Breaking News: The Snook and I are heading to Melbourne next weekend! His company are sending us for a couple days as a reward. I’ve never been to Melbourne before. What’s on the Must See list? (I’m definitely riding a tram.) Any good yarn shops? Paging crumpet…
Update: Looks like we’re being pushed back a week til the 21st. Keep the suggestions coming!
Belinda
July 6, 2006 — 12:49 pm
Sunspun in Camberwell. Rowan heaven, or at least it used to be.
Melissa
July 6, 2006 — 4:24 pm
Hi! Just started reading your blog and am a newbie knitter who just moved to Melbourne from the States (Kansas) this last Christmas to marry my Aussie man! Not sure there are any shops that are as great as the one that you work for (which looks like a warehouse!) but Wondoflex (I like – out in the suburbs) and Wool Baa (want to go to someday, nearer to the CBD) looks promising. I haven’t found any other totally amazing stores, mainly just hole in the wall boutiques with tired inventories. Have never been to Sydney, but Melbourne is a gorgeous city! If you like gardens, the Royal Bottanic Gardens is a must and the Melbourne Zoo is good fun. Lygon Street is for good italian food. Federation Square is great, lots of good shopping in the CBD and the National Gallery is really fantastic (A Picasso exhibit is on now!). Have a great time!!!
Andrew
July 6, 2006 — 8:03 pm
Hardware Lane and Block Place. Both are little alleyways chock full of cafes and hole-in-the-wall restaurants. Sydney has soulless megamalls and Westfields. Melbourne is the antithesis of that.
Chapel St for clothes shopping, too. We used to live five minutes walk away. Guess where Kathleen spent a lot of time on the weekends š
Lygon St on Saturday night for Italian… Victoria St for Vietnamese… both are close to the city, and accessible by tram!
Enjoy it.
Anonymous
July 6, 2006 — 9:18 pm
Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. Or any of the hundreds of little bars in the city’s lanes (most are hidden away, get a bar guide!)
crumpet
July 6, 2006 — 10:25 pm
The other benefit to Brunswick St, apart from its total awesomeness, is that I live quite close to it (well, on that tramline, anyway). I think you should come visit the Mister and I for dinner. As far as yarn shops go, the two most interesting that I’ve been to are Marta’s Yarns (they have a tiny shop in the city and slightly bigger one near Caulfield) and the Yarn Barn in Coburg. I’ll find links to their websites now.
crumpet
July 6, 2006 — 10:29 pm
Yarn Barn = http://www.yarnbarn.com.au/
crumpet
July 6, 2006 — 10:35 pm
Marta’s Yarns = http://www.martasyarns.com.au/
Michael
July 6, 2006 — 11:53 pm
Not yarn but I know you guys like food. Check out Flower Drum. Chinese. Has been rated higher than Tetsuya’s in the world’s best restaurants list from time to time. Last year came in at 33rd place.
Kris
July 7, 2006 — 3:56 pm
Thanks for all the great suggestions! I just found out we’re being pushed back a week til the 21st. That Flower Drum place looks excellent, but I’m not sure if our expense budget will stretch that far! š
And I’m totally up for a meet-up, crumpet. I’ll be in touch once I know for sure when we’re getting there.
Marci
July 8, 2006 — 12:44 am
Hey, Kris. I have a friend who lives just outside of Melbourne, and she says if you’re *really* interested in yarn, you should go to Geelong, the Wool and Weaving Museum. š
http://www.arts.vic.gov.au/arts/general/archive/postcards/NWM.htm
She said it’s home to the biggest loom she’s ever seen.
Andrew
July 8, 2006 — 10:00 am
You’d have to be *really* *really* *really* interested in yarn to go to Geelong, which is at least an hour away by train.
For goodness sake, leave the wool obsession at home and get out and see the city!!! š You’re only there for a weekend!
crumpet
July 9, 2006 — 12:46 pm
If you do make it here by the 21st, you’ll be just in time to check out the Deborah Halpern exhibition at the NGV Ian Potter Centre (in Federation Square) — http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/halpern/ — I saw it yesterday, and her work is incredible.
Marci
July 10, 2006 — 12:50 pm
Sorry, bad suggestion.