Melbourne in February
When we arrived in Melbourne, it shocked us to realize that we were already on month #6 of our trip!
Our Airbnb for the month was really nice; it was brand new and well-designed (it even had a dishwasher and a separate washer and dryer!). When we arrived, there was Aesop soap throughout (!! did you know that Aesop is from Australia?) and the sun was shining on our spacious outdoor patio.
The things we loved about Melbourne are the things we love about San Francisco. It’s a city on a bay, near a beautiful ocean road, an hour from wine country; it’s full of amazing, diverse, quality restaurants, bars, and shops; there are plenty of fun activities and events happening like markets, concerts, festivals; there are museums and ample green spaces. Melbourne gave us a taste of home during the middle of our trip, which we were grateful for.
We felt like we were taking a break at home; it was a good moment to recharge. Jeff found a nearby pool to swim at, and we both got our haircut (Jeff by his former San Francisco barber, who happens to live in Melbourne now!). We did our taxes, and it was a relief to visit the grocery store and pharmacies and be able to restock on our creature comfort classics.
What I loved was the opportunity to essentially experience a San Francisco-like city on our own, discovering it together. It was like being in an alternate universe where we felt at home, but we weren’t at home; we were all alone on the other side of the world.
Here are some highlights from our month spent in Melbourne.
Fitzroy, Our Neighborhood
You’ve already heard me rave about our apartment, which we loved, but we were also spoiled by our neighborhood, Fitzroy. Our apartment was located in the center of three streets (Smith Street, Brunswick Street, and Gertrude Street) that were chock full of hip restaurants, shops, and bars. The CBD wasn’t a quick walk, but it was walkable AND we could easily hop on a tram that would take us downtown within 15 minutes.
The Fitzroy area reminded us of the Mission back in San Francisco with street art, hip coffee shops, restaurants, and bars, great boutiques and furniture stores. We loved the street art found in our neighborhood (and all over Melbourne!).
Holidays on the Road
We’ve had a fun time celebrating holidays and cultural American events on the road, and this month included Valentine’s Day, the Olympics, and the Super Bowl! It was odd waking up to watch the Super Bowl at 10am, but we had fun, ordering fried chicken and watching it at our apartment in our PJs. Watching the Olympics wasn't as fun as back home - we missed the classic NBC coverage featuring tearjerker stories of athletes' triumph!
For Valentine's Day, the weather was beautiful (72 and sunny!), and we spent the full day together outdoors followed by a lovely dinner date. We had lunch outdoors at a pub in the neighborhood called Napier Hotel (Melbourne is full of great pubs called “hotels”), where we enjoyed chicken parm topped with kangaroo meat (yes, they eat kangaroo in Australia!).
After lunch, we picked up a bottle of wine and made our way downtown to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, an outdoor amphitheater which had a free performance by the Melbourne symphony orchestra that evening. The grassy lawn was already full of couples, families, and groups of friends enjoying picnics. We had a good time enjoying our bottle of wine and people watching as the sun went down and the music played. As we walked back to the tram to head to the other side of town for our dinner reservation, we found a nice spot to sit and exchange Valentine’s Day cards overlooking the city skyline.
For dinner, Jeff took us to Neighbourhood Wine, a romantic and cozy restaurant. It was a delicious, impressive 4-course set dinner. We enjoyed starters of potato chips topped with anchovies and beet spread; house-made cheese and herb salad; duck pate with grilled sourdough; slow-cooked goat with lentil and beet; and homemade potato gnocchi with squash and fresh ricotta. We paired it with a local Pinot that was recommended by our waitress. It was a lovely Valentine’s Day spent together on the other side of the world.
Lawn Bowling
During one of our solo days of wandering, Jeff discovered a lawn bowling club ("Fitzroy Bowling Club"). Lawn bowling is a cross between 10-pin bowling and bocce, two activities we enjoy, so we decided to spend a warm and sunny summer day giving it a try.
It was the perfect way to spend a beautiful, sunny Friday afternoon! Neither of us had ever tried lawn bowling, and it was so fun! We enjoyed sipping ciders on ice and figuring out a new game together. One side of the ball has a weight, which makes it tricky; some of the balls were marked with the weighted side, but others weren’t - we called those “wildcards” and would laugh “guessed wrong” when the ball would roll in the opposite direction of what we aimed for.
With our first two games leading to a tie match, we bet dinner on the final game, and it was a close one! I won the first game, Jeff the second, and Jeff defeated me 11-8 in the final. We went to Chinatown for victory dumplings.
Summer in the City
It was summertime in Australia during our visit, and we soaked in the sun! Melbourne is a superb city for summer days with ample outdoor activities and spaces. It’s full of parks and gardens, rooftop bars, outdoor dining, and a lively waterfront.
We spent one afternoon enjoying a picnic and exploring Royal Botanical Gardens. The gardens were beautiful! Very nice and well-maintained, large, full of diverse plants and birds, and the best part - free! We found a spot in Prince’s Garden near a smaller pond to have our picnic.
