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Welcome to Melbourne! 🤗 Melbourne represents the first leg of my Antipodean Adventure Vacation and is a city that’s situated in the Australian state of Victoria – a state which borders the two other Australian states of South Australia and New South Wales. It feels a bit like a cross between San Francisco and Chicago, in the good old US of A, but a way more inviting and much better-maintained version of each.

It’s a busy city that, although with the hustle and bustle of busy city life, feels a lot more laid-back than a lot of those I’ve visited (particularly the ones in the US). For the most part, it’s really clean, and although there’s the crowd one would expect to see in summertime, its streets do not feel crowded; it’s easy to walk around, and it feels safe to do so too. Those who know me well will attest to the fact that I’m not a city person, but if I had to live/work in a city, I could think of far worse places to do so than Melbourne.

With only 3 days around the Melbourne area – one of which sees me taking a tour along the Great Ocean Road to see the Twelve Apostles (the subject of my blog post here), my time here is fairly short. That notwithstanding, my intention was always to see as much as I possibly could; whilst Melbourne serves as a great way of getting me “into the swing” of Australia (i.e. adjusting to the timezone, catching up on lost sleep, etc.) I still want to make the most of my time here. For sure, though, I won’t go too mad on my first few days – I’m cramming a lot into this vacation after all, so a gentle start’s probably not a bad idea – still, it feels like that’s no real excuse to be overly conservative 😁

Vibe Hotel

Whilst in Melbourne, the Vibe Hotel on Queen Street is the place I’ll be calling home. This was the hotel recommended by TRAVELBAG when I worked with them to create my itinerary. The Vibe is situated on the corner of Queen (Street) and Flinders and shares the building in which it’s located with the One Queen Restaurant – the restaurant that essentially serves the Vibe’s clientele, though it’s also open to non-residents, too. It’s a nice little restaurant; the type of symbiotic relationship that typically works well 😎

The Vibe is situated in what is colloquially known as the CBD – the Central Business District – which incorporates much of downtown Melbourne. As I mentioned here at the end of my previous post, an early morning arrival probably warrants an early check-in (mental note to self: probably worth figuring out why it is I always forget to do this 🤦🏻‍♂️). So whilst it’s not the end of the world, it did mean I had a few hours to kill before I could get into my room.

On Friday (6th) – or Thursday if you’re reading this back in the UK – I’ll be heading out for the day on an excursion along the Great Ocean Road to see the Twelve Apostles, and you can read more about that here. So, the first thing I thought I’d do is orient myself with regards to where I staying and where I needed to be in order to pick up the transport. So, armed with my phone and Apple Maps as my trusty navigator, I headed off for 688 Bourke Street.

The CBD has quite the mix of architecture, with both the old and the new nestling together in what actually feels like a harmonious fashion. Again, it’s another symbiotic relationship that seems to work really well. Within the CBD, there’s also a free transit system, meaning there are tram lines and cables that crisscross the streets and a seemingly endless stream of trams that shuttle folks about their daily lives.

Walking around, it’s not too difficult to come across some of the more eclectic buildings, and, of course, there are also a variety of nods back to the British Colonial heritage dotted here and there.

Immigration Museum

One such place, situated alongside the old quay, is the historic Old Customs House, which has been renovated and is now home to the Immigration Museum of Victoria.

Situated over three floors and housing a number of static as well as interactive exhibits, the museum tells the story of the folks who came to Australia seeking a better life. It’s fascinating to see and hear the various histories of the numerous settlers over the years, and is well worth the $15 AUD (around £7.50 GBP) entry price…particularly as it also has ample seating dotted around for a weary and travel-worn visitor 😌

The Immigration Museum also plays host to other touring exhibitions throughout the year. Whilst I was visiting they were setting up for the Notre Dame de Paris exhibition, with the Joy exhibition – that will be there until August 2025 – already in full swing. Joy is fun, and the ’80s video store experience really brought back some fond memories. The Emotion Wall and this (huge) guy made me smile, too, so I just had to capture them for posterity 😁

After an hour or so of wandering, watching, listening and smiling with joy, I made my way back out into the sun and bade a fond farewell as I headed back to my hotel. By the way, I found 688 Bourke Street no problem and realised that I’d actually walked in a big oval, pleasantly surprised that my walk back was going to take considerably less time than my walk there had. And as my backpack hadn’t really been packed for lots of walking, that realisation brought me even more joy! 🤩

Check-In

People say that the best and quickest way to align your body clock to a particular timezone is to stay up as late as you possibly can (within reason), thus helping you to adjust your sleep pattern. Whilst I typically subscribe to that notion, I’ll wager that most of those people – including myself – had not been travelling for almost 24 hours and across numerous time zones! By the time I got back to the Vibe, I was shattered!

