REAL TALK WITH DANIELLE - Travel in Melbourne

Melbourne is known for being the live music capital of the world! This colorful city boasts music, art, and café culture. Besides being a fun place to walk around and eat, we got to play music and meet other musicians while we were here. Such a fun stop on our round the world trip!

Activities:

Readings Book Shop - This book shop sits in a popular neighborhood called Carlton, which is just a 12-minute FREE tram north of Melbourne Central Station. This book shop is really well laid-out in sections. The front of the store has all the new releases and bestsellers. As you go to the back of the store, passing the calendars and notebooks, there are huge sections of fiction, non-fiction, religion, psychology, sports, and anything you can think of. The back of the store has a music section with (throwback!) CDs like we used to see in Barnes & Noble or Borders! (womp womp) (long live Blockbuster).

National Gallery of Victoria - This is an enormous art museum with beautifully crafted exhibits. Terrance and I visited the one dedicated to art by Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It was $40 per person, so a little steep, but totally worth it! These two artists were both hugely influential. Keith Haring made many political and cultural statements with extremely minimalist street art. Jean-Michel Basquiat made a big impact by representing the black community with his social commentary on power structures.

Laneways Art - Melbourne is known for being a very artistic city, and the museums are not the only place to find art. There are quite a few side streets called “laneways” all over the central city with incredible graffiti! My favorite was this one with Greta Thunberg:

Queen Victoria Market - This was the BIGGEST market I have ever experienced. For reference, the whole thing is 17 acres. It was so large that they hired two different bands on either end of the market, because by the time you reached the middle you couldn’t hear either band. The right side of the market is entirely food, and you can literally get ANY type of food you want. We got Nepalese chicken dishes. Seriously, you can get anything! The rest of the market has tons of different things to buy from jewelry and clothes to fortune telling services. I got myself a new ring with a treble clef on it!

All Things Music:

Being musicians in the live music capital, we were very excited to visit a few music shops and open mics.

Music Swop Shop - Ever wanted to see a billion guitars crunched together in one consignment store? Look no further! This store had more guitars in it than oxygen. And the other really exciting thing was this small room of old guitars upstairs. Terrance and I stayed for a while and wrote a couple of songs. We are desperate for writing time lately without our instruments at home!

Living Music Carlton - This was the most commercial seeming store. The staff was a bit more sales-oriented, but it was also the most spacious, and best place for me to try out a few keyboards! (And Terrance tried out some new drum kits!)

Found Sound - This was the last of the three music stores we found in Carlton. This store was unique because it had a lot of music gear you couldn’t normally find in a popular store. It was the type of place the “gearheads” would enjoy!

Vault Yarraville - This is THE CUTEST open mic! It’s at a Tiki Bar in the back of the restaurant. Even though it was raining buckets, a ton of people came out to play! It’s hosted by Melissa Baxter, who very kindly made time for me to shove a burger in my face before I played (even though I originally had an early spot). She herself has a beautiful voice and plays some gorgeous songs on guitar. You can find music from the open mic by clicking: Here!

Bar Oussou - This bar is in a neighborhood called Brunswick, which is it’s own exciting mix of restaurants and bars. I met my friend who has moved here from the States, who, besides being a huge inspiration, is a fantastic musician herself! After playing a few originals here, we went to the very hipster-y beer garden in the back for drinks and good conversation!

Food:

Milk The Cow - I could not love this place more. This is a fromagerie known for exquisite cheeses and wine pairings. Honestly, if you are looking for a “must do” experience, this is it! The staff are so friendly and knowledgeable, the prices are incredibly reasonable, and you have a fantastic experience tasting the different wines and cheeses.

Pidapipo Ice Cream - I got the last ice cream of the night! This is a fabulous Italian gelateria only a block away from Milk The Cow. The entire staff is Italian, the line outside is LONG, and the gelato is to die for.

Very Good Falafel - Okay, okay, I know. The first thing I thought after seeing the name of this restaurant was “Very Good? Mm, questionable.” But these guys DELIVER. This was authentic falafel. I’ve had falafel in Israel, and this was just as good. In fact, a huge sign that they knew what they were doing was the mint lemonade, which is a staple paired with falafel in Israel. So if you’re in Melbourne, and you’re looking for the best falafel, this is the place!

Five Points Café - Melbourne is known for their café culture. However, because they are so well known for it, the restaurants all tend to increase the price of their food by at least 60% of their value. But this place is central, totally reasonable, and offers a great coffee and lox bagel situation.

Bossa Nova - I hadn’t had Brazilian food before this, but it’s a new restaurant in Carlton that is owned by a young business owner who is totally personable! He talked to us about his own travels, and explained a lot of the Brazilian dishes to us. We ended up getting coxinha, which is  a fritter with chicken and cream cheese filling. Super yummy!

Fun Facts:

Maybe it’s because the whole scene is so artsy, but everywhere I looked there were people with fun hair colors (purple, green, pink). I love a good culture of self-expression!

So, we actually didn’t stay in Melbourne during the trip because we were housesitting in a neighborhood outside the city called Wyndham Vale. Follow me on Instagram @daniellepinals to see more of the gorgeous orange cat and kelpie who we got to take care of for a week! Trusted Housesitters is a program we have gotten a lot of questions about. I would not endorse a program that I didn’t believe very strongly in, and this is one of the few!

In Trusted Housesitters, Terrance and I take care of people’s houses and pets while they are away on holiday. The exchange for our work is FREE accommodation, and I can’t tell you how valuable this is when traveling! In fact, I feel absolutely certain we will be using this program to travel for the foreseeable future, especially because of our love for cats and dogs. If you are interested at all in this program, I highly encourage you to use my link for the service: Trusted Housesitters. If you have anymore questions, please leave a comment below or feel free to reach out!

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