A day in photographs

First stop was £1000 Bend, easily one of my favourite cafes in the city, for a coffee. After running a few boring errands I walked past the new H&M open in the city centre and contemplated popping in but swiftly changed my mind when I saw the huge queue! I hadn't been in the Block Arcade before, but it's a great shortcut between a few of the main streets, and is full of beautifully ornate walls and arches. Perfect for some snapping practice. Lunch was at The Little Mule, a delightful combination of bike shop and cafe, tucked down a laneway. I had a delicious salmon bagel and a juice full of many fruits, all of which I cannot remember. One of my favourite things about it was that it came in a jar with a retro looking straw. Easily pleased. My big cultural activity for the day was a visit to the Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne, to see an exhibition of Indigenous contemporary art called The world is not a foreign land. I shan't go into detail here (that's for another time) and photography wasn't permitted in the gallery, but it's safe to say I'm glad I went; it's opened a small can of worms in terms of my questions about and interest in Aboriginal art. Last stop was the cafe at the gallery, the Potter Espresso Bar, for a cup of tea and a hedgehog slice for a sugar hit to keep me awake until I got home.

All in all a productive and interesting day.

Here and There

To catch you all up on what I've been doing and seeing lately - 

The Fitzroy Gardens are located just East of Melbourne's CBD, and are one of the many beautiful gardens surrounding the city. The first feature I got to was the conservatory, which, full of flowers attended daily and a little water feature, smelt amazing. Also in the gardens is, apparently, Captain Cook's parent's house, relocated and rebuilt brick by brick from Yorkshire. The queue to go in was a bit ridiculous and there were so many other tourists there, pushing and shoving to get photos of it from the outside that I relented and decided to go back another day, hoping for less people and more room! I was amazed, and quietly impressed with myself, that I managed to get a picture of the house without any other people in. The result of a combination of many attempts and some luck I think.

One Sunday afternoon I busked for a while just outside Flinders Street Station, and when packing away I heard some music coming from across the road, in Federation Square. The reason for the noise and the huge amounts of people wandering over there was a Festival of Anatolian Culture. The stage in the square was showcasing traditional music and dancing and the riverside below was filled with stalls, mainly of Turkish food and drink. I delighted in watching a couple of performances and trying some Turkish pistachio baklava, yum!

The arts and culture section of The Age has lots of suggestions and recommendations as to what to go and see in any given week/weekend. On its advice, I checked out the Federation Square Christmas Market...but was sadly a little disappointed. There's a possibility I walked right past the main event, but I looked around the square a good few times and all I came across were a few food stalls, vaguely Christmas themed...so I wandered instead over to the market outside the Arts Centre, which was a little more entertaining. Seeing as it was a lovely day, Southbank seemed like a good place to carry on my aimless wander. I will definitely be going back there; cafes overlooking the river and a bustling yet calm atmosphere, just regular people enjoying a sunny Sunday. My chosen spot was a cafe located on the river, literally. Ponyfish Island is built around one of the pillars that hold up a footbridge over the Yarra, so I got a slightly alternative view as I sipped on an ice cold blood orange juice. I also found that Melbourne has its very own 'love locks' bridge...something that apparently a world city is not complete without.

By the time I had run a couple of errands it was time for a bite to eat, and I have learnt already that the laneways of Melbourne are always a good bet for something tasty. No. 5 is on Centre Place, close to Flinders Street Station, surrounded by alleys full of cafes and some of the city's infamous street art. I had a great seat looking out onto the street, perfect for watching the world go by; seeing people of all ages, from young travellers, recognisable by their carefree attitudes, braids and tanned glows, to so-cool-it-hurts hipsters that seem to make up a large proportion of Melbourne's population, to middle-aged couples enjoying a relaxed Sunday coffee, to families on holiday, sun hats, backpacks and tour guides galore. 

The huge range of other people that I see is one of the reasons I love hanging out in the city. You never know what you might come across, and one of my favourite things is to sit and take note of who walks past...not in a creepy way, just in a way where I can build up my own personal thoughts and impressions of the people that live, work and visit here. 

Fitzroy

Trendy, bohemian, vintage shops aplenty, Fitzroy is too cool for school.

I wish I hadn't eaten breakfast before I arrived on Brunswick Street mid-morning - there are too many good looking eateries to count. Next time I go back will be with an empty stomach so that I can take advantage of the delicacies on offer.

Wandering up and down Brunswick Street alone took me a good few hours, as I popped into a dozen or so clothes shops, jewellery shops and record stores.

The buildings are of the old style, with embellished rooftops and window frames adding to coloured walls ranging from neutral to bright to pastel tones. They remind me of the buildings that house the Portobello market in London. And even though there was cloud overhead and the rain poured down for most of the day, the chairs and tables left outside the cafes and bars was a pleasant reminder of the good weather to come and the outdoor lifestyle that will be possible for the next few months. 

Whilst looking down some of the side streets leading off Brunswick Street, I came across a cafe set up in a container, Grace, and just around the corner from that, Industry Beans. As well as these little treasures that I'll definitely be going back to, Rose Street is home to some of Melbourne's famous street art.

When the wind and rain got all too much I sat myself down in Newtown Social Club for a deliciously sweet and spicy chai tea and a leaf through the flyers and music magazine I'd picked up earlier. A seat in the window was the perfect spot for people watching and jotting some thoughts and notes down in a lovely, brand new book.

In other news, I think my efforts to find some musical activities here might be starting to pay off, so watch this space...