Offbeat Imaging: Melbourne: declassified.

Thursday morning at the crack of dawn, Brisbane photographer Elise Walsh sprung out of bed, bright with the prospect of heading on a Victorian adventure later that day.

After a short delay (apparently there was quite a queue to depart the Tarmac), and a few thousand feet later, this lady was sky high and on her way to Melbourne.

Staying with a close friend in Fitzroy; a stone's throw from the CBD and on the edge of Collingwood, four girls gathered all their energy left after flying/working and set off to explore.

After five days of wandering, discovering, eating, drinking and dancing, I've compiled a succinct list of hot spots of what to see/do/eat in Melbourne:-

Stay:

The Langham Hotel, Southbank.

It's so five star you'll feel as if you're a guest on the titanic (pre-iceberg) . Grand staircase, grand pianist for atmosphere, gold elevator doors, personal robes & slippers...the list goes on. Oh, and don't forget the ridiculous view of the CBD from the pool & spa on Level 9! Will definitely burn a hole in your wallet but is worth it, even just for a night of luxury. The younger you are, the better as you can then delight (as I did) in making up personal back-stories of things such as being an a-list socialite (the 'regular' patrons of the hotel were quite confused with us, being so young and being able to afford to stay there).

Do:

"Sea Life" (Melbourne Aquarium). Admission - $38.00 (Adult)- highlights - sea horses, sharks, penguins and one big-ass crocodile. Heaps of fish, too.

Chill On (Ice Bar). 3 Southgate Ave, Southbank.
Admission - $30 (incl. one complimentary cocktail). Spend 30 minutes in -14 degrees (Celsius) and as your capillaries expand, your ability to get drunk rapidly sky rockets. All of the frozen selfies using their automated photo booth Then you can buy one! Ski lodge restaurant also has tasty light meals for dinner.

Crown Casino.
Admission - free (open to interpretation). Highlights - novelty sized "sensation" cocktails (didn't get one - saw how much ice was in them, but they look impressive!), general grandeur / decor of the casino itself. I'm not a gambler by any means (putting in $2 into a pokies machine on my 18th birthday and it not coming back out was enough to turn me off indefinitely), however I'm a firm believer of "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", so I (reluctantly) put $1 into the pokies and surprisingly walked out $26.20 up!

Shop:

Bridge Road.

Highlights - Sass and Bide outlet, Landes Warehouse (Mink Pink, Somedays Lovin etc) Gorman outlet all have an array of awesome pieces at a fraction of the (regular) price!

Bardot warehouse.

Raid the samples rack. You won't be disappointed.

GPO, Bourke Street.

Highlights - Acne, Fat, Sass & Bide. Soon to come in 2014 - H&M (oh.my.god)

Eat:

Breakfast -

Beans & Bagels 121 Johnston Street, Fitzroy.

Highlight - Salmon Benedict.

Fresh bagel (I chose sesame rather than original) with soft-poached egg, smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce. Served with salad.

Not too heavy on the hollandaise and you really can't go past a good salmon bene.

Breakfast Thieves. Shop 1, 420 Gore street, Fitzroy).

Highlight - "the breakfast chain".

"Open apple almond crumble with berry compote & granola cluster, vanilla labneh side of soft-boiled eggs & cheese soldiers."

Every bite was delicious. The soy latte was the smoothest, creamiest I'd had so far, too!

Ethos Cafe. 307 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.

Highlight - smashed avo.

Fresh avocado seasoned with lemon juice and cracked pepper, fresh basil leaves, chilli and feta cheese served on sourdough toast.

I'm a massive avocado fan so this impressed me, with the added bonus of a morning pick-me-up from the kick of the chilli.

Lunch / light meal -

Rainbow Fitzroy. 27 St David Street, Fitzroy.
Highlight - local beers. Eat: croquettes or chicken tacos.

Chuckle Park. 332 Little Collins Street, Melbourne.
Highlight - frittata roll (Vegetarian). Famous for pulled pork roll. Jar cocktails also looked amazing (but I hesitated and got a cider instead to avoid being drunk on my flight home - they are a whopping 5 standard drinks each).

Bear Brass 3 Southgate Ave, Southbank. Highlight - dips trio. Turkish bread was so fresh and the mushroom dip was so tasty that I ate the rest once the bread ran out.

Naked for Satan / Naked In The Sky 285 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. Great tapas menu and rooftop restaurant.

Dinner -

Trunk Bar & Restaurant. 275 Exhibition Street, Melbourne.
Highlight - Agnolotti.
"Oven-roasted tomato, caramelized onion, goats cheese, basil & pine nut pesto."
Pasta so fresh you'll think you're in Bel Air. Enjoy with a crisp Sav Blanc.

Huxtaburger. 106 Smith street, Collingwood.
Highlight - huxtaburger, crinkle cut chips + beer of the month (Two Birds sunset ale). Hits the spot if you're all shopped out and craving something a bit on the greasy side without the sweats/self-loathing that follow. Bonus points for actual meat patty.

Sweet -

La Belle Miette 30 Hardware Ln, Melbourne.

Macarons to die for. Try the salted caramel or the dark chocolate - you won't be disappointed.

Lindt Southbank, 3 Southgate Ave, Southbank.
All the delicious things.

Kinfolk. 673 Bourke street, Melbourne.
Gluten free cakes available. Kitsch and cute with sweet treats to boot. Good coffee, too!

Cacao Green. 285 Swanston Street, Melbourne. Highlight - organic dark hot chocolate. Perfect for nippy spring Melbourne weather.

Drink -

The Carlton. 193 Bourke Street, Melbourne.
Novelty decor (think jungle safari complete with giant giraffe and elephant body parts).

Cookie. 1/252 Swanston Street, Melbourne.
Great music for a boogie but the lighting is a bit more 'blackout' than "mood" (so, so dark).

Grumpy's Green. 125 Smith Street, Fitzroy. Live bands. Cheap beer. Cool atmosphere.

Laundry. 50 Johnston Street, Fitzroy. Get your ghetto on and bump and grind in this r'n'b hub.

It was relaxing (and at times hectic!) holiday, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. That about sums it up! Until next time, Melbourne.

Enjoy a random selection of images from the trip...