Melbourne: City

More often than not, we tire ourselves out during trips. Because we try to cover as much as possible, as far as possible. In Melbourne, one of the things that made me happy was just walking around the city area – stopping at times to browse Queen Victoria Market, sip some hot chocolate, shop at the shopping malls, try my luck at the casino… If you only have a few days to spare in Melbourne, I really think you should spend them in the city and soak in their version of urban life.

Spotted KPMG along Collins Street I spotted KPMG in Milan and Perth too. And get a warm fuzzy feeling every time! haha.

Graffiti is everywhere is Melbourne. Call Me Madam was spotted in one of the alleys near the hotel we were staying at. It is one of the rare black/white ones we saw. Our hotel was 20 minutes walk from the CBD – good at the start of the day because we get to see how the locals live as we walk to and fro the stretch everyday and bad because it can sometimes be a drag especially at the end of the day and you are carrying stuff

St Kilda, at least a 30 minutes bus ride from the CBD. St Kilda struck me as really Australia the moment I stepped into the area with its pier…

…yachts…

…and beach. At sunset, penguins may appear near the waterways, I heard.

Colorful graffiti near the stretch of cafes selling Acland Cakes.

Reflection. Reflection. Reflection. Love this picture I took at Eureka Skydeck :) Time for reflection. Hmmm…

Federation Square from another angle, from the tallest building in Melbourne.

Crown Entertainment Centre. Like MBS in Singapore. Except I don’t need to pay $100 to play in the casino :p

Outdoor performance – fire was coming from the pillars along the river for 5 minutes. Gave us some warmth as we walked in the cool night back to CBD to take a bus home.

Graffeti in one of the alleys in the main shopping area of Myer and Davidson. Like a runway!

Seeing the sun set in the city. How about that?

Melbourne: Yarra Yarra

Did not expect day trip to Yarra Valley to be so much fun. Sometimes, happiness is about managing expectations, I guess

 Visiting the Dandenong Ranges National Park. Such tranquil to be surrounded by these old and tree trees – surreal for some reasons

And having birds stand, walk and fly around you. One of them flew at the lens of my camera – guess it though it was food. To control their diet (what they eat), people have to pay to  feed the birds at a designated area.

Going for the Puffing Billy ride!

Sitting on the ledge of the carriages. Felt like I’m twenty again, like the young girls in the next carriage. Haha.

Our guide for the day. I cannot remember his name but he was really very dedicated and passionate about his job – he was talking almost throughout the eight hours, telling us so so much about Melbourne!

Riding through the Dandenong Ranges. Many cars stopped to wave at us, so we waved back

Having so much fun And the legs got a good tan too

Learning more about wine and having a glass of really good wine at Chandon. Many chose to do it in alfresco-style.

Sitting in the sun and enjoying the great view. If I have to choose, it will really be tough to choose between a tan at the beach and one at the vine-yard.

Awesome day!

Melbourne: Back to Nature

Last month was busy. Last week was crazy. Last few days was back to normal. So I have time to press about the things that made me happy about the Melbourne trip, and one of them is getting close to wildlife and well, being back to nature

Trekked at the Grampians. Great exercise. magnificent view. And no, I did not make it to the peak – it was too tough. Will try next time

Spotted the Apostles at the Great Ocean Road (GOR).  Hello again, Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Matthew… Was almost blown away (more by the wind than the sight – not as magnificent as I thought).

Spotted along the GOR. Almost like a Chinese painting 山水画, I thought. With so many layers and gradients of green, blue and white…

Strolled on the beaches round the bends of the GOR. Dramatically different at various times of the day.

Fed the wild birds. Reminded me of my dovey friends in Venice It’s going to be a year since we visited Venice. Time (really really) flies.

Spotted Koalas (and not sleeping) on gum trees outside the zoo. So cute, as usual.

Wouldn’t mind working in a lighthouse if it’s located in such a lovely place, would you?

 
Stayed at a horse ranch. The day is still young. I think the best part of visiting Australia in spring is the long daylight and the longer than usual sunset. Beautiful pictures almost guaranteed.

Rode and galloped in the forest. I mean really rode – there was no manhandling at all :p This is definitely one of the craziest things I have done in 2011!

 Thanks for giving me the ride of my life. Haha.

The farm stay reminded me of the song ‘Home on the range’:
Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Spotted many beetles on a ferry ride to Mornington Peinsula. It’s really easy to make me happy, I guess.

Spotted Walla and baby walla! Doubly cute!!

Spotted a penguin on Phillip Island! The penguin parade was real cute but no pictures allowed. This chap was spotted along a boardwalk. Unexpected shot! And very much treasured.

For me, it’s always great to visit Australia. The nature and wildlife never fails to lift my spirit and awakes the child in me. Haha. 我想这就是返璞归真吧。

Melbourne: Smell the roses

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet.”    – William Shakespeare

Aussie flora is typically dry and busy. I never expected to see beautiful blooming flowers in Melbourne. I guess I was in the right place at the right time. They made me happy, so I’m sharing them with you. Smell the roses. Ashcombe Rose Maze is lovely

Happy Chinese New Year! by cyndichan · 365 Project

Happy Chinese New Year! by cyndichan · 365 Project.

