After an early morning drop-off at the airport (thanks Mathieu for waking up at the wee hours!!) and few hours of flight, there we were, back in our beloved Melbourne. We left Australia 8 years ago already, and came back only couple of times since. I was super excited to see if and how my favourite city had changed.
We went straight to Philippine’s, where we would spend the next few days. It was so great to meet again after almost five years! It is also amazing to see how time does not affect true friendships. When you see each other, no matter how long you’ve been apart, it stills feels as if you had met the day before.
We had an early lunch together to catch up, and she went to work. Eff and I decided to take it slow for this first day, so we had an easy going afternoon, strolling in the vicinities. We went to the beach of Port Phillip’s bay to enjoy the beautiful weather and crisp blue sky. Melbourne is known to be the city where there are four seasons in one day. It is true, we experienced it many times before. But for our few days there, the weather welcomed us warmly and with a big sunny smile. Nice!! Another stroll in the streets of Albert Park and we went back home to kiss the girls. Victoria, the oldest, is now a teenager. She changed a lot since last time we saw her. Josephine and Alexandra too, and they all bring a lot of life in the house! We waited for Anthony to be back from work, and we had a nice quiet evening, enjoying bubbles and good wine.
As nostalgia was the theme of our stay, our second day was focused on street art. Eff used to spend a lot of time trying to find hidden gems and beautiful graffitis, and he has a great collection. He wanted to go around to check the current trends. But this was quite a disappointment. Street art discovery used to be a quite off-the-beaten tracks activity, but it became mainstream, and there is even a street art map available at the information centre. Major streets, such as AC/DC or Hosier lanes are packed with selfie-addicted tourists, and the quality of the graffitis has decreased significantly. Too bad for Eff, he had few pics but not enough to publish a Melbourne Graffiti 3 book… Nevertheless it was very enjoyable to be back in the CBD, having delicious coffees in the lanes, and spotting all the new features of the city. We felt like being home but with a different unknown twist. Melbourne has changed and is still evolving, and yet it has kept what makes it so special: easy-going way of life, amazing food, surprising hidden gems everywhere, nice little suburbs.
The multicultural and popular Brunswick was our destination on the third day. We met Warwick and Yasmin there for brunch. It was nice to catch up on our Japanese adventures after our last encounter in Kyoto last April. They also gave us tips for our upcoming outback trip in South Australia, and lent us warm sleeping bags that we would need for the freezing nights in the desert. We wandered in the neighborhood with Warwick the rest of the afternoon, looking for more street art, and went back to Albert Park for a night out with Philippine and Anthony. Our last day was quiet, getting ready for the next destination, buying last minute items and packing before going back in town to have dinner with Chris and Jackie. Amazing food, amazing company, what else could we ask for?
Tips: Next time you visit Melbourne, put Lee Ho Fook on your foody place list. The chef Victor Liong offers surprising and very good modern Chinese cuisine with a twist.
Those few days were all about spending time with friends, reminiscing our time there, and enjoying Melbourne’s slow pace. It reminded us how much we like living there. We said good bye to Philippine early morning, as they would not be around at our return 12 days later, and headed to the airport. After the city, it was time for another favourite of ours: a roadtrip in the Australian outback. Thanks everyone for the good time with you! And big big thank you to the McDo family for welcoming us with such warmth.
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