Wander Love: Pots & Pints in Melbourne

Landing in Melbourne was so exciting; even though it was a gray, dreary day, I knew our true adventure was just beginning. The best part of the trip was that we were staying with our friends Lauren and Tim. Staying with locals (new locals albeit) when you travel is the best way to see the sights and still have some comforts of home. Luckily for Jaclyn and I, our hostess is a down-home Southern girl that knows how to bring on the hospitality. The O'Connor's house was adorable but spacious and in a very quaint, residential area outside of the main city in Middle Park. After crossing the International Date Line - somewhere over the Pacific - we landed in Monday. We were exhausted but wanted to grab some lunch before naps. We headed to the Pagoda Cafe, small, they don't have a website (gasp) but the food was amazing. Trying different food when I travel is really important to me, I don't want to feel like I am eating at a Cheesecake Factory in the mall (which I love too) - plus, it's just fun. Thankfully for me, Australia is big on cafes and restaurants with individuality and low on chains. At Pagoda Cafe I got a salad that was amazing with roasted pumpkin, red peppers, avocado and goat cheese. Given I was seriously delirious from lack of sleep, I forgot to take a picture of my meal (I made up for it the rest of the trip though). After our lunch and a cool walk down by the ocean, we crashed hard and took a nap for a few hours.

Pre-naps - hostess Lauren & travel companion/BFF Jaclyn

Poor Lauren had to drag Jac and I to get up. It had never felt so good to sleep. We had a lot of celebrating to do that night though. It was not only Halloween but Lauren's 30th birthday! We had a little get together at the house with some of their ex-Pat friends and of course "snakes alive" cupcakes. After a great dinner of pulled pork, chili and corn bread we headed off to drink more at the Middle Park Hotel. Thankfully Lauren had educated Jaclyn and I on some important language to survive the night and the trip. Without which, I may have been drinking more calories and getting some strange stares from the locals.

Middle Park Hotel - that a Pot for me

1. Light beer does not mean light on calories, it means light on alcohol

2. If you want an "American" light beer, you order a "blonde" - lovely

3. There are three different sizes of beer - pot, pint and a schooner (even within Australia they vary, for more details click BEER)

4. Nuddy = nude

5. Root = sex ----- so be careful when you say you root for the local sports team!

It was such a fun night, I loved walking around the neighborhood, quiet but so many little bars and pubs. A very comfortable and homey area!

Erin, Lauren, Jaclyn & I before the Cup

The next day we were off to the Melbourne Cup!! A huge day in Melbourne - it's their equivalent to the Kentucky Derby and it's actually a state holiday so most have it off from work. A lot of people go to the race, but if not then most gather for parties hosted at local pubs to watch. We were lucky enough to get tickets, which required us to get dressed up like fancy folks - facinators and all! I didn't have a facinator but luckily Lauren's dear friend Erin, hooked me up with one... oddly (or cooly) enough they sell them at the local Target! We had a wonderful brunch at Erin and Brian's house where I had my first ever Tim Tam. Amazing. Australian legend. Brought home a box and it wasn't enough.

We took the train to the races where we proceeded to drink tons of champagne... oh, and we squeezed in some races. Sadly, but not surprisingly, I didn't win a single dollar... even after betting on "Drunken Sailor". Dunaden ended up winning in the closest race ever. That's actually a fact, we witnessed history. he view from the track and the company alone made for a fabulous day. Just being in the city and seeing literally every person dressed up, reminded me of being in a Harry Potter movie (wrong country, I know). After the race we hit the town, our first time out in downtown Melbourne. We went to A LOT of bars and I loved ALL of them. I had so much fun, I can't remember all the names. Here are some snapshots! Good for my memory and blogging.