Down Under Series: Mischievous Melbourne

Rock and Roll. My first impression of Melbourne is that it's more rock n roll than its relatively behaved and laid back sister, Sydney. People I encountered were either on their way or in the stages of getting drunk. If Sydney was your older sister or responsible big bro, Melbourne was the youngest sibling not yet done with their partying ways.

We took an early flight and arrived with a slight surprise, we were NOT in Melbourne! Our plane landed in Avalon Airport which was actually in city of Geelong, Victoria. Looking outside the arrival area, it seemed like we were in the middle of nowhere. Avalon flights were common alternative for Melbourne bound passengers. Both cities are part of the state of Vic. I guess that's what I get from choosing the cheapest flights and booking budget airline flights without enough research haha. We had to take a 45 minute shuttle to get to the city and lugged our bags, trolleys and excited selves to the coffee capital of Australia for our next adventure.

After checking our bags in, we took a stroll around the area to familiarise ourselves with the streets. Melbourne has a lot of laneways and beautiful grafitti walls fit for an artist's dream. They have FREE tram rides within CBD, you can sight see to your hearts delight (as long as you stay within the CBD walls that is).

Everyone confesses that Melbourne is a brunch and coffee lovers paradise so of course, I have my must visit list ready to maximize my stay in this beautiful city. We went about the streets, seeing early weekend revelers getting day drunk, having way too much rambunctious fun. Arrived int the picture perfect grafitti walls of Hosier Lane after sunset and promised to go back and make sure we get the perfect Instagram worthy shot or two (I actually got an album full). 

We tried corner cafes and ordered random meat pies and street side kebabs for dinner. Upon nightfall, we ended up in a casino that was a walking distance from our place. We spent the rest of the night trying our luck and having loads of laughs.

The next day, we started it early and tried Hash Specialty Coffee, it's an industrial type cafe known for their very instagrammable Hot Chocolate with Fairy Floss, or what we more commonly know as cotton candy. We also ordered the signature smashed avo toast with egg to complete the meal. It's the best way to start the day!

We then headed to Hosier Lane for more photo sessions and discovering more of Melbourne. This city is full of life and beauty from its main terminal and churches that conveys history and grand architecture to the laneways and walls which screams youth and color.

Our third day was dedicated to weekend market, beach sides treks, cityscape viewing at night and beer garden visits which means a lot and I mean a loooot of walking.

We went to the South Melbourne Market in the morning and I love the festive spirit, fresh produce and the smell of freshly cooked paella in the air. I sampled everything from cheese, nuts, pies, drank Padre Coffee and basked in the perfect Melbourne weather.

After our fill, we strolled in the parks to burn off all the free food we tasted and headed to Brighton Beach.

It was a few minutes travel out of the CBD, but I really wanted to see the Brighton Bathing Box. These were colorful, iconic & much-photographed group of 82 brightly coloured wooden beach huts from the early 1900s. It's not only picture perfect but has a lot of history attached to it. Australian women used to use these boxes to change into their swimwear since they can't change publicly.

Our last day was focused on coffee hopping and meat pies tasting. So off we went early for our much need caffeine boost. We went to this small alleyway cafe, Patricia Coffee Brewer. We heard this was named the BEST coffee in Australia. That alone made us trek in the middle of the night to check it to make sure that such cafe exists. With limited time, coffee addict me wanted to visit and see what the fuss was about. Located near the corner of Little Bourke and Little William St., we failed to spot it the night before but since it's our last day off again we went.

We luckily found it, it's this small cafe with wide open windows, a looong line and quick order system. The small corner street was filled with people and due to the lack of tables and chairs, people were enjoying their caffeine high by the  side of the streets. 

Ordering is simple, coffee choices are either black or with milk. No latte flat white cappuccino mambo jumbo. So yes, mission accomplished and my heart is happy! It does taste great but personally, it's not that mind blowing as I expected.

We also discovered this small place that serves damn good pies called Prince Pies. It was so good that we planned to order just 1 classic minced aka meat pie and 1 with cheese, but ended ordering another set for the road. 

I spotted a dark gothicy looking cafe called 30ML for their 30ml shots of java. Coffee was good and barista was real friendly, had a chat about travelling to the Philippines and recommending some spots to visit.

Our last stop was Brother Baba Budan, amidst the ceiling of hanging chairs and hipster vibe. They also serve damn good coffee. This small corner cafe is full of people, stamping proof that this is a must for coffee lovers. It's interiors has the perfect mix of refreshing and cool welcoming anyone looking for a caffeine fix.

I opted to enjoy my last Melby caffeine fix roaming the beautiful streets of Melbourne. Nothing beats discovering a foreign city with a cup of coffee in one hand, an excited set of eyes to explore something new and an open mind to remind oneself how lucky we are to be alive. Two hands up for this experience.

After several hours of walking and enjoying the sights and listening to talented buskers on the streets, we headed off to the airport with our blood pumped with java, hearts bittersweet for our last aussie adventure hurrah and memories to last us a lifetime.