Wandering Spud: M E L B O U R N E
Honeymoon Series- 2 of 5
M E L B O U R N E
Melbourne was the first stop of our honeymoon and we had just planned for it to be a chilled couple of days as we expected that there wouldn't be a lot to do or see in Melbourne and we were so wrong, we genuinely did not expect to fall in love with this fantastic city. On the second day Mark was on the property market looking at house prices! Melbourne really surprised us by being our favourite Australian location and I cannot wait to go back one day (especially since the coffee scene has exploded).
We were saving our best hotel for last in Bali, so we were looking for places in Australia that were still nice but more of a place to rest our heads. The Adina Apartments were lovely and since we stayed in 2015 they have undergone serious renovations and the apartments look so much better. They have a rooftop pool with views over the city and we loved the location, really central, right next to the tram line and and it was easy to find.
We left Belfast on Monday morning and arrived in Australia on Tuesday night so we didn't know if we were coming or going. We arrived at about 10pm and we just collapsed into the room that they gave us because we were exhausted. I woke up about 2 hours later (both of us still fully dressed in our travelling clothes and coats) with awful back pain. The bed they had given us was two singles pushed together (my pet hate) and because I gravitate towards Mark in my sleep I always end up in the middle, so I had to go down to the night concierge and ask for a double room and that we had just arrived on honeymoon and I needed to sleep. God bless this man, I must have looked broken because in the morning the AM receptionist had organised an upgrade for us to a room which was much more like an apartment, with a kitchen, washing machine and a double bed. The staff were fantastic and we were so grateful!
MARVELOUS MELBOURNE
We were able to explore the city with the Free Walking Tour and this was one of the highlights of our trips, it was SO GOOD. We saw everything:
Federation Square
Melbourne's Laneways
Street Art
Flinders St Station
Yarra River
Eureka Tower
Centre Placee
Block Arcade
Chinatown
Princess Theatre
Melbourne's Arcades
State Parliament of Victoria
Bourke St Shopping Mall
Olf Melbourne Gaol
State Library of Victoria
Royal Exhibition Centre
Carlton Gardens
The tour finished across the bridge with the most magical view of the city, we never wanted to leave.
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We went for brunch at a little place called CUMULUS INC. anyone who knows us knows we take brunch very seriously and Cumulus Inc. was amazing. The food was insane, and I had to ask for a spoon so I could just eat the jam straight. This was also the first place that we caught on to what happens with the coffee in Australia. We noticed that we were drinking at least two cups of coffee each with breakfast or in cafes, which is quite a lot for one sitting and we realised coffee at home is served piping hot and in Oz its served luke-warm so you don't have to wait for it to cool down, you drink more and then order more. We, as coffee lovers, of course didn't mind this at all because the coffee was OUT OF THIS WORLD good but if you are trying to budget maybe drink your coffee a bit slower or ask for it extra hot.
We went at the end of May 2015 so it was Autumn in Melbourne, which is my favourite season, the whole place looked beautiful. We were into coffee at the time (our wedding theme was coffee) but I wish we had booked more coffee tours/tastings in the city, definitely on the to do list for when we go back one day.
NEIGHBOURS
Our hotel was beside a the Neighbours Tour booking place and I dragged Mark in as a joke and we ended up going on a tour on a spare afternoon and it was class craic. We got to go to the studio where they were filming, visit Ramsey Street and even met Kym Valentine (Libby). Everyone on the bus was a huge fan and we had stopped watching it years ago when Drew died so we just smiled and nodded for most of it and talked about how much we loved Drew. It was such good fun!
TO DO LIST
We were absolutely shattered, what with wedding fatigue and jetlag, so there some places that are still on my do to list that we didn't quite make it to:
PRESSIE
We were very sad to leave Melbourne but on our last day Mark got me my very first pair of Ray Bans which cheered me right up. My dad bought my mum a pair about 20 years ago and she adored them, so I have wanted a pair for years and now they are extra special because we got them on honeymoon. He's alright is Mr. Andrew.
If you have any questions about or recommendations for Melbourne, give me a shout!
Next in the Honeymoon Series...
SYDNEY
