We love visiting Melbourne! It has a wonderful atmosphere and is only a short plane trip for us – less than an hour in the air. This time, Bianca had a work trip at the end of the week. So Christian flew in on Friday and we spent the weekend there. Christian’s flight was paid for with points, so it was a very thrifty trip – at least it was intended to be that way! Our weekend away in Melbourne is a classic Couple in Red experience – wine, food, art, walking and adventures.

Melbourne’s vibe is electric, with hidden laneways full of fantastic dining, and cool establishments offering great experiences. We intended to take a low-cost approach and so we started with exploring the free art galleries and roaming the streets soaking up the cool mood. Melbourne has so many tempting places to explore and try though, so the weekend ended up a little more expensive that we originally planned. You can’t help but immersive yourself in Melbourne’s culture, and eating and drinking is the best way to do that!

We walked everywhere, and did not take any taxis or Uber or even the Melbourne tram. Melbourne’s CBD (Central Business District, or ‘downtown’) is very walkable, and of course, we like to stop at bars and cafes to refresh from the walking. We had our walking shoes on, a bag for any purchases, and our pedometers started – ready for the day ahead.

Art galleries

We visited the National Gallery Victoria, which was just a short walk from Princes Bridge on St Kilda Road. It is free to enter, and has three floors of art, photography, installations, sculpture, and even homewares like pottery, furniture, glass, and clothes. There is a mix of modern and ancient, and each room has a theme or era. There is a lot to see, so you could end up spending all day in just this gallery.

After the NGV, we went next door to the Arts Centre Melbourne, to the Australian Music Vault in Hamer Hall. This has memoribilia from Australian musicians and groups. Bianca was particularly pleased to see some of the items, but as Christian only arrived in Australia after 2000, many of the 80’s and 90’s musicians were unknown to him. Bianca was a little disappointed about how small the exhibition was, but it was good that it was free.

We then wandered back over the bridge and across to the Federation Square art gallery “Ian Potter Centre” – NGV Australia. This is another free gallery with 3 floors of art and sculpture, photography and installations. This art gallery is a little smaller than the NGV in St Kilda Road, but just as entertaining and interesting. We are glad we were able to go to both.

Street Graffiti

We were able to enjoy the Street Graffiti that is in many Melbourne back streets. We started at Hosier Lane, because it is almost opposite the Ian Potter art gallery, and then we explored the “Paris End” of Collins Street. We also saw great grafitti in AC/DC Lane, Degraves Street, and whilst waiting for our breakfast at Centre Place.

Rialto Tower and Lui Bar

When we were at the “New York” end of Melbourne, we were able to enjoy a late evening drink in Lui Bar on the 55th floor of the Rialto Tower. When it was built, it was the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. There is an exclusive express lift that will take you to the 55th floor, where the dark and seductive bar waits for you. As we whistled up the lift, we knew that we would be rewarded with a magnificent view.

We enjoyed a few cocktails, but the real attraction was the view. With the room dark behind us, and almost every table facing the view, we were able to soak in the lights, and try and identify the buildings beneath us.

Next time you’re in Melbourne, check out some of these:

• Street dining – check out Hardware Lane
• Bars along the Yarra River (a quick drink at one riverside bar resulted in an $18 alcoholic lemon squash!)
• The Purple Pit – A cool hidden and un-advertised bar with no Google presence, located under 380 Collins Street.

Beneath Driver Lane

Beneath Driver Lane is a basement whiskey bar with regular live blues music. It has become Bianca’s favourite Melbourne bar – she says their Whiskey Sour is the best in the world! It’s not just the cocktails that interests her, the blues music is live and you can be really close to the bands.

We spent many hours Beneath Driver Lane to enjoy the music, atmosphere and cocktails. Bianca was loving every second of it.

Botswana Butchery

Our meal at Botswana Butchery was our little treat. It is fine dining with a price to match. Excellent food that we want more of – just the wallet won’t reach! Unfortunately the restaurant chain has gone into liquidation now, but we were able to enjoy their meat-centric dishes and fine wine.

Christian had a steak with roasted garlic, mushroom sauce and a pressed potato dauphinoise with raclette cheese, whilst Bianca had the duck with a plum sauce.

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