This weekend started off well: I went to a cosy little wine bar just down the road to kick the evening off on Friday and ended the night in a rum bar I'd never been to before. Saturday was HOT (34) so I went to St Kilda and walked up the coastline to South Melbourne Beach which was just perfect. St Kilda was pretty packed but if you follow the coast there are some huge stretches of sand that are almost completely secluded.
Saturday night was another booze-fuelled affair at a place called the Carlton Club, an eccentric rooftop bar/club with life-sized giraffes towering over you on your way to the smoking area & elephant heads coming out of the walls. The view of the city lights and skyscrapers on the rooftop took me back to New York and an incredible rooftop bar with the Empire State Building glittering in the background :) And Sunday I went to the Royal Botanic Gardens which are so beautiful and peaceful. I'd almost forgotten what it's like doing things on my own, so it was nice to stroll around with just my camera for company - felt like I was back on the road for a dreamy couple of hours.
It turns out, when you look for it, there's quite a lot to do in and around Melbourne. One of which is the impossibly beautiful Great Ocean Road, which I'm hopefully going down next weekend! Super excited. My Melbourne bestie Anthony (there's your mention big) has a car which is the best thing and means we can go on trips out of the city to places like the Hot Springs and maybe the Grampians (might be pushing my luck with that one)!
With squeaky beaches, phosphorescence, swimming pool rooftops, stunning coastal walks & drives, hot springs, open air movies, beautiful parks and a buzzing live music scene, I'm getting good vibes from the next 5 months :)
