I’m sad to report my shopping trip to Melbourne is over. I’m happy to report a fabulous time was had. We well and truly shopped til we dropped, and then shopped some more.
After nearly three full days of frantic shopping, we felt like this:
And at the end had to do a fair amount of this:
Even to the point of buying extra luggage!
One day we did an organised shopping tour, which is not an exercise for the faint hearted or the indecisive shopper. A full day of outlet shopping, often competing with up to 6 coach loads of crazed bargain-hungry women for the same heavily discounted shoe or lip gloss. It was chaotic, rushed and not conducive to our style of shopping but nevertheless, a fun experience and much cash was spent!!
A second day was dedicated to markets. The pace was a little more leisurely but still very exhausting with lots of walking and trekking across the city.
Our last day was spent in Bridge Rd, Richmond, where our best clothes bargains were found. Unfortunately, we were almost shopped out at this point and did not cover much ground.
We also managed to sneak in a little culture as well, with a trip to the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs which was amazing.
Despite all this mad shopping, I failed to get many items on my clothing wish list. I came home with far too many goodies for the men folk plus a few clothes and some big ticket items for me (a new leather jacket, some cute shoes from Tony Bianco & Diana Ferrari and my fave: a gorgeous little red leather backpack).
On our adventure I learnt a few little lessons along the way:
- Infuriating, incompetent concierges can drive you to start sprouting rather Dr Suess-esque rants “Oh, dear Brad, it is quite sad, that you make us so very mad. Bad Brad, BAD!!”
- Shopping til blood comes out of your shoes is actually possible, but not advisable.
- The best travelling companion is someone who can read your mind and finish your sentences, especially when you are too exhausted to be articulate.
- Sometimes you need to resist the urge to be courteous to strangers when making your way through a crowd. Case in point: frenzied shopping tours and the last call for boarding your flight
- After being solely inhabited by boys for four days, a house smells very much like… boy.
- Shopping til you drop is admirable, but not the most relaxing way to spend a kid-free, man-free holiday.
Next year (yes, we are already planning) we’ve decided to dedicate ONE day to shopping in Bridge Road, perhaps half a day to markets and the rest of the time will be spent enjoying the lovely city of Melbourne. Or Sydney. Or…
Where’s your favourite place to shop? Would you prefer a shopping holiday or a relaxing holiday?
Linking in with Jess @ Diary of a SAHM for IBOT
Images from We Heart It
Née Say 