MY MELBOURNE SOJOURN

I flew into Melbourne last Friday morning. Flying in on a Friday morning was kinda silly. You see, my friends aren't ladies who lunch, they have full time jobs and work 9-5, five days a week (Friday being one of said five). So I had to amuse myself for the day. I'm pretty easily amused. Anyway, I kicked off my Melbourne sojourn doing what the entirety of the female race would have done. I went to Chapel Street.

Now, everyone brags about Melbourne shopping and how great it is and how you find so many wonderful bargains and one-off pieces. But here's the problem, I don't do vintage. Insert gasp! I'm sorry but it just doesn't suit me! Some girls can spend $50 on an entire outfit that ends up looking just as good (if not better) than something I've pulled together for $500 plus! I just don't have the knack, so I'd rather not try and stick to what I know.

Anyway, my point here (yes, I have a point, I always have a point, it just usually takes me a while to get to it) is that because I don't do vintage, I usually end up buying labels I can purchase just as easily in Sydney. Fail. So after stepping into no more than a dozen boutiques, I stumbled across Sass & Bide and walked out with a pair of pants, a knit, and a dress. Entire shopping budget for the weekend = goneskis.

I had a work meeting scheduled in the afternoon which was to be held at The Langham. We sat and chatted in the ARIA bar and lounge over a high tea and it was A. Mazing.  The scones, chicken ribbon sandwiches and chocolate souffle were seriously ridic. Do it next time you're in town, for morning or afternoon tea. Or if you need to add some enjoyment to what would otherwise be a dull meeting. My meeting wasn't dull though, nuh uh. I'd tell you more but then I'd have to kill you. And about 500 people read this blog a day so that's be mass murder. Not cool.

That night my girlfriend Liz was taking me out to see some of the city's best bars. We started our journey at Gingerboy, ordering up shared dishes including the prawn and ginger dumplings with chinese red vinegar, crispy chilli salt cuttlefish with lemon and roasted sesame, and the steamed silken tofu with asian mushrooms and xo sauce. Delish. We washed that down with a bottle of pinot noir. This might be an opportune time for me to mention that I didn't used to be a red wine drinker. NOT because I didn't love the stuff (because I do), I just don't love the purple lips and teeth stains that come with it. But it's almost winter, and it was cold, and I was craving a red, so I just figured that Melbourne could put up with my berry stained face for one night. Long story short (rare for me) Liz tells me the lighter the red wine, the less it will stain, so pinot noir became my new best friend.

Next up was my request, a beautiful rooftop bar called Siglo. Legendary booze (specifically wine) connoisseur Stuart Gregor took me there once so I know it's good. Nowhere in Australia does rooftop bars like Melbourne. Seriously. I didn't get there this time 'round but Madame Brussels is a favourite rooftop spot too. Why aren't there more rooftop bars in Sydney? Hmm... I could be onto something... This is Liz and I, and our Amaretto Sours...

Sorry but the rest of the night was a bit of a blur. We ventured to The Toff for a cider. That was cool. Next up was Secret Garden in St Kilda. Pretty sweet there too. We took the opportunity to jump up on a coffee table here for some Beach Haus inspired antics. Fun times. That got me geared up for some d-floor action at Boutique. I'm sorry but I'm an 80s baby. ANYWHERE in Australia that plays 80s music gets a big tick in my little black book of fun. I had to drag Liz there, kicking and screaming. But she came, bless.

Onward to One Six One where downstairs reminded me very much of Ruby Rabbit ground floor in the good ol' days, before it was turned into a diner. This was where I smashed my head into the plate glass door. I swear it came out of nowhere! Nowhere I tell you! It was so bloody heavy and thick I'm surprised it left me standing. But it did. With a little egg on my forehead that Liz refused to acknowledge because she was too drunk to see straight. I made her feel it in the morning when I woke with a pounding headache.

I'm going to leave our last stop off the list because I do NOT recommend it, not unless you've had twenty pingas (then I'm sure it'd be awesome). Liz likes it because she likes "minimal" music. Spew. Give me Bieber any day. You can see the website HERE but it has no pics because pics would probably do it far too much justice.

On Saturday we went for breakky (does 1pm still count as breakfast?) at little place called The Lawson Grove Shop. I probably shouldn't be telling you about it 'cause it's one of those secret places with kick ass food that you can always get a table at. I was never great at keeping secrets. I ordered their equivalent of a big breakky which was yummo, but if you go for lunch you MUST MUST MUST order this fricken' orgasmic pork sandwich thingy...

I noticed a big trend in Melbourne too, red and navy plaid. Hmm awkward much?

After breakky/lunch/whatever you wanna call it, I had some more time to kill while Soph (on the left) had her hair did, so I raped my credit card once again and picked up some heels from Zomp, a belt from Scanlan & Theodore, and a top from Olrik.

After that it was time for my facial at The Lyall. It looked like a beautiful place to stay, but my visit was only 75 mins, bummer. The facial was bliss. What I remember of it anyway. I fell asleep about five minutes in and woke myself up flinching about half way through. There's something magical about facials and massages. You have someone's soft hands all over you and get to completely zone out. Reminds me of something else... G-rated! G-rated Sara! I was in a comatose state then so we ordered possibly the best baked ricotta gnocchi I have ever tasted from Rococo in Hawthorn, and ate in.

Sunday we went for lunch at Stokehouse in St Kilda. I'd been to dinner upstairs in the past but we opted for casual dining downstairs in the Beach Bar & Grill and it did not disappoint. We started with the softshell crab with chilli, garlic and salsa verde and also a carpaccio of salmon with capers. Both beaut. For mains I ordered the risotto of prawn and confit fennel and Liz ordered the lamb backstrap with zucchini scarpece and blasamic, but dish of the day went to Soph who ordered the pumpkin and amaretti tortellini with sage and burnt butter. I had major order envy. The menu should've said it was oversized tortellini because I order anything that's oversized. It's a novelty. Here's a pic...

After our late, long lunch we trekked off to Global Studios for a live episode of Dancing With The Stars. That was a lot of fun and even Liz, who is the furtherest thing from a commercial/mainstream/pop culture kid you could imagine, seemed to enjoy it (she'd never tell me otherwise though). I hit the hay early and before I knew it was waking up to my 6am alarm for a flight back to Syd. Don't worry Melbourne, I'll be back to eat more of your fine food and drink at another long list of your bars soon...