Sunday Afternoon In Melbourne
G'day Gooftonians,
I'm relaxing in my hotel room after a long, hot morning of flea marketing around Melbourne. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything besides a souvenir outrigger canoe from Tonga that was far too large to fit in my suitcase, but I still had fun looking. I think I'll head over to Der Raum later this evening for a cocktail or two before dinner. Tomorrow, I start working for a living again.
I wandered all over the city on foot and via tram yesterday. I visited Luna Park (pictured above) at St. Kilda's Beach, then had a nice squid and sausage salad on rocket at a cafe along the Esplanade, I also walked around the Docklands area. In downtown Melbourne, I checked out the Shag prints at Outré Gallery, and dug through the piles of pop-cultural detritus at Minotaur.
Melbourne is a quirky town. A little ragged around the edges, with a vibe that I can only describe as "hippie-industrial," but it's got a peculiar charm that makes it interesting enough to command my attention. I'm sort of regretting not hiring a car so I can venture a bit further afield than the end of the tram line, but with the crowds of tourists on summer holiday jamming up the local highways, it's probably just as well I'm sans wheels.
Unfortunately, I seem to have packed the wrong USB cable for my digital camera, and a replacement would set me back $30, so you'll just have to wait until next weekend to see my photos. Believe me, you're not missing out on too much.
So until then, I give you all the Australian salute (brushes away flies from face)
Comments
Melbourne's one of those towns that you need to be shown I guess. The bars are VERY quirky, and often hidden away down obscure alleyways. Good examples of this are the Croft Institute and section 8, but there are excellent bars all over the joint if you know where to look.
There's a great product available in book shops called "melbourne bar secrets" which is a deck of 52 cards each with a bar review, contact details and map to some of melbournes best bars. It's also produced for a number of other international cities. It's at www.deckofsecrets.com. My Tiki Bar is in the Melbourne City Fringe Deck.
Let me know how you go at Der Raum. I haven't been there for a while, but they've been one of the best for a while. Others to check out if you get time are Seamstress in Lonsdale street, and Golden Monkey in Hardware lane.
Posted by: Kev | January 13, 2008 4:45 AM
I'll have a look around for those cards, but I'm probably not going to be doing much barhopping during the workweek.
Didn't make it to Der Raum last night as they were closed. It's actually a good 30-minute walk from my hotel, so I'll definitely be taking the tram next time.
Posted by: MrBaliHai | January 13, 2008 12:36 PM
I can understand the vibe you got on the weekend, St. Kilda, flee markets, docklands, street buskers and such... Melbourne seems to transform back to conservative business types, mostly, during the week.
For your sweet tooth check out Suga's in a beautiful old arcade (mall) called Royal Arcade on 355 Bourke Street. They make some really interesting hard candy on site.
I would agree with Kev there are some great finds in Melbourne and venturing out to even the close surrounding communities can be very rewarding.
Posted by: wrecks | January 13, 2008 10:37 PM
Rex, thanks for the tip. I've been by Pug Mahone's a couple of times already to check on getting you a t-shirt, but they've always been closed. I'll try to get back down that way sometime during the week.
Posted by: MrBaliHai | January 14, 2008 3:42 AM
any waltzing matildas?
Posted by: johnny dollar | January 16, 2008 12:56 PM
Nah. Around here, Maltilda's usually hanging out at a rave with a pacifier in her mouth.
Posted by: MrBaliHai | January 16, 2008 1:47 PM
You went to Melbourne without telling me first? That's my hometown. Make sure you go for lunch and a coffee at Pellegrino's . Probably the best coffee outside Italy.
Posted by: Tom Hersz | January 21, 2008 10:57 PM
Missed Pellegrino's, unfortunately, but I may be going back to Melbourne in April.
I'll make sure to inform you of all my future travel plans...;-)
Posted by: MrBaliHai | January 22, 2008 6:16 AM