Melbourne (Australia)
05 - 06 January 2025
I used to think the whole concept
of a staycation was the pinnacle of lameness, the travel equivalent of taking
your cousin to your end-of-year formal. Let’s be honest, it’s not a choice made
from a rich pool of enticing options. It’s a last-ditch, hail Mary
attempt to dodge the quiet shame of showing up solo… or not showing up at all.
And look, I get it. In Year 10,
my date for the evening sat at our table
for all of five minutes before vanishing into the ether, cloaked by a blanker of darkness, never to be seen
again. By Year 12, I thought I would have had time to have crafted myself another opportunity — or so I thought — only this time the
girl that I had my eye on asked to go with me erected so many barriers and produced so many
creative excuses that I eventually end up going alone. To top it off, at the end of the
night, I ended up driving home a friend that was dumped AT the formal.
That’s what a staycation feels like to me, the result of what happens when all your opportunities have disappeared before your eyes.
In fact, let’s stretch the
metaphor a little further. You know that person who’s been perpetually single,
and when you ask why, they sigh dramatically and say, “I’m just really
picky"...No, you’re not! You just don’t have any options. Start by
reviewing your personality, your look, or whatever else that might be holding you
back — but please, don’t pretend it’s about being overly selective.
You’re not curating your best life by selling yourself on the idea that your excruciatingly high standards are preventing your from
getting what you really desire.
Melbourne staycation
Given that we were wedged
awkwardly between overseas holidays and sitting firmly on the wrong side of
available annual leave, we made a last-ditch decision to experience Melbourne
through the eyes of a tourist.
Now, in our own pathetic defence,
Inga and I aren’t Melbourne natives. We’re part of the “from somewhere else”
crew , the ones who still reference out past cities of Sydney and Riga as back
home - unironically, even after seven years of calling this city ours. By
now, we knew Melbourne pretty well, but still felt that we could assign
ourselves the ‘tourist tag’.
.jpg)
To justify our newfound sense of
local tourism, I’d armed us with a couple of Christmas vouchers: one for a Darkfield
experience, an immersive audio event that uses 360-degree surround sound and
total darkness to toy with your senses inside a purpose-built shipping
container (yes, really), and another for Rare Steakhouse Downtown, a
place we’d walked past for years, always promising ourselves that one day
we’d go in.
Well, as it turns out, “one day”
had finally arrived.
I think the idea for the
Melbourne staycation first came courtesy of Aiden, who strongly advocated for a
hotel stay “with a pool” sometime after we returned from Penang. The
notion was left to simmer for a while, but once the new year rolled around, the
idea of a brief mental escape from the grind suddenly felt appealing. After a
bit of poking around we settled on the Langham, a high-end hotel perched on the
banks of the Yarra River that gave us direct access to Southbank and the CBD.
Being just a 15 min drive from North Melbourne, it really felt like we were visiting
our backyard.
Staycation benefits
I admit, right up front I could
see the benefits of what the staycation would allow:
·
Classic escapism
·
No need for a ridiculous amount of preparation
·
Familiarity with out surrounds
·
Flexibility in scheduling
·
Cost-effectiveness
So off we went, arriving at the
Langham in the early afternoon, and promptly dropping Inga off at her Darkfield
experience which she loved. The rest of the afternoon was devoted to the pool,
which, given the merciless 40-degree heat, felt like a small slice of paradise.
The Aperol Spritzes didn’t hurt either and in those early hours, I could
practically feel my internal framework recalibrating, grudgingly acknowledging
the perks of a backyard holiday, because against all prior cynicism, it was
starting to feel like a proper break after all.
Reservations for dinner that evening
was set at the Rare Steakhouse Downtown, a place, which they themselves say ‘offers
a refined, yet inviting dining experience, seamlessly blending sophistication and
warmth’. House in a three-story heritage building, the interior features a
harmonious mix of exposed brick walls, timber floors and contemporary lighting
fixtures. It felt warm, inviting and comfortable from the outset, which when
accompanied by the excellent food and equally as good red wine, made for an extremely
pleasant evening.
.jpg)
Melbourne in Summer
Melbourne has a vibe all year
round, but in summer it honestly feels like the city’s own little festival. I
suspect it’s our southerly position that makes us treat these months like
precious currency , doing everything possible to squeeze the most out of them.
Add in the city’s endless calendar of sporting events, and it’s no wonder
Melbourne seems to hit peak energy in the season. Late January is all about the
Australian Open, and for that fortnight, the city practically glows with the
excitement of having the world’s eyes trained on it.
That evening, we wandered down
the Yarra, pausing at Ponyfish Island before making our way to Arbory Afloat.
Watching small boats drift lazily up and down the river, feeling the pulse of
the city around us, there was a perfect blend of holiday frivolity and local
energy, the kind of mix that makes a staycation feel like a proper escape. And
yes, I was finally starting to appreciate the upside of staying home,
conveniently selling myself the fantasy of being an “option-poor local” while
secretly enjoying the luxury of having it all on our doorstep.
.jpg)
Heading for home
On the morning, we were scheduled
to head back home, we tried to pack in as much as we possibly could. Acceding to
Aiden’s request of heading to the pool for the morning, it was ‘Dad’s duty’ to
support the little action machine in the pool whilst ‘Mum’ did her duty of
relaxing on a sun bed. I’ll get my own day in the sun….one day.
Checking out of the Langham, I
had lined Inga up for an afternoon massage, a little indulgence to keep the
holiday vibe going but first, we made a
detour to a café on Spencer Street that had been on my radar for a while: Higher
Ground. Housed in a heritage-listed former power station, the place oozes
industrial-chic charm, with 15-metre-high ceilings, exposed brick walls, and
expansive arched windows that flood the space with light. Six interconnected
levels wrap around the original structure, creating a series of intimate,
tiered platforms that, to me, perfectly capture what Melbourne is all about.
It’s the kind of aesthetic that first drew me to the city, the exact
counterpoint to what Sydney was offering a decade ago when I finally decided to
leave.
.jpg)
Squeezing every last drop out of
our short staycation, accompanied by a few glasses of sparkling, we reflected
on what had been a surprisingly satisfying break, the sort we’d spent far too
long internally scolding ourselves for considering. Safe to say, Melbourne had
converted me: a staycation, done right, can genuinely feel like a holiday. So,
if you’re contemplating a little escape from your reality, whether you’re
time-poor, cash-poor, or simply energy-poor , look no further than your own
city. Take it from me: the Elisher Seal of Approval has been officially
granted for this option, and no, it won’t feel like taking your cousin to the
dance.
