Bits & Pieces - The World & Me: Melbourne, Australia 2013

09th August 2013

Happy 48th Birthday, Singapore!! Our first time away from the celebration back home.

Credits : Gardens by the Bay

Grey sky greeted us this morning. Not raining again?? Fortunately, it was just a slight drizzle and stopped shortly after. However, today remains a gloomy day but this is still better than a rainy day.

First and foremost, the most important meal of the day - breakfast. Hearing from my brother that there is a foodcourt in Melbourne Central which is 5 minutes’ walk from our apartment, we strolled towards the shopping mall cum subway station. The stalls were just opening. In Melbourne, all cravings can be fulfilled, be it Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Indian and Italian. There are so many Asian foodstalls and restaurants around.

Without hesitation, Mum picks Laksa. A bowl of hot and spicy noodles is nothing more than she can ask for. This might even be her best meal throughout the whole trip. The rest of us choose our breakfast after going round and round the foodcourt. *SIGH*

Melbourne Central Shopping Centre

Laksa

Chicken Noodle

Burgers and Fries

Almond Crossiant

Hot Chocolate

Mocha

Sightseeing time!!! Yeahhhhh!! We walk to the State Library of Victoria which is just across the road. The building’s architecture is very nice. Tourists tend to leave this ‘footprint’ behind with at least one photo.

State Library

From State Library, we took the City Circle Tram to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The church is very impressive and beautiful. It is a popular tourist spot and you can see many tour buses parked outside. We spent some time exploring the beauty of this place, both the interior and exterior before moving to Chinatown near Little Bourke Street.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

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Credits : Saint Patrick's Cathedral

The Melbourne Chinatown is unlike those Chinatown that we have seen in Japan. It is mainly dominated by restaurants. However, this is also the perfect place for tourists as all “touristy” stuff that you are looking for can be found here. I was still wondering where to buy nougats as they don’t seem to be readily available till I got here. Can’t help wondering, is it true that only Asians buy nougats as souvenir snacks from Australia? Please enlighten me.

Chinatown Melbourne

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Credits : Chinatown Melbourne

From Chinatown, we strolled down Swanston Street and passed by St. Paul’s Cathedral before arriving at Federation Square. You can see the Visitor Information Centre strategically located there. This is a good place to start your Melbourne trip by collecting all the maps and information you need. Furthermore the famous Melbourne landmark, Flinders Street Station, is just opposite.

Little Bourke Street

Swanston Street

Horse Carriage @ Swanston Street

Federation Square

Federation Square (Night view)

St. Paul's Cathedral

Flinders Street Station

Flinders Street Station (Night view)

Our next destination is Fitzroy Gardens, one of the city’s most historic and aesthetically pleasing gardens in Melbourne. In the gardens, there is Cook’s Cottage (also known as Captain Cook’s Cottage). This place is another popular tourist attraction. We met a loving Australian elderly couple who told us they got married under the big tree in front of Cook’s Cottage 32 years ago. It’s so touching to know that they are still so deeply in love and revisiting the tree after they moved to Brisbane.

Fitzroy Gardens

Cook's Cottage @ Fitzroy Gardens

Fitzroy Gardens

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Credits : Fitzroy Gardens

After a short stay, it’s shopping and mum’s pokies time. We try to balance sightseeing and shopping so that everyone does not get bored. Today, we are visiting Harbour Town Shopping Centre – Melbourne’s most exciting venue of outlet and specialty shopping with over 120 outlet stores, 70 specialty stores and more than 1,500 brands all in the one place.

Harbour Town

The yet to open Melbourne Star from Harbour Town

Harbour Town

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Credits : Harbour Town

For dinner, we wanted to checkout Changgo – a Korean BBQ restaurant that my sis’ colleague recommended but the waiting list was way too long. There is a good 1-2 hours’ wait at least I guess. We then settled in another Korean restaurant nearby. We were so cold and starving by then so army stew was the perfect choice.