But I still had some time to kill before my room was ready, so I ended up lunching on a Chicken Club Sandwich washed down with a cold XPA – Extra Pale Ale – at the One Queen Restaurant (located on the Vibe ground floor). As for my room? Well, a bijoux little corner apartment located on the 12th floor, I shall let you decide whether it was a good choice or not (hint, I think it’s bloody brilliant)! 😎

Breakfast

After a good night’s sleep – well, a late afternoon and a night to be precise – a hot shower and coffee from the in-room coffee machine, it was Day 2, and I was raring to go. Having already had lunch at the One Queen Restaurant, I decided to venture further afield for Breakfast. Searching Google suggested that Cumulus might be a good place to try. So having donned some suitable attire – the crumpled look is very in-vogue, you know – and packed some essentials into my day sack, off I headed 😎

The walk, at 6:30 am, was, to say the least, lovely! As you can see from some of the photos below. With the Sun shining and a cool breeze wafting through the streets, Melbourne really is a lovely City to wander around. The people you pass smile, plus they’re really friendly too. It also smells nice; that is to say, it doesn’t smell bad like some of the US cities I’ve visited recently (Las Vegas being one in particular that springs to mind) 😳

It turns out, though, that some things are Universal: surprisingly, Google is not always to be trusted! Who knew?!? 😉 As Cumulus was evidently very shut, it wasn’t going to be somewhere I was going to be able to get Breakfast. My walk, however, had taken me most of the way towards the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is surrounded by some lovely-looking parks and open spaces; a little head-scratching and another failed Google attempt later, I was fortunate enough to stumble across Cafe Excello situated on the corner of Spring (Street) and Little Collins.

Now, the Google rating for this establishment isn’t particularly high. Ignore Google! Sat by the window so I could watch the world go by, I found the service to be great and the Excello Special – essentially Fried Eggs, Bacon, Mushroom and Tomato with Toast – to be extremely tasty. Topped off with a Coffee and an Orange Juice, this was a perfect way to start the day 😎

Park Life

The rest of the morning was spent wandering around the various interconnected Parks surrounding the Cricket Ground, stopping here and there for refreshments and to go through my script (did I mention I start rehearsal for a production of Bill Bryson’s “Notes from a Small Island” in January 2025 😉). Learning lines for a play is a lot like writing a blog post: little and often claims the day 😎 Turns out, whilst learning lines has been something I’ve mastered over the years, blogging – although something I’ve only picked up relatively recently – is fast becoming my other second-nature skill; the tools I have adopted really aiding the content writing whenever and wherever life finds me! I feel like there might be a new opportunity in the near future for a blog all about blogging! 🤔 Stay tuned for more to come on that.

But I digress. For now, I want to share one of the most unexpected experiences I’ve had in a City in quite some time! Venturing outside of the CBD, I’d have to liken the parklands I’ve wandered around today – Thursday, December 5th (Australian EDT) – akin to being in Central Park in New York or the English Garden in Munich. All of which are delightful! I’ve taken an absolute ton of pictures, and if I shared them all here, it’d basically just become my “Park Life” scrapbook 😂 So I’ll just share a few of my favourites and maybe come back and do a separate post in the future.

Just Chillin

Of particular note, and so I wanted to call it out specifically, was this little fella – just sat in the middle of the path chillin’ in the midday Sun, taking in the surroundings and watching all the folks go by! 😎

Lunch

With the Sun past the yard arm (an old nautical term for gone midday, for those not in the know), it was time to grab some lunch, and I found myself sat by the waterside at the extremely bustling – and appropriately named – Afloat. This was clearly the place to be!

A Lazy Afternoon

Following that, it seemed appropriate to take a little stroll and then do nothing more than relax with an ice-cold beverage, soak up some rays, and spend some quality time with Mr Bryson as I let the world flow around me 😎

The City by Night

Preparations for Christmas are well underway here, and, as you can see from my hotel window, there are decorations galore! It also gives you an idea of the feel of the city when the sun goes down. Whilst it’s all very festive and a sight to behold, Christmas in 30-degree centigrade heat just doesn’t seem right! 😳

I haven’t ventured out after dark, to be honest, and mostly because by the time the sun sets, I’ve been too tired to do so. My two days in Melbourne have been pretty full-on, and I’m still recovering from the travelling, the change in time zone and the jetlag. It’s a lot to take on when you’re my age 😉 As I’ve already mentioned, I don’t want to push things too much at the start of my travels either. But at night, a different side of the city emerges, and it’s one that I feel would be equally exciting to experience, too!

There’s a ton of stuff one can do in Melbourne; however, my stay here is almost coming to a close. As I mentioned, I’m next off on an excursion along the Great Ocean Road to the Twelve Apostles – an all-day affair and the subject of my post here. For now, I’ll leave you with this article and the memories of my time in the City of Melbourne. Catch up with you again soon; ciao for now! 🤗