sooyindotcom

18 September 2005

Our last full day in Melbourne dawned nice and sunny! I bugged hubby to get out of bed while I was excitedly running around getting changed.

“Wake up lerrr…”
(mumbles)
“Quick quick…sun is out!”
(swats me like I’m a mozzie)
“Grrr…..(starts jumping up and down on the bed)…wake up wake up!”

Finally, hubby got up and started getting ready. In the meantime, I was running to the window every five minutes to check if the sun was still shining. Hey…this is Melbourne ok? Land of four seasons.

Since the weather was so nice, we decided to take some photos at the promenade first before catching the tram. I was super-hyper that morning, jumping around bugging hubby to take photos of me, me, me! And since it wasn’t that cold, I finally managed to test my photo-skills on the musical fountain…not easy! With the water going up and down, it’s incredibly hard to focus, so you have to switch to manual-focus mode and, well, manually focus at a spot you think the water will appear.

We took tram #55 to the Domain Road interchange along St. Kilda Road, and waited about 20 minutes for tram #16 to arrive to take us all the way to Fitzroy Street. I had read that many people go to St. Kilda beach on weekends, and the guidebook was proven right when the tram arrived…it was jam packed with people! Not wanting to wait another 20 minutes, hubby and I squeezed into the second last carriage and spent the whole journey with our hands gripping the handrail above. Well, hubby gripped the handrail. I was a tad too short so I gripped his jacket instead…=)

We got off at the Esplanade and took a short walk past Luna Park and Acland Street to our breakfast/brunch venue at Blessingham Street. We were supposed to have brekkie at Cafe Brewhaha, but the menu didn’t seem to have anything remotely interesting on it (the review recommended their breakfast parfait - muesli, yogurt and poached fruit - but I can’t imagine hubby eating that…), so we decided to search for some place else…which turned out to be another cafe called Jackie O, located at the intersection of Barkly Street and Acland Street. We obviously hit jackpot…every item on the breakfast menu looked enticing! Hubby finally decided on the Deluxe Brekkie, while I went for the French Toast with Poached Pear, Almonds and Honey. Our orders arrived together…and I straightaway felt like trading mine with hubby’s! Oh, don’t get me wrong….mine was delicious…but hubby’s had sausages, hash browns, spinach, poached eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms! It looked so appetizing! I tried abit of the spinach and mushrooms, and it was cooked to perfection. The spinach wasn’t too soggy, while the mushrooms had a slightly burnt taste. Best of all, none of it tasted greasy or oily. As for mine…the toast was generously drizzled with honey and the almonds provided a nice crunchy texture. It was perfect when eaten with the poached pear.

After brunch, we walked back down Acland Street. My head was constantly swivelling from right to left…there were so many cafes and cute little shops! Too bad we were too full to eat…the cakes looked so yummy! We entered some of the shops that sold cute and quirky stuff, and we bought a stuffed purple cow from a shop called Home Deco, two deck of cards on Melbourne’s secret dining and shopping areas/shops (abit too late…but who knows? We might come back again!) from another store, and a watermelon shaped purse from Rogues, a shop selling the cutest Paul Frank stuff! I was on the verge of getting a pink squarish bag that had the famous monkey face on the front, but the ones they had were all abit smudged…=(

I also managed to go to Klein’s Perfumery (was so happy when I saw this shop as I forgot to search for it when we were at Brunswick Street…)! The shop is a bundle of good smells with the scent and fragrance from the numerous perfumes, body products, etc. wafting through the air. I bought two barley filled cloth bags that are supposed to be heated in the oven and placed over aching muscles…and those were scented too!

When we reached Luna Park, we took a detour down Cavelle Street to the beach to take some photos. I got a nice shot of the pier and an adorable boy chasing birds on the beach. By then, the sun was out in full force, and it was really really hot! We went back up Cavelle Street and walked along the esplanade, looking at the different shops at the Sunday bazaar. I was so tempted to buy lots and lots of stuff…but I was running out of money and still had a few souveniers to go…hehe…=) We ended up buying two paintings by an artist named Karen Mason, two photos by photographer Mark Laricchia (one of the 12 Apostles, the other of Ayer Rock), and lots of purses that only costs between $8 to $14! By the time we reached the end of the bazaar, I was hot, tired…and hungry!

We made our way up Fitzroy Street to the Gourmet Burger Company. I read that they serve really good burgers and ice cold milkshakes and thought hubby would like it…and in the spirit of being at a beach and all, burgers and milkshakes seemed like a logical choice…=) There weren’t many tables in the shop though…half of the inside was taken up by the counter and grill, while the other half had high tables with bar stools. We managed to get a seat outside though, on the enormous picnic table that faced the street. As for what we ordered…there were 17 different types of burgers on their menu…but as soon as hubby saw the Gourmet BBQ burger (170g char grilled lean beef, smoked bacon, bbq sauce, salad, relish and aioli), he made up his mind and went for that! I chose to try one of the burgers recommended in the review, the Portabella Mushroom burger (Whole Portabello mushroom, marinated red capsicum, salad and basil pesto)…but I asked the waiter to leave out the capsicum (hate ‘em!).

Our burgers arrived a short 10 minutes later, together with a tall silver glass containing our banana milkshake. Snap snap photos…and then we dug in! Hubby’s burger looked really good…and even though I’ve steered clear of beef burgers since the hoo-hah over the mad cow disease, I took a small bite to try…it really tasted fantastic (and that’s saying alot cause I don’t like BBQ sauce either!). I loved my burger…the portabello mushroom was thick and had that lovely flavour that mushrooms have. They were very generous with the basil pesto, and that added an extra zing to the burger. The milkshake was abit too milky for my liking, but I drank it anyways as it was so nice and cold!

On our way back to the hotel, we took a detour to the Royal Botanical Gardens again. There were lots and lots of people there…family with kids, couples, tourists…and most of the Aussies were lying on the grass and basking in the warm sun! We walked for about 30 minutes and took some photos (mostly of yours truly…hehe…) before leaving at about 5.15pm to catch the tram. Back at the hotel, we finally managed to catch a movie (Red Eye) at the cinema! I found the movie a tad slow at the beginning…and the storyline wasn’t that interesting either. Personally felt that it was a waste of money…but hubby insisted that it’s the experience of trying out their cinemas that counts…hmmmm….=) By the time the show ended, I was hungry again…but didn’t know what to eat. Didn’t feel like waiting and sitting for ages in some of the more expensive restaurants, so in the end, we bought a little food from here and there (KFC, choc-banana smoothies from Boost, food court for sweet & sour pork and noodles) and went back up to our room to eat. I think I enjoyed that meal alot more than if we had gone to one of the restaurants…!

After dinner, it was time to pack…my job, my headache! I emptied our two big luggages, pulled out a spare one that I had sneaked into my luggage, and started refolding and reorganizing everything. I think it took me about one hour to finally get everything back into the bags, and luckily we were able to close it without bursting the zips!

Can’t believe it’s our last day…the one week went by so fast! So…do you think we managed to bypass customs at KLIA with our bursting bags?

For more photos, go to Photoblogum!

Want to give these places a try?
Gourmet Burger Company
3/12 Fitzroy Street, St. Kilda, Melbourne
Tel: 8598 9200