48 Hours in Melbourne

The perks of having your best friend live in Melbourne is that it's the perfect excuse for a weekend getaway! I've been lucky enough to visit Lei Lei in Melbourne five times in the last year - and most often than not it's for 48 hours only! Each time I am amazed by how much we are able to fit in, in such a short period of time so I've decided to share with you some of my favourite things to do in Melbourne for a swift weekend getaway!

Day 1

6:00 am - Arrival - I usually take the wonderful red-eye to maximise my time in Melbourne, if I'm there for the weekend I will take carry-on only.

6:45 am - Destination - I usually arrive at Lei Lei's house, we have a small breakfast - to tie us over until we go out for brunch, catch up on life, freshen up - the key is to not let sleep get the better of you. The worst thing you can do at this stage is have a snooze!

10:00 am - Brunch - We try to go to a different cafe each time I am in town, this time around we went to my favourite; Kettle Black. Nestled amongst skyscrapers and modern buildings, this gorgeous Victorian terrace house has been transformed into one of the cities' most talked about cafes. Not only is their facade and interior swoon worthy and highly Instagramable, the food is refined, interesting and always delicious! This time we had the Tataki Ocean Trout and the Fresh Snapper in a Brioche Roll. Other breakfast and brunch recommendations include Higherground, Brother Baba Badan, Top Paddock, Rustica Sourdough and Serotonin.

12:00 pm - Exploring the city - After brunch, we usually walk off our meal and head into the city. Lei and I always love to see the window displays and merchandising of the designer stores, so we usually walk up Flinders Lane and Collins Street to go see all the big names likes Chanel, Hermes, Gucci... but also the independent Melbourne based boutiques like Miss Louise - amazing shoe store, Marais, Green With Envy and Madame Virtue and Co - fabulous secondhand and vintage designer store with Chanel galore!

Then we make our way to Emporium Melbourne, having a mix of 200 high end and high street stores you'll really find everything you need here! UNIQLO is always top of my list for basics, cashmere sweaters, and their amazing collaborations - I bought several tees from their Olympia Le-Tan collaboration last year and they have become a wardrobe staple. Emporium gets bonus points for their beautiful centre being so photogenic, of course Lei and I had an impromptu photoshoot.

2:30 pm - Snack time - We know we will be having a big and early dinner so we have a little snack to keep the energy levels up, more often than not I go for a sweet treat! If you didn't already know macarons and doughnuts are a fav, so La Belle Miette is a must for macarons and for the doughy goodness go to Doughboys Doughnuts, Shortstop Coffee and Donuts and Doughnut Time.

4:00 pm - Nap time - At this stage, I've usually only had 30mins to an hour sleep on the plane, so it's time to head back to Lei's, unwind and have an hour snooze before a night out on the town! Make sure you don't sleep any longer than an hour or your will find it very difficult to get yourself out of bed!

6:00 pm - Pre drinks - Melbourne is a playground when it comes to bars, this time we went to Rooftop at QT for pre drinks. With an open aired terrace and stunning city views, it was perfect to soak up that Melbourne lifestyle. Other favourites include The Everleigh .

7:30 pm - Dinner - There seems to be a bit of a trend with the restaurants I visit when I come to Melbourne, most of them are Asian Fusion, favourites include Kong, Chin Chin, Mr Miyagi and most recently Super Normal. Not only are the flavour combinations intriguing, inspiring and delectable but they also all serve incredible cocktails - double bonus! We went to Super Normal for Lei's 30th and had the banquet menu, for $65 per person we had a mini degustation with 8 incredible shared dishes - a must-have is their lobster roll! They are also very flexible with dietary requirements so being the pescatarian that I am I got a few of my own dishes. A few other very cool things about Super Normal is that you can have a private dining room with karaoke and they even have Poke vending machines!

10:30 pm till late - After Dinner Drinks - A trip to Melbourne can't be complete without a visit to the iconic Eau de Vie. Like any well-kept secret, you could almost miss its entrance - especially after a few drinks! Once you're inside you feel almost transported back in time, the jazz tunes, luxe Art Deco interior and intimate atmosphere are an ode to the 1920's prohibition era. For the cocktail drinkers, every imaginable drink is on the menu and each has a beautiful story and is created and presented uniquely. For the whisky drinkers, there is a room dedicated to their collection of rare and exclusive whiskies.

Day 2

10:30 am - Sleep-ins and hanging out - After a pretty eventful 24hours my second morning in Melbourne is all about taking it easy and recovering from the night before. Lei and I will usually have brunch at hers and watch an episode of something - either The Batchelor US or more recently the first season of Made In Chelsea!

12:00 pm - Photo time - It's time to do something productive, so we will either take some outfit photos along her gorgeous leafy street or we will head into the city - again, as it's already on the agenda. If you have time and the weather permits take a walk through the botanical gardens, it is absolutely beautiful.

2:00 pm - National Gallery of Victoria - The NGV is one of my favourite places to visit in Melbourne and it's become a tradition to see an exhibition the day I fly back to Perth. I managed to see Victor & Rolf - which ends on the 26th February - on my last trip and was in absolute awe of their creativity and the intricacies that go into each one of their artworks. The next exhibitions I'm looking forward to is Van Gogh and The Seasons and one I will definitely fly back for, The House of Dior Seventy Years of Haute Couture. I am also a sucker when it comes to gift shops and the NGV shop is amazing!

4:00 pm - Last shop - Time to do the last spot of shopping, looking around and getting a snack. Some of my favourite stores to visit in Melbourne are Bul, COS, Dinosaur Designs and the iconic Royal Arcade.

6:00 pm - The last super - By this time I am hungry and tired again, so either we head back to Lei's house for dinner or we eat somewhere cheap and cheerful! Lei introduced me to Pellegrini's, it doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's probably one of the best Italian restaurants I've been to and is perfect for a quick lunch or dinner. A Melbourne institution, it was the first to have an espresso machine in 1954! Authentic, simple and full of character are the words that best describe this little restaurant, take a seat at the bar or communal dining table and enjoy simple but tasty Italian home cooked meal.

8:00 pm - Pack up - Sadly it's already that time to get ready to go to the airport, it always baffles me how fast one weekend goes by but as they say time flys when you're having fun!I hope you've enjoyed my little 48hour guide to Melbourne and if you have any recommendations of places to eat, shop or visit please let me know I'd love to try them out on my next trip!

Xx Nadine

Super Normal photo courtesy of Super Normal, Eau de Vie photo courtesy of Eau de Vie, La Belle Miette photo courtesy of Lei Lei Clavey.

Outfit 1: Wearing Saskia P dress, Senso heels and Poppy Lissiman Bag, Outfit 2: Wearing Restyle X In Bloom skirt, Base by Ben tee, Senso sandals and Poppy Lissiman Bag, Outfit 3: Zara earrings, House of Sunny top and Aje skirt.