Travel Diary: A winter weekend in Melbourne – the next best thing to European summer?
No hot girl summer for me, no sipping Chablis in France with the warm sun on my back. Instead, it was a long weekend in Melbourne to get a change of scenery. Make no mistake, she was as cold as a wintry walk on Dunedin's St Clair beach. What a weekend though – art, pints, walks and kransky hotdogs with some peak thrifting on Chapel Street. Here's the recap.
Where did you go and why?
We flew from Auckland to Melbourne for four days. I've only been married for two and a half years, and my husband and I have basically just been in deep with kids for what feels like forever. He had a work trip coming up, and I decided to go along. It was our first vacay out of the country, which felt really overdue.
How tricky was it to get there?
Easy! Although leaving our dog Albert felt heavy on our hearts, especially because we left early in the morning. My sister did swoop in to his rescue however, to dogsit.
Roughly how much did you spend getting there and back?
About $750 for me.
Which airline did you fly with? How was the flight?
We flew Air New Zealand. The flights were good although I was too polite on the way over and failed to negotiate my arm rest.
What was the highlight?
Without a doubt the highlight was going to the National Gallery of Victoria to see the French Impressionists exhibition. This was high on our list of things to do while we were in Melbourne as some of our favourite artists were on display. The exhibition turned out to be a bit of an emotional journey for us both. I felt a bit overwhelmed at times.
My late dad loved to drag us along to galleries as kids. He had a deep appreciation for art, particularly the Impressionist movement. I saw so many paintings we had talked about over the years, and one of our favourites by Claude Monet. I felt my dad standing beside me at times and that felt so special, he would have liked to have been there.
My husband's late mother also loved to paint, particularly the sky. So, for him there was also much to enjoy and reflect on with love. We took so much in, there were quotes from all of the artists. It felt like an exclusive club. One quote I loved by Eugène Boudin: 'To bathe in the depths of the sky. To express the gentleness of clouds… to set the blue of the sky alight. I can feel all this within me, poised and awaiting expression. What joy and yet what torment.'
All in all, a beautiful gallery. Melburnians are lucky to have such a glorious space to enjoy.
Was there a lowlight?
Not really, I was just happy to be away and enjoying a city that felt a bit new with my best friend. Maybe the lowlight was that it was bloody freezing.
Did you spot any cool animals?
No. Cool animals in Australia? Everything kills you. I am glad I saw none. I saw some beautiful big gum trees, however, and there were also a few plant shops around where we stayed. They had lots of buzzy cacti on display which was cool.
Catch any sports?
We went to the pub on our last night to eat a chicken parmi and watch AFL. I don't understand the rules though, so it was a bit average. That was about it. Also, chicken parmi is mental. It's a no from me.
Where did you stay?
We booked an Airbnb in Prahran. In my opinion, Prahran has all you need. One end has beautiful restaurants and boutique shops. The other end has the famed Chapel Street which has ultimate Karangahape Road vibes. It's full of character, colourful people, and the best vintage shopping. I took full advantage of this and came home with some fun new things from Vinnies.
The famous Prahran market is also an absolute delight. It's bursting with delicious food, flowers, cheese, there's an oyster bar – it's got bloody everything. We shopped there most days and took lots back to our apartment to snack on with huge glasses of wine. So good, cannot recommend highly enough.
I love to sit and watch at places like the market. There were just so many different cultures there, families working together, it was a really beautiful insight into the lives of others. Also, I was asked countless times where I was staying and had to repeat myself. In the end I just stopped trying to pronounce 'Prahran' and said I was staying on Chapel Street.
Did you meet any interesting characters? Or bump into someone you already knew?
I caught up with my beautiful cousin who has been living in Melbourne for what feels like far too long. Her husband owns a cafe in Balaclava called walltwo80, hands down the best coffee we had on our trip. I had three which made me anxious, but we walked it off in St Kilda. I thought this part of town used to be a vibe, but it felt a bit rank and touristy with that sort of really bad design that so many seaside towns in Australia have (i.e. The Goldy). Anyways, bloody great coffee.
Did anyone lend a hand or help you out?
I helped out the woman next to me on the flight over by not complaining that she took BOTH armrests!
Did you spot any celebrities?
My husband saw Tim from the last season of MAFS. Haha.
What was the best meal or snack you had?
I had a chilli cheese kransky hotdog from Prahran Market. It was out the gate. I made my husband go and eat one when he finished work. So tasty.
What items did you pack that you really needed?
Long coat and wooly jerseys. It was freezing.
Did you miss anything while you were away?
Albert, I really missed Albert.
What travel/holiday reads would you recommend for this destination?
I started The Secret History by Donna Tartt which is so good. I also watched We Were Dangerous on the way over and absolutely loved it, a New Zealand film that I had wanted to see for ages.
How easy was it to get around?
We trammed, trained and got the Sky Bus. Getting around was very easy and quite cheap. Which was great because I wanted to spend money on things like delicious kai and not Ubers.
Did you bring back any lollies or snacks?
I brought back an obligatory snack range for my beautiful Spinoff colleagues. It's a tradition/rule in our office that you bring back snacks from the country you traveled to. Someone brought a bloody range of local newspapers back from the UK recently. Straight to jail. Snacks are essential.
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