Just an hour’s drive from Melbourne, Geelong was the first stop on our adventure to the Twelve Apostles. At the time, the only thing I knew about Geelong was that it had an AFL team. However, as we pulled into Pakington Street for some groceries and a quick bite to eat, we were about to discover a whole lot more than we anticipated about this thriving port city.

Welcome to Geelong!

We cruised into the mainstreet in our rental car on a sunny Saturday morning, to find it bustling with people doing their shopping, catching up over lazy brunch, or simply just kicking back and taking it easy. As busy at it was, we found the pace to be nowhere near as frantic as the Sydney suburban hubs we’re used to. In fact, everywhere we ventured, we noticed a distinctively relaxed vibe about the whole place. So much so that we suspected all these people were really tourists on holiday, just like we were. But on closer inspection we found the vast majority to be local Geelongites just going about their weekend, as per usual, with a laid-back and carefree attitude that was positively refreshing. I could really get use to this!

Eat: Three Little Figs

Three Little Figs

After a bit of wandering and poking around amongst the local boutiques, we discovered our lunchtime destination. The Three Little Figs was just the place to share a meal with the locals, a modern cafe that served simple wholesome food cooked to perfection.

Patrick had the eggs benedict: poached eggs on a bed of wilted baby spinach and slices of smoked ham, covered in a zesty hollandaise sauce.

I enjoyed the zucchini and potato rosti with asparagus, smoked salmon and oozing poached eggs.

To finish off, the coffee was strong but smooth

Though our visit to Geelong was only brief, the city left a strong impression and the locals taught us a valuable lasting lesson: no matter how busy life gets, don’t forget to slow down and take time to smell the piccolo lattes… and just enjoy.

Three Little Figs

240 Pakington Street
Geelong, VIC 3218

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