I don't do early mornings. In fact, I would prefer to just wake up at midday and avoid the morning altogether. But when an early morning marks the first day of an exciting adventure holiday and not work then it ain't so bad.
I had spent a lot of the night packing my suitcase and making sure the house was very clean and tidy ready not only for my house sitter but also for my German relatives who would be coming home with me from the airport in a weeks time. I had visited my rellies in Germany and also knowing my Mum and Nanna, they are all clean-a-holics with immaculate homes. So I (who normally isn't overly fussy on tidiness) had to make sure my house made the grade when they got here. I think I was up to about 1am, then at the crappy hour of 5am my alarm arked up to remind me that I had a plane to catch in a couple of hours.
Hobbit and I darted about the house, double checking our bags, double checking our lists, throwing last minute items into our bags, and scurrying to and fro always stopping to pat and chat to a cat here and there. My Dad arrived at 5.45am to pick us up to take us to the airport but by the time we got our shit together it was a bit after 6. Never mind, the airport is so close we knew we would still be making good time.
We got to the airport and checked in our luggage and tickets. Seeing as it all happened so quick we had a bit of time so we wandered about and looked at the shops and had a coffee. Shortly it was time to board so we grabbed our little carry ons and lined up. This is always the point when the anticipation starts to escalate, you know that very soon you will be encased in a not so thick layer of bullet shaped metal flying through the air at heights and speeds that seem incomprehensible. We were on a Qantas flight going over and by gee, the seats were squishy and awkward, probably our fault for booking ones right at the back of the plane where it tapers inwards. I wish they would mention that in the seat booking. The people in front of us and to the side had heaps more room. Anyways, it was only to be a 3 hour flight so no big deal. After a slight delay, we were off with a whoosh of the engines and a speeding up blur of the scenery past our little window. In the air we go. I don't exactly like being in a plane, I seriously need to stop watching 'Air Crash Investigations' because when you watch that you know of so many scenarios where one loose bolt, or one bird with bad aim, or one poorly maintained window seal, or one misinterpretation of flight information can lead to disaster. But, there I was, sitting helplessly at the mercy of all these factors.
The breakfast was lovely, i've always loved when meals are neatly packaged up and delivered to you. I am one of those weirdos who love airline and hospital food. All those nifty little sachets, packets, containers, segregated portions, and little teeny portions. I wish every meal was delivered to me like that. We both had a bacon and eggs mix which was delish and a little drink of coke.
We then set up our little Ipad movie thingys and Hobbit watched a Marvel movie while I watched 'Judy', the Judy Garland story. I found this movie so very sad and really insightful. Highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.
It was so exciting when the little bell tinged and the pilot announced our arrival. My grin grew and I opened my little window up so that I could catch my first glimpse of what would be home for the next week. I felt my heart rate increase when I caught sight of the city area. It was HUGE! Little ol Perth could fit into it a few times! My gosh, how am I going to fit all that into one little week? I don't know, but I sure as hell will enjoy trying.
We landed at around 1.00pm. It is only a 3 hour flight but we had a delay and there was also a 2 hour time difference so we wound all our clocks forward and geared ourselves to adjust to the loss of time. From there we found our suitcases and walked through the huge airport. I looked around at all the shops in the airport and as inviting as they appeared I was way too excited about seeing our accommodation so it didn't take Hobbit much persuasion to talk me into going straight to the taxi rank. Walking towards the exit doors we were so bummed to see that the outside scenery was grey and gloomy, and lo and behold it was raining, yuk! We quickly ordered ourselves a Didi and ran through all the open roof areas down to the pick up zone. I felt my perfectly manicured hair growing and growing in the damp warm air and soon realised this was going to be a Monica from Friends situation from the Barbados episode.
We located our Didi and quickly climbed in. It drove down the freeway towards the heart of the city, around a 25 minute ride. I was bedazzled by all the skyscrapers. I was absolutely amazed at the size of the city up close. It was so massive, way bigger than Perth. A great big concrete jungle, lots of tall buildings beckoning my exploration. Pity the grey drizzling skies ruined the scene, it gave the whole setting a dismal and miserable feel. I can't believe I left behind the wonderful blue sky and dry heat of Perth.
