching up on wifi stuff and planning the rest of my trip!activity log:- Great Ocean Road road trip with Christie, Borch, Sarah, Mike, Willy, Andrew, Dad. drove to 12 Apostles (but actually 7 because erosion), stayed overnight in Lorne which is a super gorg beach town. saw some roos on the field at dusk and then almost hit like 5 as they bounced in front of the car. they survived but a bunny wasn’t so lucky, oops. also saw 2 koalas in the wild which i’m told is rare, Dan says he’s only seen them as roadkill!! they were cute and sleepy.
- dancing at Apartment 29 on a Wednesday. hippies with dreadlock man buns- biker gang trip along the Yarra and down to St Kilda. v cute, so many patio bars along the river.- solo to an art gallery party with cute exhibits (one red flower room which everyone loves to insta); DJs; pop up bars; outdoor dance floor where people were givin’er. was soo cool. STEP IT UP, VAN.- drinks with Willy at Madame Brussels, which is a Victorian style rooftop patio with a side of inapprop sass. BEST pimms cup. also went to play blackjack at Crown and slightly ashamed to say that wasn’t the only time. just trying to make a living out here.- k get the cheese and bacon burger at Grill’d THIS IS THE BEST BURGER I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE- Phillip Island at Dan’s beachhouse for Aussie Day and his bday weekend- kangaroos boxing!!!
SYDNEY- tagged along on Dan’s work trip to Sydney and had the BEST time living my best life in Hotel Ovolo. listen to this. free happy hour 5:30-6:30, free mini bar, free breakfast, Alexa in the room (the front desk wanted to surprise us by playing macklemore when she found out i was going to the concert), free loot bag with snacks, free slippers and bag which i took home with me. cutest hip decor and washed out brick walls. like i am obsessed with this hotel.
- wandered along Darling Harbour and hit-on bridge, walked to Opera House, dinner at Mehico, Bondi Beach including the pool with huge waves which was actually SO cool. went to an AMAZING UNDERGROUND BAR called Palmer & Co (thanks Alana for the reco!) with 1920s prohibition-style servers wearing flapper outfits, live band and then piano player playing my parents’ fave songs. dan left and i danced with 40 year olds till 3 am. had a blast.
- also met up with Jeff from Abby for rooftop gin and tonics and pizza/wedges at The Australian Hotel. explored The Rocks which was real cute and cobblestone-y. Manly Beach where MACKLEMORE POSTED THE SAME INSTA AT THE SAME TIME AS ME. i will never live down the regret of not constantly refreshing his insta feed that day.
- Macklemore concerts in both Sydney (spontaneous purch) and Melbs (bought 4 months ago) BECAUSE MACKLEMORE IF YOU ARE READING THIS I AM YOUR BIGGEST FAN. that’s 3 stops for me on the gemini tour and he’s in Paris in April so STAY TUNED!!
^^ the most sweatyokay back to Melbs:- runs along the Yarra, strolls down Swan Street, superbowl with Andrew at Precinct Hotel and 200 loud obnoxious aussie mates, partied in Richmond at Richmond Club Hotel, Swan Hotel (“hotel” is what they call bars), Public House- explored the CBD (central business district / their downtown), Hosier Lane and AC/DC for graffiti, Hardware Lane or Degraves St for cute alley patio coffees. coffee is huge here, everyone’s just out for coffee all the time like it’s their job.- got a tattoo in Fitzroy which makes me a hipster badass, then rooftop bevs at Naked by Satan. tried chicken parma which is like the thing here. giant slab of meat on fries. met Bran at Corner Hotel and then St Kilda festival which the entire population of Melbourne attended i think, but was cool! lots of live music and pop-up concerts/ dancing. met Sairah for lunch in Windsor, so good to catch up 7 years after Contiki!!
- went to Eau de Vie speakeasy cocktail bar, made friends with Tanya and Liz, got an espresso martini the bartender lit on fire. was sooo delish.- Brighton Beach Huts, Asian tourist overload but understandable because the huts are VERY cute. people rent them for like $300k/yr and store surfboards, beach chairs etc in them.- Little Italy at D.O.C. for the best pizza oh my god THAT CRUST. servers were fob italian. also gelato. grazi grazi- Valentine’s Day drive to watch the sunset and get ice cream, then St Kilda to watch the penguins. playing all my fave songs. happy :)
best dan moments:- night 1 at dumplings, guy walks in and goes “good vibes in here!” dan goes NOPE i’m out and leaves immediately lol- beating everyone in ping pong “OK COOL NEXT”- story about Nonna’s new bf in the car ride to family din- his dad blaring Ed Sheeran after dinner.. dan: “YOU ALRIGHT?!?!!?”- so intense watching Olympics, Aussies don’t make it - “NAH LOST ALL. MEDALS. LOST ALL MEDALS.. waste of my LOIFE. waste’a my WHOLE NOIGHT”- struggling to close the window for 10 minutes, getting soooo angry amd swearing loudly lol- then goes in the shower and literally STOMPS and CLAPS to his 2 favourite songs. this is his routine and he does it every single day- (i literally just burst into a lol remembering this one): thinks he lost his key card for work. just goes into a RAGE looking for it. finally gasps as he realizes it’s at the back of his phone case. and i quote: “OH F THIS I’M GONNA KILL MYSELF. F THIS LOIIIFE. GONNA BE A SHIT DAY.” storms out of the room. i was BAWLING.- just general road rage- sticks his head out the window while driving and his hat flies out onto the highway- comes across a choir rehearsing his fave song This is Me in Little Italy. is DELIGHTED to find they are still rehearsing as we walk back to the car. dances and sings along like a kid in a candy shop- i just also want to say that while dan is the most outrageous obnoxious aussie in all the land, he is one of the most thoughtful, low maintenance, supportive friends i have. at the macklemore concert he was like “if you get a chance to go to the front, go” (so i did). he ALWAYS lets me do my thang. he took me to all the melbs hot spots and always provided recos. he was an amazing host. i say WHATEVER comes across my mind and he will engage in that conversation. i value his opinion (which he has in spades) so much. so so grateful that tom brought him along to New York 3 years ago - even though he thought we would hate each other - which led to Toronto, Rio, Vancouver, now Melbs. cannot wait to see where we reuny next!!k i need to get out of Australia soon or i am going to get very broke and fat, but just a couple more stops first!!
