I'm glad I've finally found my way into a weekend routine. With the way college life works, homework is saved for the weekends and weeknights are for socializing. This took a long time to get adjusted to...working on the weekends, and partying during the week. Weird. Now, there is no way that I could do homework all day Saturday and Sunday because A. I don't have that much work to be doing and B. I'm living in a city that needs exploring.
Here's how my ideal Saturday pans out:
Brunch at Seven Seeds cafe.
Walk to Queen Victoria Market.
Buy tons of fresh produce.
Sit in the Botanic Gardens and have a really late lunch.
Enjoy.
From week 1 of being here, Seven Seeds quickly became my favorite cafe in Melbourne. They have 2 locations which are both the scene of gathering for many hipsters. The walls are decked out in bicycles and cool lighting fixtures, the furniture is all wood and rusted steel. The food is amazing and the coffee is even better. I've had their fresh pastries, granola, french toast, and paninis. I've been quite a few times. They tend to use fresh ingredients from the market and mix and match cool flavors together such as: currant brioche french toast w grilled banana, marscapone, maple syrup and toasted pecans. AMAZING. The coffee, I think, is the best in the city. It's quite a challenge to describe the best coffee, but take my word for it. And the chai is pretty great as well. The best part about Seven Seeds is its prime location. It's a 10 minute walk from college and is hidden in an ally way with almost no signage. That's what makes it special - the locals know about it.
Queen Victoria Market is complete bliss. A 10 minute walk down the road from brunch I can find the largest market I've ever encountered. One one side there are little boutiques and cafes lining the cheap souvenirs. The other side has an indoor section of meats and cheeses lining every sort of fresh fruits and veggies. They also have an organic section. For me, one of the best aspects of studying abroad is eating the local foods, and what better place to do that than eating the fresh produce. My typical purchases include Tasmanian goat cheese, fresh baked foccacia bread, raw mint chocolate, mangoes, strawberries, carrots, avocado, pumpkin pesto dip, and kiwis. This place is amazing, really.
Then I would take the tram down to the botanic gardens to relax in a quite spot, sit on the grass, and eat everything purchased. When my parents came to visit, this was the day I was most excited about - I can't think of a better Saturday.