On the second day in Melbourne I was better prepared for the cold. With a new-to-me princess cut coat, I was finally comfortable in the brisk city. The day began with free toast in the hostel, which truly felt like a residence hall. Chris and I ventured out into the city to take in Queen Victoria Market.
At first it seemed underwhelming. We walked into a covered market area reminiscent of St. Lawrence market in Toronto, complete with butchers and cheese vendors that hawked apricots stuffed with marscapone. Then we walked through the double doors.
A near city block was filled with organic produce stalls, one of which featured Buddha’s Hand, a pioneer citrus species.
The market continued to expand as we walked deeper into the labyrinth of food and imports including iPhone cases, knitted toys and matryoshka dolls. We bought mixed nuts and went in search of much needed espresso.
After impromptu Skype calls with our parents on Little Bourke St, Chris and I wandered into Mr Tulk, the cafe adjoined to the State Library of Victoria. We enjoyed the decor, but the close quarters made conversation difficult. We overheard an American boasting about New York and a mother and son discussing medical exam results, which was just slightly awkward.
While we had planned to explore the library, I ended up seated in a lounge area charging my camera battery and reading a zine titled ‘macarons are not macaroons’, which led me to the realization that I’ve been saying it wrong all this time.
We matched on to East Melbourne for lunch at Tiny Cafe and relaxation time at the Japanese Bath House.
Tiny was perhaps the most adorable lunch and espresso joint I’ve had the pleasure of frequenting. The pumpkin, goat cheese and pesto sandwich was groaningly delicious.
It was my first time in a Japanese Bathhouse. Being naked in front of strangers felt uncomfortable at first, but as I took my seated shower and settled into the bath, my nervousness evaporated with the steam.
Refreshed and squeaky clean, Chris and I ventured down two wonderfully eclectic avenues: Gertrude St and Brunswick St. We came to Gertrude in search of Title film, music and book shop, which didn’t disappoint, especially in their film selection.
Shopping on Brunswick was incredibly fruitful and friendly. I met a fellow Canadian at a beautiful
stationary store and a woman who sounded Canadian at Naked for Satan vodka bar. As I was taking photos of the exposed distillery pipes, she mentioned the toilets were an especially good photo op. After sitting down next to each other with our mutual drinks, I leaned over and asked her if I had heard a North American accent. She laughed and sheepishly admitted that she accidentally replies to foreigners in their accents at times. We laughed together; I’ve definitely been guilty of that!
After dining on nachos at Trippy Taco, Chris and I saw Elly Hoyt at Bennetts Lane Jazz Club. She was an endearing performer, singing classic American jazz numbers and her own songs. Our feet tapped and our heads bobbed to the beat as we dreamed of learning to play music ourselves. So marked the halfway point in our whirlwind tour of Melbourne, and what a tour it was.