Bicycle fun in Melbourne

These last few months have been really cold and miserable here in Melbourne and we’re not completely immersed in spring weather just yet. However, during one beautiful sunny day I felt the urge to hire a bicycle and ride along the empty cycling lanes of Port Melbourne, with the sea breeze in my hair. Why? Just for fun!

Melbourne’s Bike Share system has been around for a few years now and is much like the concept in other cities of the world like London and Paris. There are daily, weekly and yearly options available with the cheapest one starting at just $3.00, including unlimited 30-minute trips in 24 hours. You can dock your bike at any bike station and the timer automatically resets, allowing you to hire another bike should you want to. Many bikes now come with free helmets, allowing riders to abide by the law.

Port Melbourne is a great place for foodies, tourists and lovers of the sea. It’s from here that the Spirit of Tasmania makes her voyage across Bass Strait to Tasmania. The architecture of the streets have a little bit of a European charm and there’s plenty of shopping and restaurants to keep everyone happy.

For me, there is something extremely liberating about riding by the beach, looking over at the horizon and the perfectly floating clouds above. It’s something I long to do as often as possible and I never think of it as exercise, rather living a healthy lifestyle and smiling the whole time I pedal.

 

Last Sunday…

was a beautiful day in Melbourne. We spent it in South Melbourne, a funky part of the city filled with quirky gift shops, busy cafés, interesting people and cool vibes. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. The day started off with us shopping on Clarendon Street, spending a while at one of my favourite stationery shops called Paperpoint and having lunch at a place called Grill’d. Their burgers are to die for. After some retail therapy, my sisters and I drove to the beach and were surprised to find the luxurious cruise ship Queen Mary II docked there. It was majestic and striking from a distance. We soaked our feet in the warm sparkling water of Port Phillip Bay, let the sand go between our toes, turned our backs to the waves and bid farewell to a memorable and very hot Australian summer.

Last weekend in Melbourne

So originally I was supposed to be landing back in Melbourne today but moved my flight forward by about 3 weeks. Doing so not only allowed me to be present for my mum’s, sister’s, aunt’s and friend’s birthdays, it also gave me the chance to hug my adorable cat, whom I missed for a whopping 700 days, much sooner.

Here are some photos from last weekend. We went as a family to a wonderful cafe in Port Melbourne called Pane e Tulipani (http://www.panetulipani.com.au/) to have breakfast on Saturday morning. While the title of the establishment comes from the Italian film of the same name, the food, staff and environment were highly original. I loved the atmosphere, the friendly waitresses, enjoyable Italian music, delicious food and really good coffee. Bellissimo!

Afterwards we went for a walk to the beach. The water was a green/grey shade and the sun was no where to be seen but I truly missed the beach while living in London, so I had fun walking on the sand and seeing the boats in the distance. It’s great knowing that whenever I feel like it a trip to the beach is only a 25-minute car ride from home.

On Sunday my sisters and I went to the cinema to watch a wacky French drama/comedy entitled “Mood Indigo” or L’Écume des jours as it’s known in French. What can I say? The film was made in a really clever way using a combination of stop-animation and in-camera techniques. Right from the start we were invited into a completely unusual world where everything wasn’t what it seemed. It’s a film that Gaudi or Dali would be proud of because of the highly imaginative nature of the scenes with very creative props, inventions and objects that challenge us and our preconceived notion of the world we live in. At first we couldn’t believe what we got ourselves into but as the film went on we laughed until we were in tears (still partially because we couldn’t believe what we were seeing!). I recommend this film to open-minded people who have a sense of humour, a good imagination and a creative side. Don’t take it too seriously and you’ll soon see that it’s actually a masterpiece and an ingenious French film with really good acting by Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou and the rest of the cast. My rating: 7/10