If you’re in Australia and homesick for that Portland vibe, Melbourne is the cure. For the week of our spring break, Lu and I traveled down the east coast of Australia to the hip, happenin’ city of Melbourne, and it didn’t disappoint.
Melbourne doesn’t necessarily look like Portland; its buildings and apartments are much more European and less modern, but the stores, restaurants and people are where you really find the similarities.
Similar to the US and Portland, much of Australia pokes fun at all the hipsters residing in Melbourne.
Unlike other cities in AU (Sydney and Brisbane, for example), where staple fashionable clothing items of our generation seem to be chunky white platform sandals and flowy dresses that look like the back of a Fiji water bottle, the Melbourne style has a much more casual, down to earth, “I stole this from the 1960’s vibe.”
This is something I noticed in Melbourne that reminded me a lot of Portland: the plethora of second hand/vintage stores. But not real ones, where one can go and get a decent shirt for $3, the picky kind that results from today’s trends. Store owners pick and choose what donations they will accept and use that selectivity as an excuse to jack up the price to original levels, never mind how many people have been sticking their sweaty arms through the sleeves. With this in mind, we failed to make any purchases but enjoyed sifting through the $45 wool sweaters they had out in the 85-degree heat.
My favorite similarity between Portland and Melbourne was the food. We had some of the best food I’ve had in Australia, at a very reasonable, un-Australian price. Lu and I, at the suggestion of friends, visited the Vege Bar twice. Its an earthy, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian restaurant, which must share it’s hiring requirements with Urban Outfitters because the staff are all too goodlooking to just happen to be working at the same place. They had delicious, flavorful, healthy food from every genre and a kick-ass atmosphere.
Another of our favorites was “Naked for Satan”, which despite sounding like a Devil worshiping strip club is actually a very cool coffee shop by day, bar and roof top restaurant by night. The whole building is permanently in a red glow and dimly lit at night, with lots of comfy couches and secluded sitting areas. The walls are lined with vintage porn clippings, but its, nonetheless, a classy establishment with great food and an obvious sense of humor.
As much as I poke fun at Portland and Melbourne, it really was my favorite city I visited in AU and a nice, brief return to a familiar place on the opposite side of the world.