We were in town for four days, just enough time to see that people there have figured it out: Melbourne is a beautiful, green city that thrives arts and culture, music and fashion. Melbourne is something like San Francisco meets Williamsburg. It's chill, yet vibrant.
We were amazed by the abundant offer of tasty food (the produce there is to die for), exceptional coffee shops and surprisingly good Pinot Noir. The down side? Prices. Melbourne is, as the rest of Australia, notably expensive.
Some of the best coffee shops we visited while in town are:
Market Lane - right by the entrance of Prahran market, it featured a selection of Guatemalan coffees when we were there (bonus points!). They roast their own beans and offer brewing classes and equipment as well as a killer espresso.
Proud Mary - where the cool kids hangout. Most of the staff either have a tattoo, a cool haircut or a unique sense of fashion. You feel cool by association, just by walking in- and then there's the coffee and the food, the music and the drinks. Proud Mary is also a wholesale roaster distributing its coffee across Australia.
Annoying Brother - owned by a young entrepreneur who is, like most Australians, very passionate about the coffee he drinks and in his case, the coffee he serves. Good food too.
And this is where we got the tastiest food:
Ici - their menu is seasonal and purely inspired by fresh local produce. Yummy.
South of Johnson (SoJo) - good food and good coffee. A nice place to meet a friend for a catch-up or spend an afternoon reading a book on your own.
Grub Food Van - great spot on both sunny and rainy days. It offers funky drinks and tasty food, and it has a "home away from home" feel that makes it perfect to chill out when you're just feeling lazy.
Bowery to Williamsburg - hidden in the middle of busy down town Melbourne, this place offers a limited menu mostly composed of generous sandwiches. The coffee is good.
Most of the places listed above are for day-time eating. Our local friends told us that Melbourne is very much about going out for food during the day, and cooking dinner at home. It's a brunchy sort of city.
Eating and drinking aside, we took advantage of Melbourne's many blush parks, out of which we especially enjoyed the Carlton Gardens with its strong, climbable trees and happy people. We also paid a visit to the Queen Victoria Market (yummmm...!), and then, for what was the trip's highlight for me, we went on a road trip to Sorrento and, wait for it...SWAM WITH DOLPHINS*
*Ok, as the captain of our boat put it, out of 100 trips out to sea maybe 1 time he won't find any dolphins. We were that 1 time. It was okay though, because we got to swim with seals! And I'm not talking about one or three...I'm talking several sets of ten either really young or really old male seals (we visited a male colony).It was one of the most heart-stopping experiences of my life (that could also have something to do with the 10 degree water we were swimming in!).
Seals are curious, clumsy-yet-gracious, strong-yet-cuddly and STINKY creatures I've ever interacted with. Just WOOOOOOOOOOW, it was absolutely fantastical.
Melbourne gave me that feeling of comfort you get when you visit a place you know you will come back to. I'm looking forward to the next time.
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