The first part of the week was just a lot of work and classes, so I’ll skip to the good part that is Melbourne!
On Friday, we flew to Melbourne on a short flight before getting to our lodgings at around 8 PM. Shortly afterwards, I went to a small mom & pop Italian restaurant named Pellegrini’s espresso bar alongside a couple dudes. The service there was the best I had ever received at a restaurant, with the owner enjoying our company so much that they gave us free dessert and offered for us to sit in the kitchen when we next came in.
The next morning, I got up at around 6 AM to join a bus trip down the great ocean road. What followed was a long, but very enjoyable day as we cruised between beaches and rock formations. Learning about the history and dangers of this area was very interesting. From what I heard, this area was the place where an Australian Prime minister swam in before completely disappearing in the middle of his term.
There is nothing I love more than climbing and walking on coastal rocks. It was truly something else, walking on a near empty beach that stretched as far as the eyes can see. What I truly adored though, was the 12 apostles. This was the place my Australian friend told me about, the same one whose family I’m bound to meet in Brisbane next week. These rock formations are utterly unreal and nothing like I have ever seen before.
The next day, I went on a brief walking trip through the city in the morning. I honestly love the concept of “byways” to death, as it makes the city extremely fun to walk around in. In one of these byways, practically an alleyway inside an alleyway, I found an extremely cool bar by the name of “Berlin Bar”
It was a bar divided in two parts resembling Berlin during the cold war, with the communist east and the capitalist west. As a great-grandchild of German immigrants, I found this place exceptionally appealing to me. I immediately texted my father, who has spent many years in Germany and he was ecstatic. Hopefully someday I can actually learn the German language, as wild as it sounds.
I decided to have Berlin signature negroni, clearly sold by the “Berlin Signature” part of the name. Honestly, I should have chosen something better since I despise gin. I did marvel at the architecture though. The bar had barbed wire on top of it, representing the berlin wall that separated the two halves. To me, this bar was a marvel of interior design that was practically made for me. The west side was posh and extravagant, while the east side was dark and filled with propaganda. This was mirrored with the drink selection, which was split between spirits and hard alcohol.
Overall, I loved Melbourne to death. But I honestly like Sydney more. To me, Melbourne feels like a great city to be for a weekend – but not one to live in. I’ll be sure to compare both of these cities to Brisbane and Stanthorpe next week, so stay tuned!