Melbourne is a livable city famous for its shopping, cafes, art and culture. What better place to spend a week of quality time with two teenage daughters?
We checked into our one- bedroom apartment in Chinatown and headed into the city centre. From the moment our feet hit the pavement, we were swept up into a city pumping with life.
Amid the clatter of trams, we negotiated our way through the hordes of pedestrians and gingerly crossed tram tracks to the information kiosk in Bourke Street Mall. The friendly staff plied us with brochures about the city and surrounds - the most indispensible being a map of all the arcades and lanes.
Guided by the map we set out for the Block Arcade, which friends had recommended as a must-see. Before long we were in the midst of quintessential Melbourne.
First we came upon Block Place, a narrow lane with tables spilling out of the cafes which lined each side. It was thick with people and, as we squeezed through the throng, we were wooed by waiters to try their fare.
We found ourselves drawn into a cafe where a vacant table seemed to materialise in the pandemonium. It was easy to imagine we were in the backstreets of Venice. We enjoyed a late breakfast and felt the joy of being in a new and, as yet, unexplored city.
Later in the week we had lunch at another cafe in the same lane while watching a silent Charlie Chaplin movie being projected on to the back wall.
After refuelling we wandered into the 19th century Block Arcade, which has stunningly beautiful architecture and exquisite mosaic floors. It is home to the famous Hopetoun Tea Rooms, where we salivated at all the goodies in the window. There was a line of people waiting for a table and we vowed to return at a quieter time.
We had lunch there a few days later followed by a divine dessert but were obliged to line up for around half an hour as it seems there is no quiet time.
Having enjoyed the tea room, we thought we'd continue the theme and made a booking with another Melbourne institution. The next day we trotted up to the venerable Windsor Hotel all dressed up for high tea. It was delectable and we lapped up the opulence and old world grandeur. It was a highlight of our visit.
We were staying at the Mantra on Russell, which is within walking distance of much of the inner city.
We were minutes away from the free "City Circle" tram, which we caught on the first afternoon and found ourselves at Harbour Town, more by accident than design.
We had a brief foray into discount shopping but it felt hollow after the delights of the old arcades. We resolved to stick to our plan of unearthing vintage clothing stores and other places that we weren't so likely to find at home.
We visited St Kilda Sunday art markets, having heard the suburb was rife with antique shops. We didn't manage to come across them but it was a lively spot to visit nonetheless, with oodles of character and convivial cafes.
We'd also heard that Chapel Street was the place for vintage shopping so we caught a couple of trams from St Kilda and thankfully found the right stops. The girls had a few great finds among the antique bookshops and vintage clothing stores.
We'd been hoping to find more antique shops but only discovered smatterings of what we were after. There was too much to look at in one outing, so we returned later in the week.
On our second visit we went to the Chapel Street Bazaar and there we hit the mother lode. It is a huge building that has endless stalls oozing antiques and nostalgia items, from old china to old yoyos.
It was a blast from the past spotting everyday items that I hadn't set eyes on since childhood but were now being sold as coveted "retro".
I'm happy to say that we eventually stumbled upon our elusive haberdashery shop on the second floor of the Nicholas Building in Swanston Street. Called l'uccello, it harboured lots of little treasures and in the same arcade there were other shops worth visiting, including vintage clothing, and antiques.
Our trip wasn't all about shopping and eating as we were keen to balance it with a bit of history and culture. We had hoped to catch a show but those that interested us had either just finished or were yet to tour.
We visited the Fitzroy Gardens to look through the Conservatory and Cooks' Cottage.
We also visited the National Gallery of Victoria. To avoid being overwhelmed, we focused solely on 19th century Australian art.
The day after the gallery visit we had a half-day tour through the Dandenong Ranges. This deepened our appreciation for the artwork we'd just seen that had featured this beautiful bushland.
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