So! Where to begin!?…
It’s Thursday 28th February, and it’s officially been a week since we arrived in magical Melbourne!
We were picked up from the airport by Camilla and headed to Collingwood where we stayed for the week (a really cool suburb outside of the CBD). Smith Street in Collingwood and Brunswick Street in Fitzroy (the next suburb over) were definitely a highlight for us – filled with yummy vegan lunch stops, groovy shops and funky bars!
We spent the first couple of days exploring these areas, getting over a spot (/a lot) of jet lag, while trying to fit in some cultural things here and there. The walking tour may have been hit by this, perhaps the Melbourne Museum and the ACMI as well…
On the Saturday Camilla was lovely enough to act as our designated driver and take us around some of the smaller vineyards in the Yarra Valley – we planned to hit 9 vineyards, but turned out that the wizards are thorough wine tasters and only made it to 3…but 3 fabulous ones!
Here’s some of the lingo that we picked up on this cultural day out:
- Fruity
- Oaky
- Legs
I think that’s it…we also learnt that Pinot Noir is a red wine…not a white. Gunther, the cheese maker from Holland, made us aware of this (featured in the photo below)
You’ll be happy to know that we found an excellent base for our morning coffee – both ‘Proud Mary’s’ and ‘Allpress’ brewed their own delicious coffee which we were only too happy to sample multiple times (please head to the specific coffee blog for more info on this)
We had a couple of classy evenings that involved a moonlight cinema and a gallery exhibition opening. It’s fair to say that the moonlight cinema proved a little more stressful than anticipated, as we ran, hummus and carrot sticks in tow, to try and catch the beginning of the film before the sun went down. However not only did we make it, but so did the hummus and carrot sticks, so all was well! We continued to watch ‘The Favourite’ without a hitch.
We finished off our week with a day trip along the great ocean road to the 12 Apostles, with the wonderful Angie as our driver. She sung us the Vegemite ‘ditty’ and kept our spirits high throughout the journey with some weird music and strange DVD’s – if you’re reading Angie…thank you xo
Although the day trip was set off to a weird start at the Choclatier (chocolate buttons aren’t recommended pre 9am), the sites were amazing and it was a fab day!
Overall, Melbourne definitely did not disappoint! I think we both agree that the days spent wondering around the retro shops of Fitzroy and Collingwood were our fave. We’ve both managed to avoid the lobster red sunburn (although their have been some scary moments) and we’re fully adapted to the new time scale and Aussie lifestyle, ready to take on the rest of the East Coast!
Thank you to Camilla for housing us for the first leg of our journey – a true blessing following such a long flight❤️
For now this is the Wizards of Aus signing out! Melbourne you’ve been magical, marvellous and miraculous, and we feel that our friendship with you is only just beginning!
Next stop – Canberra; you better be prepared for that thunder down under…
Love,
The Wizards x
Thunder Down Under 
Hello both. Happy birthday! (MY birthday, obviously). That coastline looks nice, I fancy going there especially if there are onion rings too. It does sound jolly fun – Camilla got in touch and managed to sound not TOO delighted that she’d got rid of you, so that’s a win.
Take care and keep the updated coming!
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Hooray!! look at you two with your carrot sticks and sprouting salads!
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