Melbourne: Walk to Art, White Night and Heaps of Shopping (and Food!)

Friday morning 5:45 am, Do and I were woken up by my alarm. Opened the curtains to make it easier to get out of bed, which we eventually did at 6:00 am, only to be picked up by a cab 15 minutes later. Since we hadn't had brekkie yet, we went to the Virgin Business Lounge after we'd checked in. I had a pancake with whipped cream and jam and afterwards a toastie because I was still a bit hungry. Due to weather conditions, our flight had been delayed so instead of taking off at 07:40 am we ended up taking off at 08:15 am. I was wearing shorts and a top because I was told it would be sunny in Melbourne, which as a matter of fact it actually was for a change, but it was really cold on the plane so I couldn't really sleep.

After a two-hour flight we arrived in Melbourne, collected our bags and took a cab to our hotel, which was actually just a building renting apartments. Since Melbourne has daylight savings it was already 1 o'clock: time for lunch. Right next to our hotel was a little cafe so we decided not to complicate things and have lunch there. Then we went back to our apartment, put sunscreen on and started walking to another cafe where we had arranged to meet Bernie (Bernadette), the lady who'd give us a tour through the city called "Walk to Art". According to Bella, we had to go east to get there, so I used my iPhone compass to lead us east and we ended up walking 20 minutes in the wrong direction. Apparently either my compass was wrong (Bella's opinion) or Bella was wrong and we had go west (my opinion haha).

Anyways, we got to the cafe a bit later than we were supposed to be but it wasn't really a problem. We had a drink and then we started our "Walk to Art". Bernie took us to lots of little alleyways and showed us basically all the street art there was to see. She also told us some interesting things about how the artists carry out their job; sometimes they abseil down a 20 m high wall in order to create their artwork. She also took us up a building with a pretty view over a section of the city and at the end, around 5 o'clock, we had a drink at a very cute rooftop restaurant with baby pink walls and pastel-coloured sun umbrellas.

We were all pretty exhausted after the "Walk to Art", so we had some bread with French cheese and prosciutto back at our apartment and chilled for a few hours. Then we showered, dressed up and went out to dinner at a barlike thingy as there was no table for 4 anymore at the restaurant we intended to go to. We got back at the hotel around 00:30 and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. 

The following morning we slept in till about 10 o'clock, got dressed and went out for breakfast at a cafe nearby. I had a delicious bowl of vanilla yoghurt, muesli and banana. Coincidentally, the waitress at the cafe was Dutch. Do and I had a little chat with her and it was nice to talk to someone Dutch besides each other. 

Afterwards, we took a cab to an outlet of a particular brand with sales up to 75%. I didn't buy anything though, because the one dress I liked was still 70 dollars and I didn't think it was worth it. After the outlet we walked to a very long shopping street nearby, where we spent a few hours shopping. I bought two dresses and a top there. I also treated everyone to lunch at a restaurant in the shopping street, and I think I can say it was the best lunch I've had here so far. Do and I shared some bruschetta, a hamburger and a spaghetti carbonara and I also tasted some of Bella's chicken salad which was amazing too.

Following lunch, we took a taxi to another outlet but I found this one a lot better because, unlike the other outlet we went to, this one had lots of different brands. Do and I shopped together because Bella had to buy some things for herself, and we were actually the very last ones to leave the outlet. I bought a sweater, a top and two pairs of heels, so all in all I can say I had a very successful shopping day!

We took a cab back to the hotel and chilled there for a bit. We were all still full from our big lunch, so we decided we wouldn't have dinner and just had some bread with French cheese and prosciutto instead. 

Around 10 o'clock, we went out on the streets because White Night was on. This is a festival during which the city comes alive from dusk to dawn (7 pm - 7 am) in a night celebration of music, theatre, dance, food, art etc. There were over 80 acts spread across streets, laneways, public buildings and parks. Thousands of people were flocking the streets and we had to be careful not to loose each other in the massive crowd of people. It was amazing to see such a great number of people out at night and nice to experience the vibe of such a festival, so we were lucky it was on while we were there.

This morning (Sunday) we got up, packed our bags and checked out of the hotel. Do and I made a ham-cheese panini for breakfast in the Virgin Lounge at Melbourne Airport. We also went back like ten times to get another bowl of mini chocolate chip cookies. They were delish. Our flight was not delayed this time, so we landed in Gold Coast around 3ish, collected our bags and took a taxi home. I then unpacked my suitcase and cleaned my wardrobe, room and bathroom, so I'm all neat and organized to start a new week of school. I actually realize now that I've only got 3 more school weeks and 2 weekends left; I can't imagine it's gone so fast! I guess time flies when you're having fun hey?