Melbourne Travel Vlog

My trip to Melbourne last month was so much fun! I’ve told you about the fashion shows I attended and the shopping I did, so I thought I’d share some of the other fun things I did while I was in Melbourne (including the most epic hot chocolate I’ve ever seen).

GETTING AROUND

I used a myki Public Transport Card to get around while I was in Melbourne. I’d also highly recommend downloading the PTV app before you go – that made figuring out where and when I could catch the tram I needed to be on super easy! I also used Uber quite a bit when travelling at night or hauling shopping back to the apartment, and think that it far outshone my experiences with Uber in New Zealand – the drivers were friendly, polite, efficient, and the cost of travel was very reasonable (and always within the quoted amount).

EAT

Operator25 (Melbourne CBD) – I went here with my friend Amber for Sunday brunch. It was lucky that we went early, because this is a super popular spot and there were lots of people waiting for tables by the time we were done. The food was delicious and this is definitely a spot I want to go back to.

The Grain Store (Melbourne CBD) – Let’s just put it out there, brunch is my favourite meal of the day. Apparently Saturday is the day that Melbourne brunches, because The Grain Store was PACKED. Like, there were people queueing in the lobby. That’s a good sign that the food is amazing, and The Grain Store did not disappoint.

#Hash Specialty Coffee & Roasters (Melbourne CBD) – One of my friends told me about a place that did the most amazing hot chocolates, so Rachel, Kath and I dragged ourselves there for brunch. Amazing is not the word I’d use to describe the hot chocolate, I think EPIC would be more appropriate. A massive stack of candyfloss that you pour a dark bitter hot chocolate over? HECK YES. The food was tasty as well, but let’s be honest – you need to go there for the hot chocolate!

Le Bon Cakes (St Kilda) – Acland Street is basically a street lined with amazing cakes, and holy mackerel, you need to go there. My friend Samantha took me to Le Bon Cakes and WOAH. I filmed a little bit of the store, which you can see in my vlog, but that’s just the start of it. If you have a sweet tooth this is definitely a place you need to visit!

Epocha (Carlton) – This is the place to go for fine dining! They do a bunch of great shared plates, so I recommend going with at least one other person (the more people there are the more plates you can order, which means you can try more dishes!). Rachel and I enjoyed an amazing lunch here and I would LOVE to go back for dinner. Make sure you leave room to choose something from the dessert trolley, I highly recommend the pannacotta.

Uber Eats – One of my best finds while I was in Melbourne was Uber Eats, and I bloody hope they bring this out in Auckland! There were nights that we didn’t feel up to going out or we were short on time and didn’t want to wait for a table in a restaurant, so we jumped on Uber Eats, ordered food from a nearby restaurant and it was delivered to our apartment. There was a whole bunch of places we could order from, with dinner food, cupcakes, you name it – basically it’s a food delivery service using Uber! The two best places we ordered from were A25 Espresso (best gluten free pizza I’ve ever eaten in my life!) and Peko Peko.

SHOPPING & CULTURE

Bourke Street Mall (Melbourne CBD) – I’ve already made a whole video about my shopping experiences in Melbourne and where to shop for plus size clothing (you can watch it here), but I just wanted to say that Bourke Street was the best central location for shopping. I found clothing, crafts, department stores, music stores and a whole bunch of other great places in Bourke Street, so if you’re not sure where to start I would definitely recommend there. Make sure you stop by Federal Coffee Palace beside H&M for breakfast/brunch/lunch – their food was delicious and I may or may not have been there three times during my trip. Don’t judge me.

Harlow (Brunswick) – You will have seen Harlow on my blog quite a bit over the last few years (check out their most recent lookbook here), and I was really excited to be able to go to their HQ and meet the team behind the brand. Their clothes are designed and made in Melbourne, in sizes 12-24, and you can shop online (yes they ship internationally!) or at selected stockists.

National Gallery of Victoria – I went to the Degas exhibition while I was in Melbourne, which was absolutely breathtaking. I studied Degas while I was doing my arts degree and it was so cool to see some of his pieces close up. A lot of his pieces that I really connected with were of the female form, sexuality, how the subjects moved (many were dancers) … I left feeling very inspired! I could have spent hours and hours at the gallery – I had a pretty strict schedule so I only got to see work by three other artists, so I’m definitely going to be heading back to the NGV next time I’m in Melbourne!

Have you been to Melbourne before?
What are your must visit places?

I explored Melbourne with the help of Visit Victoria who helped me to organise a fun itinerary.