In addition to the new fortnightly photo posts, I am now going to write a post each week summarising what went down. Kind of like a weekly review except with no bosses and no targets. Not only will it be a good way for family and friends to keep up to date, we will be able to look back and reminiscence once our travels are over.
I easily forget what we’ve done each week; not because it’s boring and unremarkable but because we’re seeing so much. Also, every day is like the weekend and I’m not stuck in the same old routine. My brain doesn’t know what’s hit it.In the background, I’m also working on some much bigger blog posts which will be one-off specials.Anyway, you’re here to find out what we did this week. Let’s go.
Saturday
Starting last Saturday, 21st October, we had a night out courtesy of Claire, Matthew, Hayley and Alistair. They’d all chipped in together and got us a voucher for one of the best restaurants in Melbourne; Chin Chin. I’m talking number 28 out of 4,298 on Tripadvisor. We love Thai food so it was a perfect choice; thanks guys! It’s a very popular restaurant and doesn’t allow bookings for less than eight people. Given it was a Saturday night, I was quite worried we wouldn’t get in and would have to settle for a kebab on King Street.We arrived at approximately 6pm and there was already a long queue around the corner and down a laneway. We quickly realised that the queue was simply to put your name down for a table and you would then receive a text once one was available. There was still a lot of hype around for this place even though it’s been open over six years.Luckily the queue moved pretty fast and we were on the list within twenty minutes. The table would be ready for us in an hour or so.Anyone that knows me well will know that I love researching places to go in new cities and I love an itinerary. There was a hidden bar not far from Chin Chin which we decided to check out whilst we waited for a table. Melbourne’s infamous weather decided to turn up for our brief walk. Goodbye sun, hello rain.All I knew about this bar was that it was Japanese, the name was Hihou and that you had to ring a doorbell to get in. It didn’t take too long to find but we had no idea what to expect once we entered. We were quickly welcomed and shown to a table overlooking the corner of Flinders Lane and Spring Street. It was so calm inside and a great place to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. You even had to take off your shoes if you walked on the carpeted area. This place made me really excited to visit Japan although I have seen photos of Tokyo. It doesn’t look quite as relaxing.Within the hour we were back at Chin Chin at our table. It’s pretty squashed in there with the tables so close together but we spoke to a lovely couple from Geelong most of the night.Whilst the menu is extensive, I can only recommend one option; simply saying “Feed Me”. This is a trend all over Melbourne now where the chef will pick the best dishes and serve them all to you. All we requested was that there be no fish.The food was probably the best I have ever had although I wish I had more room to eat once the curry arrived. We had seven dishes in total which were more than enough to share; pulled pork pancakes, corn and coriander fritters, chilli salt chicken wings, pad thai, crispy pork belly, wagyu beef rendang (with rice, roti and green beans) and a palm sugar ice cream sundae. I was stuffed to say the least.[easy-image-collage id=542]
Sunday
On Sunday we headed over to the free Blues Festival at the Docklands. It was only a 10 minute walk which made it easier to walk back to get my camera. We stuck around for Dreamboogie and Three Kings who were both amazing and their songs were very catchy. [easy-image-collage id=544]
Monday
Monday was a little different to what we’d been used to. No longer were we getting up at 7am to commute to work and sit at a desk for eight hours. We chilled out on the balcony of our apartment before checking out a mirror maze and feeding ourselves into a coma at Royal Stacks. I love burgers and I had been drooling over Royal Stack’s Instagram feed for some time. The burgers are served as though you’re in a fast food restaurant but the quality is a hundred times better. I made my choice immediately and went for ‘The King’ which had a mac and cheese croquette inside as well the required meat.We also ordered cheese fries, potato gems and then ice cream for dessert. Concrete mixers they were called. I had salted caramel ice cream with crushed Oreo and Emma had Nutella ice cream with M&Ms. [easy-image-collage id=546]
Tuesday
We visited the State Library of Victoria purely for the view of the La Trobe Reading Room which dates back to 1913. The pictures don’t really do it justice but it really is magnificent. The library also had an impressive museum on the origins of Melbourne as well as the infamous Ned Kelly. It houses Kelly’s armour suit complete with bullet indents.
We spent a few days relaxing in the flat ensuring that we didn’t spend any money and cooked our own meals. It can be all too easy to go out every night and before you know it you’ve run out of money.
Friday
The sun returned and we returned to Fitzroy but also ventured into the neighbouring suburb of Collingwood. Wandering the streets we stumbled upon plenty of street art but the heat meant all we wanted was a cold refreshing beer. I found a $7 pint of beer at the Fitzroy Social which was great as it wasn’t even happy hour. We also went to the Provincial Hotel and back to Naked for Satan to take advantage of the cheap eats. [easy-image-collage id=548]
Saturday
Finally, I decided to go along to an ‘Instameet’ arranged by the guys behind GlobalNightSquad on Instagram. Essentially, it’s just a lot of photographers turn up, chat and go take photos. I was nervous as I was sure everyone would know each other even though the hosts were from Sydney. I spoke to quite a few people who all made me feel welcome so that settled my nerves. We set off about an hour after everyone met and the group quickly split up before regrouping at Parliament House. I headed off shortly after this and took the long way home to take some shots of the city skyline from across the river. I took some of my favourite photos thanks to my impressive little camera.
Sunday
How could I forget, we also went to a cheese festival over at Prahran Market. We spent $15 on three cheeses and the weather meant that we had to race back to the flat so they wouldn’t end up as mush. I think we saved them.All in all a very good week.Make sure you come back next week to see what we’ve been up to. Also, if you haven’t already and if you want to, please sign up to my mailing list over on the right and you’ll never miss a post.