We pulled up on a main street right across the road from the Flinders Street Train Station. Apparently this was our destination. Loaded up with cases and bags we awkwardly made our way up the road till we found our street, 9 Degraves street, and made a left. Oh my gosh, this is our street???? It is a bloody CAFE STRIP! Now, to those of you who are precious little introverts (like my hubby) this might be a daunting thought, but to me, an unashamed extrovert who feeds off the atmosphere of crowds and being among lots of people, this is pure heaven! Despite the fact that I was pulling a load of suitcases over uneven cobblestone pathway and my hair was starting to resemble something out of a black panther/mod squad era fashion catalogue, i was so darn happy.
Getting into our apartment was a little tricky, the key was in the room so we had to wait for someone to leave the apartment to let us in. The one and only time throughout the whole trip that someone didnt go in or out for quite some time was then, and we stood there in the drizzling rain, cases in tow, hair in an affro, wondering if we might never get in. Finally the door opened and we meandered our way through the lobby, up the elevator and to first floor, where our little doorway to who knows what stood waiting for us to unveil. Room 111. Everytime I push open a doorway to an accommodation I've booked I have that same rush of anticipation mixed with anxiety, will it be all I imagined or will it be a case of tricky marketing spin that reeled me into false pretenses? Opening the door a wave of relief washed over me as the scene was a spectacular little hideaway, quiet despite the hustle and bustle downstairs, and fresh and alive with colour, warmth, and cleanliness greeted me.
Our home, Degraves Street - Melbourne's heart thanks to Air BNB.
Like a couple of kids in a candy shop we did what we always do when moving into a holiday accommodation, we opened all doors and closets to see what treasures lay in hiding to help make our visit as comfortable as possible, and then we always play-fight over which side of the bed we are to use like a pair of kids fight over top bunk. Once sides were chosen, bags unpacked, and every nook and cranny investigated, we took a happy sigh and said 'Well, here we are. What next?'... Feeling hungry we decided to check out the food vendors on our own street. Amid the hustle and bustle we wandered up and down Degraves street reading all the street-front menus, drooling at window displays, making mental notes of what we will be trying out during our stay, and dodging puddles of water from the constant drizzle and occasional pour of rain. We were really amped to see that on our little street we had the following treasures:
Little Cupcakes serving coffee and quaint little cakes right outside our door
Pidapipo Gelato with its eternal line of customers waiting patiently for their dollop of icecream - no matter what the weather - hot or cold!
Doughnut Time where there was always someone standing out the front of their glass display cabinet pointing to this and that with careful deliberation
Clementines full of locally made crafts and goods all packaged up environmentally and beautifully for souvenirs and gifts
Sole Devotion my paradise and awesomely enough, right next door to our apartment! A very quirky but pricey shoe store with magnificent designs and intricate craftsmanship.
As well as the following list of cafes and restaurants (just to name a few)
It was so hard deciding, but we chose to have some tapas at Degraves Espresso Bar, an oddly named fusion venue which served a bit of this and a bit of that covering all day cooked breakfasts, big main meals, and tapas. With such an extensive menu, it was so hard narrowing it down, but we finally chose three dishes to share, Pinchos De Pollo,Pork Belly, Spanish Crumbed Fish Fillet. We both wanted to try the mushroom but didn't want to be ordering way too much then going out tonight with big full bellies. Funnily enough, the couple on the table next to us ordered the mushrooms and it arrived as two great big huge field mushrooms. The slid one off the plate then popped the other one on our table. Jokingly I said "thanks for sharing!" to which they replied that they don't want it so we are quite welcome to have it. Oh boy, this is a great place to live! hahahaha. So we ended up with the mushroom as well. Such a delicious meal and a lovely little place to be sitting in, among the quirky odd furnishings and watching the people bustle by outside the window.
We then went back to the room and made plans to go out. Unfortunately I was fading fast so a nanna nap was in order. If I went out in this condition I wouldn't last an hour. Whilst I napped Hobbit made a trip to woolworths around the corner for snacks and alcohol supplies, and a bit of stuff for the fridge saw us all set. Part of planning this trip was making sure we had two Saturday nights in Melbourne, so we could fit in two party nights at least. After i woke from my beauty sleep and got ready, we relied on a random posting on facebook to get recommendations for the best metal joints in the area. In our most carefully chosen and packed rock finery and pre-loaded on our UDLs, we made our way out onto the buzzing streets of Melbourne.
