November 27, 2024

Memories made in Melbourne

Chiara Di AUSTRALIA & PACIFIC, TRAVEL Afternoon Tea, Coldplay, Great Ocean Road, Melbourne, Wander, Wedding 2 Comments

It’s always a pleasure being back in Melbourne, this time for a week of festivities with family and friends.

This particular wander was to attend my cousin’s wedding but the dates made for the perfect opportunity to extend to experience Melbourne Cup, and to extend even further when Coldplay announced their tour dates.

I stayed with my friend and enjoyed living like a local picking up a morning coffee, browsing the high street, catching the tram, and had some downtime following a busy work travel period.

Before Coldplay we went for tapas at Movida Aqui and shared the charcuterie board and croquettes. It wasn’t too far from Marvel Stadium where they handed us wristbands and augmented reality glasses on arrival. The wristbands lit up different colours through the night and created quite the atmosphere, while the glasses waited in anticipation to be used until the very last song. It was a great concert and they are a class act, not just from their performance and engagement with the crowd but for their inclusivity and social, cultural and sustainable awareness.

I was also a bridesmaid – for the fifth time. So the day before the wedding we took the bride for a nice nail session at Soak Bar. The salon felt very luxurious and offers a bar service for added festivities.

After nails we enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea for the bride to be at The Langham – an opportunity to get together before the big day as lots of us travelled over. The afternoon tea included a three-tiered stand – two plates of savoury pastries and sandwiches and one plate of sweets plus a separate serve of scones. It was a generous serving. There was also a glass of champagne on arrival and unlimited tea included for $98.

The wedding day started early, but it was great not having to worry about what to do with my hair and make-up, let alone my outfit. Plus, I love a wedding especially family ones. The food and drinks are great (this one came with cocktails), the Italian music comes out, everyone gets on the dance floor… it’s one big festa. The wedding venue was also a very cool old button factory!

It was also so nice having my mum and sister in Melbourne for the weekend, bringing back so many memories of our previous girl’s trips and creating more. We dined along Chapel Street at Mr Miyagi Japanese bar on a delicious dinner of edamame, saucy sashimi, the sushi handroll of the day, shiitake dumplings, caramel pork belly and an eggplant dish, enjoyed a night cap at Ines wine bar, had breakfast and browsed through the South Melbourne Market coming out with a new Christmas decoration ready for this year’s tree.

I was craving a traditional Lygon street dinner and knew my mum and sister would be keen for the novelty, so we met for dinner before their flight home at Tiamo restaurant and it was everything I envisioned. The homemade pasta with mini meatballs and eggplant sauce (maccheroni della zia) was divine, not to mention the garlic focaccia! And, it wouldn’t be complete without a gelato to top it off.

We got so lucky with our Melbourne Cup Day; it was a delightful 27-degree day – some would say too hot. We took the train to Flemington and made our way through the gates. We went General Admission which was perfect for us. It allowed for a bit of networking, was close enough to the track, and had decent dining options with pop-ups of some of Melbourne’s famed restaurants – 400 Gradi, Johnny, Vince & Sam’s by Sooshi Mango and Mr Miyagi, to name a few. It was a very well manicured racecourse with it’s picturesque rose gardens in abundance.

The only thing it was lacking was shade, but we found a great little marquee with a bar, live entertainment and a screen so we were set. After the race that stops the nation, we went to The Park stage where Sophie Ellis-Bextor followed by Empire of the Sun were performing – very much festival vibes.

There was even time to get out of town for a road trip along Great Ocean Road to Lorne and Torquay, – two-hours south west from Melbourne. We enjoyed a good ole pub lunch overlooking the ocean at Lorne Hotel.

We then stopped into Bells Beach, home to the Rip Curl Pro surfing competition, and Torquay. I did pack my swimmers but the chill of the wind wasn’t particularly appetising on this day.

On the way to the airport, Em and I stopped into Pincho Disco in Collingwood for dinner. We were told the set menu would take us on a holiday around South America. Unfortunately we didn’t have the time or hunger for this, but the taste of South America we got from the dishes we experienced sure had us craving more.

After five wanders in one month, I’m so happy to have a couple of months at home back on regular programming and soaking up local life – before the next wander of course!

Until then…

LWL xxx