Melbourne - every day is different

The famous blue tennis court, under blue skies and accompanied by the Yarra river and botanic parks are welcome escapes from Melbourne's busy shopping areas and high rises. Despite it being a big, bustling city, I loved it.

A view of Melbourne from the path along the Yarra River.

There are no days of boredom. From the museums, art galleries and exhibitions in the state library and arts precinct to very cheap places to eat (mostly vegetarian and Hare Krishna), to cheap entertainment such as watching the tennis or short documentaries on the big screen at Federation Square while relaxing in a deckchair, open-mic nights and free weekly cinema at Southgate (which I never got to). There's also the Queen Victoria market, which often has leftover fruit & veg lying around afterwards for the taking.

I stayed in an Air BnB a couple of nights right across from Southern Cross station, which was on the 29th floor and had a shared pool and sauna. Clean and cheap hostels in Melbourne are hard to come by. My best experience was at King Street Backpackers which was also by Southern Cross station and provided free wifi and breakfast. Many of the hostels are full of 'longtermers' who are working in the city on their working holiday visa which can make it very cliquey and difficult to meet people.

Melbourne is a big city but feels like a small one. The tram system makes everywhere very accessible and people talk to you and help you rather than always seeming like they are in a rush.

There are some delightful 'bohemian' nooks such as Fitzroy and Brunswick, packed full of vegetarian cafes, coffee shops with scruffy sofas, 'op shops' and vintage clothing shops. You can gaze out the window of a coffee shop watching the eclectic characters and fashions go by.

St Kilda, Brighton and Port Melbourne are seaside suburbs with chilly South Pacific waters, countless gelato shops and lots of sunbathers during summer. I stayed until after 10pm to watch the fairy penguins coming home to their nests under the rocks of the pier. There were a lot of spectators waiting and volunteers in luminous vests to advise us not to sit on the rocks or use flash photography.

When the penguins appeared (one by one, in contrast to Philip Island where they return in a group), small groups huddled around them, often not more than a metre, trying to take un-blurred photos in the dark without flash. I have to admit I was part of that huddle. And I got maybe one photo that isn't blurred. Nor is it a clear photo. But they seemed undeterred by us and slowly flapped around before hobbling between the rocks. Then another huddle appears and I quickly join that huddle!

I also did an overnight road trip with my brother to the Twelve Apostles. Here giant limestone columns stick up out of the crashing waves. Apparently there never were actually twelve but it was just a name given to them. The number of columns increases due to erosion of the cliffs creating arches and new creations when they break off from the land, or decreases due to collapsing columns. We stayed over at a very clean hostel in Port Campbell and watching the Australian Open final with a whiskey and wine!

The Twelve Apostles

Later I went on a day tour run by Bunyip to Wilson's Promonotory or 'Wilson's Prom' as the locals call it. It was very beautiful, white sand silicon beaches, giant blue waves crashing in, cliffs and small mountains to climb. I can imagine it would be a beautiful place to spend a weekend camping, but for a day trip it was quite rushed.

Wilson's Prom. Photo taken from the top of Mount Bishop

Vegan Melbourne

After spending Christmas and New Year with my brother on the Gold Coast of Australia, I have just spent a week in Melbourne. Vegan Melbourne. The Gold Coast was quite good for vegans, with the delicious and purse-friendly Cardamon Pod in Surfers Paradise. Their lunch deal and desserts were especially good whilst enjoying the leafy garden room style decor. Mandala Organic Arts Cafe in Broadbeach was very enjoyable on the weekend evenings, with beer available or a BYOB policy and bands playing in the background. Their pizzas (also available gluten-free) and lasagne were especially good. Unlike in the UK and Ireland, many cafés have soya milk available and even some vegan options labelled.

Melbourne however, being the 'cultural capital' of Australia, with a history of artists, musicians, dancers and poets, has a culture of passing the time in cafés on the many laneways or in the bohemian/hippie/hipster/artists area of Brunswick St in Fitzroy.  You can get there easily and cheaply from the CBD by taking the tram 86 or 96 within the free tram zone to St Vincent's Hospital, alighting here, then take a right at the hospital and then left at the church onto Brunswick Street.

If you are on a tight budget but like me, you love vintage clothing, coffee, books, food, especially vegan then your self control will be exercised! You can easily spend a day on this street trying the food, looking in the shops and enjoying the Gardens at the top, in Fitzroy North.

I visited Vegie Bar which is moderately priced but very popular. The vegan curries are great and change regularly. When I was there it was a Massaman Curry. I did a cooking class at Time for Lime on the Thai island Koh Lanta, which is vegan-friendly and we made Massaman Curry. The one at Vegie Bar came a close second to mine! We had the freshest of ingredients in Thailand and we pounded the curry paste for 30 minutes in a pestle and mortar. Anyway, their cakes looked really good too, though not so cheap.

Opposite Vegie Bar is an interesting bookshop and an entirely Vegan shop called the Cruelty Free Shop. Here you can buy anything from cooking ingredients to ready meals, caramel squares and tiffin etc, vegan alternatives to mars and snickers, soya milk and soya cheese as well as vegan shoes, wallets, bags and purses. Further up the road towards Fitzroy North is Mr Natural Pizza which unfortunately I didn't have time to try. Other vegetarian cafés on this street with plenty of vegan options are Radheys, Madame K's, Smith & Daughters, and a vegan bakery on Smith Street.

Within the city centre, or CBD, there are many non-veg cafés with soya milk and vegan cakes. There is a wholesfoods shop with vegan takeaway meals and cakes on Flinders Street, near Flinders Station. On Elizabeth Street, a 5-10 minute walk from Flinders Station and Federation Square is a vegetarian Indian restaurant called Om Vegetarian. There are two other branches of this company within Melbourne centre. I visited three times. They state on their sandwich board, ideal for backpackers, and it is. For $6.50 you get a vegetarian or vegan thali, consisting of a chickpea or lentil curry, a  potato curry, rice, pickles and a lot of nan bread. The best bit is that if you're still hungry you can ask for more, even if you do feel like Oliver Twist going back to the counter with your plate! I'll note that there are also jugs of tap water sitting out. There is also Gopals and Crossways, very close to eachother on Swanston Street. I ate at both of these cafes, which I believe are both also Hare Krishna run. The food I had was tasty, and definitely hearty and filling. Crossways provided a full meal for less than $8, including dessert, a drink, a main course and seconds if you wanted!

Of course all over Melbourne is Lord of the Fries which is a vegetarian fast food chain, also providing gluten free and vegan. These are often situated on main streets and beside train stations etc and very handy if you're in a rush! They do great milkshakes and beautiful fries with various sauces.

Lastly, a visit to St Kilda Beach rewards you with not just a beach with calm waters just 20 minutes from the city and an original amusements park from 1912 but also Sister of Soul. Here I had what was probably my tastiest meal - a tempeh stirfry with satay sauce, followed by the vegan berry cheesecake. This restaurant is quite new and moderately priced but very popular. Nearby is Crave which sells frozen yoghurt and has vegan options. There was also a gelato shop with vegan ice cream/sorbet.

 Sisters of Soul in St Kilda

There are also countless others all over Melbourne and you can find these on http://www.happycow.net/