I was in Bliss!
We headed over to a place called Cherry Bar, as recommended by a friend that we knew would know exactly which places we would have the most fun at, and she was not wrong, not one bit! Thanks Viv! The title in the website says it all: Cherry - Pretty much the best rock bar in the world. No if's or buts. Even just walking there was fun, despite the constant drizzling rain - sick of that already GRRRRRRR! There are people of all ages enjoying the evening, having coffee, having cocktails, window shopping, laughing and hanging with friends, and among all this positive energy there was a new element to the street I hadn't noticed before, the homeless. They were now out in droves. Taking cover under shop verandas, in alcoves, down alleyways, and under anything that would get them out the rain. On their cardboard mattress and in filthy torn sleeping bags, they lay about with their belongings and littered remains of food, drink, and rubbish scattered about. Very sad to see so many of them, but this didn't take away from the beauty of Melbourne, it was just all part of the package, the good, bad, and the ugly.
The Cherry Bar was absolutely pumping when we got there. Two stories, downstairs was a casual bar area with booth seating and lots of people gathered in groups laughing, singing, drinking, mucking about and enjoying the night. We made our way upstairs to see the band we hoped to see but alas, the beauty sleep must have gone too long so we only saw the last 3 songs of the set. Boy they were good tho! I wish I had of seen more. And the room was really full and totally going off - which is rare back in Perth, no matter how talented and spectacular the band, something that bugs the shit out of me!. As the band ended the room emptied in a matter of minutes. I was gutted because I clearly had just begun and totally wasn't ready to pack up and leave. The DJ started playing some freaking fantastic Classic Rock tunes so far be it from be to be a shrinking violet, i just got up on the dance floor and grooved. Hobbit found some cool dudes to chat to and as time went on and one great hit rolled into another I was joined by another person, then another. As the time went on, the floor filled, next minute you couldn't move - the place was full! Bloody hell, i was SO high it was great (I get high off crowds hahaha). We made friends with a few people and grooved the night away. So many awesome songs, so many rocking peops. Everyone singing out loud to the words of all the rock and metal songs that blasted out the speakers, from the overplayed radio hits to the most obscure. Everyone clearly knew the genre and were there to appreciate it - and be among others who do. People all dancing together, regardless of who they came with and who they were hanging out with, all talking, laughing, the occasional hug, kiss, and generally soaking up the night. Those are the very nights I live for, just positive energy all round and a good time from beginning to end. This is exactly what I aim to build Rock n Metal Revival up to. I know Perth Crowds are a completely different mindset, I hate to say it but 'dull as shit' comes to mind. Sitting at home the minute a sprinkle of rain threatens, saying they will go then last minute claiming the babysitter pulled out, turning up but standing at the back of the room watching with a frown, claining the venue is too hard to get to, scrutinizing bands they have never seen, so hard to put a cracker up the bums of Perth People and get them to just relax and enjoy themselves. I was told I would love Melbourne nightlife, not wrong at all! Why can't Perth do this??? I don't understand why two states of the one country can have such completely different mindsets. But there is a glimmer of hope, Lucys Loveshack proves to be the magic beans, planted with strategic brilliance, I see that place drawing in the younger generations, teaching them the ways of rock and metal. Anyways, in true Tammy style, I digress! It is bound to happen at least once every blog.
I will remember that night forever (despite my slightly boozey state). I think we stumbled out of there around 3.30am and found a cafe on the way home selling food. We grabbed some grease fix and staggered home with it.
Laughing, joking, tipsy, walking through the streets of Melbourne at 3.30am hand in greasy hand, these lovers went home to their Delgraves street slice of Paradise.
Lots of great memories made, lots of new experiences, delicious food, splendid sights, and a wonderful first day in Merry Melbourne - despite the constant drizzle.
And boy, in that comfy massive kingsize bed, did we sleep like the dead.
ZZZZZZzzzzzzz.............
