Doing the block

I was in Melbourne as travel companion with my 80 year old Mum as she’d booked tickets to see the Military Tattoo. This was something she had wanted to see most of her life. The trip was only a few short days and we planned to spend all our time in the city centre.

As soon as we arrived we made our way to the bus for our transfers and were taken on a tour of Melbourne. After an hour driving around past the MCG, Queen Victoria Markets, the Shrine of Remembrance and a few other places of interest we arrived at our apartment at Oaks on Collins in the CBD.  As well as being in a great location, the apartment was well equipped and had a decent onsite restaurant for those, like us, who didn’t plan to cook on holiday. They also have an onsite fitness centre and pool, though we didn’t check them out. After unpacking we decided to take a walk down the street and soon found ourselves at the Block Arcade.

The Block Arcade is opulent, heritage listed and arguably Melbourne’s finest example of 19^th century shopping arcades. When it was built in 1892, during the boom time, Melbournians liked to be seen and would promenade or ‘do the block’, hence the name. Located on the fashionable ‘top end’ of Collins Street between Swanston and Elizabeth Streets, this historical and architectural treasure is full of fascinating shops. Inside, the arcade still has lovely retail shops, bespoke tailors, jewellers, art dealer, spice merchants and other specialty shops. Like many of the Collins Street buildings, The Block Arcade gives a glimpse of what Melbourne looked like back in Victorian times and is still one of Melbourne’s best loved shopping arcades.

With its intricate mosaic floors, beautiful glass dome and lavish interior decoration, the arcade was inspired by Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. In 2003 the City of Melbourne signed a sister city agreement with the City of Milan cementing their connection. The arcade has been beautifully restored and maintained over the years and is still exquisite. The elaborate and complex design of the mosaic tiled floor was designed using tiles imported from Italy. At the time of being laid, this was the largest expanse of mosaic to be laid in Australia and today, reserves of all the tiles used, except for the dark chocolate are still on hand.

The two shops on either side of the Collins Street entrance feature spectacular ceilings. The original ceiling decorated in 1907 for the Singer Sewing Machine Company is a beautiful ceiling mural. The company wanted a stand out ceiling to attract customers and is today sadly missed by busy Melbournians unless they look up. The shop now occupied by Evelyn and Crabtree allows people to come in and take a look and photograph the ceiling. The other ceiling worthy of note is opposite and occupied by Wittner Shoe shop. The shop was previously owned by Kodak and was the first Kodak shop in Melbourne. This ceiling is an elaborate pressed metal ceiling and although not Heritage listed can never be removed.

Close to the Collins Street entrance is Melbourne’s iconic Hopetoun Tearooms which has been operating in the Block Arcade since it opened in 1893. Originally in shop number 6, the Victorian ladies’ Work Association ran a small tearoom until in 1907 they disbanded. After moving to their current location they were renamed Hopetoun Tearooms.  Founded by Lady Hopetoun, she thought it was the ideal place for those promenading to have somewhere to rest and take tea.

Today you won’t find anywhere in Melbourne with more grace and elegance to enjoy old world charm and old school favourites. Tripadvisor lists Hopetoun Tearooms in the top five places to have tea and coffee in Melbourne. The shopfront is the most photographed window in Melbourne as it is always bulging with a display of to die for cakes on pedestal glass plates.

When Mum and I were there, the arcade was busy with people stopping to take photos of the Instagram worthy cakes, lamingtons and vanilla slices and we waited for our chance to see for ourselves. Just looking in this window made our mouths water and my blood sugar sky rocket. Of course we just had to go in for a taste of yesteryear. Think cucumber sandwiches or elegant ribbon sandwiches as we would raise our pinky and sip our beverages from fine china. But what we hadn’t realised was this was a place where food lovers queued for the delicious treats.

We were hungry as we’d had nothing since breakfast on the flight, so decided to get something elsewhere. Further along the arcade we found Caffe Duomo where we stopped for a coffee and enjoyed a little people watching.

Next day we saw a lot of the sights, Flinders Street Station, Federation Square and Southbank, before a river cruise along the Yarra River. That evening we headed to Etihad Stadium for the Military Tattoo and Mum was not disappointed.

Our last day and it was agreed we just had to go back to The Block and have ourselves some cake and coffee. When we arrived as it was still early we had only a short wait before being seated. Inside we felt like we’d stepped into another time with the quaint, vintage décor of green and white wallpaper and the ceiling draped in heavy green fabric, all preserving the façade of the heritage. We could easily vision the ladies of the past, with gloves and hats and impeccable etiquette, who made sipping their tea an art. Two mirrors caught our eye, one with a heavy gold frame had the words “where there’s tea, there’s hope” written on the glass. The other was clearly the feature, a large beautifully etched Italian mirror dating back to 1891.

As if the display of decadence in the window wasn’t enough to make us drool, the selection on the menu made our choice even more difficult. Pinwheel sandwiches, vanilla slices, lamingtons, scones, tarts and cakes, asparagus rolls, Welsh rarebit and a whole page dedicated to teas. Mum can’t resist the temptation of a vanilla slice and I finally order a piece of Carribean Coconut Crumble. Despite being a tearoom, we did not partake in a fragrant Early Grey or pot of organic tea. Anyone who knows Mum knows she can’t resist the temptation of a good cappuccino and as Melbourne has the reputation of the best coffee in Australia, coffee it was.

The queue was building outside and we had places we wanted to explore so we didn’t sit too long. Beside we needed to get out and walk off the cake we had just devoured. Time for us to do the block again.

As we walked out we were once again taken back by the stunning mosaic floor that runs through the entire arcade. The timber shop fronts add to the old world charm and style of the Victorian era. The arcade has many whimsical bronze statues and a Victorian weighing machine that was imported from Britain at the turn of the century and for a gold coin you can check your weight.

It was a truly stunning stroll down memory lane and we were successfully transported into a world of luxury, elegance and decadence in one of Australia’s oldest and most iconic retail precincts.

Melbourne is the epicentre for all things fashionable and still the place to be seen. We enjoyed doing the block, as we ate, shopped and stayed on Collins Street.

 

If you enjoyed this post you might like to check out QVB in Sydney.

Did you find The Block Arcade as stunning as Mum and I did? Would you like to shop, escape the weather and indulge in high tea there?

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