Carlton Gardens was also a favorite of ours, which we often found ourselves walking through on our way to other neighborhoods.
There was also a free festival, St Kilda Festival, happening during our visit. The festival was right on the water, near a beautiful beach. We walked out to the pier, which is known for a nightly penguin parade, and were able to see a couple penguins. At the festival, we also had a chance to meet up Jeff’s barber from SF who moved to Melbourne a couple years ago.
Shows!
While in Melbourne, we went to two shows, which was something we had been missing while traveling. Both shows were at the Forum Theatre, a beautiful old theater in downtown Melbourne. In our first week, we saw Father John Misty there, and at the end of the month, we saw Phoenix.
The theater was great. We both felt a Fox Theater (in Oakland) vibe when we walked in, but interestingly, there was only a lower level (no balconies). The front standing section was unlike any theater I had been in; it was built in 1929 to resemble a Florentine garden, complete with a blue, starry night sky above. We felt as though we were outdoors!
I was SO excited to see Phoenix at the end of the month. I had never seen them live but had always wanted to, and here I was having the chance to see them in a great, smaller venue in Australia. The show was amazing and so much fun! We had a great time dancing up a sweat, and Phoenix was even better live than I anticipated; it was the perfect combo of danceability and good old rock ‘n roll.
Avocado Toast & Flast Whites
Melbourne’s coffee and brunch game is impressive. So many restaurants offered avocado toast on the menu, but each was unique. We found our favorite at Archie’s All Day.
We also were spoiled by great coffee; most days we opted to order a “flat white,” which is popular in Australia; it’s essentially a small latte. The bounty of quality coffee shops also afforded Jeff the ability to have plenty of options for working remotely on days spent in front of his laptop.
Markets
We were excited to check out Queen Victoria Market, a large market known for its daily market, as well as its weekly night market.
Our first visit there was on a weekday, during the daytime. The Queen Victoria Market is superb! It was bigger and nicer than we anticipated, and pretty busy with an equal mix of tourists and locals picking up goodies. The meat/fish area was overwhelming, but our eyes were wide when we found the neighboring section filled with bread, cheese, and mini delis peddling everything we loved from our time in Italy! We were inspired to pick up supplies for a low-key night of charcuterie and a movie.
Later on in the month, we returned to check out its weekly night market. We were surprised by how massive and crowded the night market was; it was bustling with young people enjoying a summer night with food and drink stands, local vendors selling handmade goods, and multiple DJs/live music performers. Jeff grabbed us a Greek chicken wrap and a Sri Lankan goat curry dish for dinner as we sat outdoors with the youth of Melbourne.
We also enjoyed the Rose St Artists Market, which was a standing weekend event in our neighborhood. It featured local artists selling handmade goods, and there was a small cafe on-site for brunch and rooftop drinks.
Food
The restaurant scene of Melbourne is superb. Similar to San Francisco, there’s a great variety of different cuisine options, and the quality of dining is tops, with hip decor and delicious food. Although we balanced our dining out with meals at home (and lots of homemade “toastie” sandwiches), we enjoyed some delicious meals in Melbourne including: better-than-Paris croissants from Lune, one of the greatest fried chicken sandwiches from Belles Hot Chicken, shockingly tasty vegan sandwiches from Smith & Deli, delicious tapas (the bocadillo!) from Movida, an Italian meal that brought us back to Bologna, and some of the best XLB dumplings we’ve ever had in Melbourne’s Chinatown.
We also discovered raclette at a basement jazz bar. How had we never had it before!? For those unacquainted, raclette is a cheese which is popularly served tableside, with a huge wedge of it heated then brought directly to your plate, then scraped off the wheel for a layer of warm, gooey cheese atop a mix of potatoes, bread, and pickles. So divine! I’m hoping we’ll find a place in SF that serves raclette.
National Gallery of Art
There weren’t many rainy days in Melbourne, but during one of them, Jeff suggested we visit the National Gallery of Art (“NGV”).
There’s two NGV buildings - one for international art, and one dedicated to Australian art. Surprisingly, both museums are free! We started with the international NGV. Since it was a rainy Saturday and the museum was free, it was pretty crowded. There was a diverse range of visitors including couples, friends, and families of all ages and ethnicities. As we walked through the first two rooms featuring 19th & 20th-century art, we were shocked to find artwork by Picasso, Monet, Matisse, and Warhol. We were so impressed by their collection and the fact that it was free for anyone to enjoy!
Since the museums didn’t close until 5pm and it was only 4pm, we decided to check out the nearby Australian-focused NGV, too. My eyes were wide as we entered a bright, colorful room full of art made from random plastic objects. It was a feast for the eyes!
This was our first taste of Australia, and we both enjoyed it. The country is massive and would have required flights to visit other areas like Sydney or Brisbane, so we focused our time in Melbourne and the surrounding area of Victoria. We loved our time in Melbourne and hope to return to Australia someday to see more of the country!