Melbourne: Live to Eat or Eat to Live?

Those who know me well will know the answer – I EAT TO LIVE. Many people around me live to eat though, so this press is (kind of) dedicated to them. Haha.

I’m sure many of you will agree that food on a trip can be a hit-and-miss affair, unless you know someone in town or have goggled really hard before the trip (even so, you may not be able to find or get really frustrated trying to find that must-go restaurant or cafe).

One of the things that surprisingly made me happy during my Melbourne trip was the food (when they say that it’s hard not to find good food in the world’s most livable city, there are some truths in it) I have been thinking of pressing about my food affairs in Melbourne and the food galore on 除夕 and 年初一 (Yes, Happy Chinese New Year to all!:)) kind of inspired me to do it.

色香味俱全 is a Chinese saying about what makes good food – color, smell, taste. The pictures will help me with the color and I will try my best to describe the smell and taste (or to be more accurate, my feelings then )

Lunch on Day 1. Federation Square. Timeout. Homemade Ice Tea. Special because it had lemon, orange and lime slices. Refreshing (especially after a 7-hour flight ). Was telling my sister that we can try making this at home

Chicken Cesar Salad. There’re small herring fishes (if I’m not wrong). Crunchy and juicy.

Curry Mutton Sandwich. Exotic. Reminds me of Indian cuisine. Kind of like the peas

 Dinner on Day 1. Grill’d. My sister read about it online – highly recommended according to her. Crowded. Huge portion. Very full-filling. Ladies should always order small, never medium, even if it’s for two to share

Lunch on Day 2. Roadtrip to The Grampians. Random family restaurant in Halls Gap (it’s a small town so you don’t have that many choices ). Spotted Bundaberg in many favors (reminds me of root beer in Marche ).

Kangaroo Wrap. I know some of you will go: ‘how can you eat this?’. My reply: ‘you should try. It’s delicious’. Very tender and well-cooked. Tried BBQ kangaroo later too – it was very tough, so not all kangaroo meat taste good…

Fish and chips. Cooked on the spot. Hot. Fresh. And I like it served with white vinegar

Dinner on Day 2. Pie Face. My sister read online that pies are good in Melbourne. So we decided to try Pie Face, can be found anywhere in the city One of our cheapest dinner in Melbourne.

Chicken pie with topping of mash potato. They call it ‘double-decker’ or something like that. Sometimes, for some pies, chicken is chicken, potato is potato (get what I mean?). The ingredients in this seem to have blended with each other. Nice. Small though. Haha.

Quiche. OK. Haha.

Tea on Day 3. St Kilda. The Acland Cake Shop. You must eat Acland cakes when you are in St Kilda. Haha. There were so many cakes to choose from and we took the most popular ones recommended by the cute Chinese shop assistant. Nice, huge, creamy. Would have been perfect if we have chosen one fruity item

Late lunch on Day 4. Roadtrip to The Great Ocean Road. Random family restaurant in a town (cannot remember which one). Our guide on this roadtrip valued time on the road more than food time, so we ended up having lunch really late (and he only gave us 20 minutes for lunch!) My sister’s choice of Apple Crumble. Very nice. I must say the cold cream complemented it very well.

My choice of Curry Pumpkin Soup. Very hot and thick. Nice warm garlic bread. Overall a bit exotic though. And challenging to wolf down in 20 minutes

Breakfast on Day 6. Free & Easy days are great for a leisurely breakfast. Bacon Banana Crepe. Savory and sweet. Soft and crispy. Need I say more?

Egg Benedict. You cannot go wrong with this choice. Huge portion, huge egg, huge ham, huge bread! So full!

Late lunch/early Dinner on Day 6. Brunetti. Italian food. Lasagne. Hot.

Veggie Sandwich. Simple. Healthy.

Dinner on Day 7. Italian food in a restaurant in the city. Salmo Risotto. Tasted better than it looks in this picture

Calamari. We saw many people in Melbourne having calamari and shrimps, so we thought we should try. We had better ones, I must say. Probably went to the wrong place

Did I mention this Coke campaign in Melbourne? The packaging of the Coke bottles had names on them. We did not realise it until a lady at a supermarket told us that people were searching the shelves for their names! So cute, right? We tried to find ours but no fate lah. But it was a game we played whenever we visited Coles or any of the supermarkets in Melbourne Definitely cheap thrill!

Dinner on Day 8. Near our hotel. Herd mentality striked. Chose the restaurant with the most people. Delicious pasta. Surprisingly, Melbourne has good Italian food.

Delicious pizza. Like fried egg and ham on bread. Too big for two to finish though.

Tea on Day 9 (our last day in Melbourne :/) At Koko Black. At one of the arcades Highly recommended hot chocolate by everyone!

Hot chocolate. Barista Style. Looks delicious even before you sip it Happy sipping!

Nothing beats flipping through a magazine while sipping a hot drink. I want to end with this picture taken off a magazine at Koko Black, which reminds me that while it’s fun snapping pictures of food, it’s important to appreciate the food and the company too

“But however much we like photography – and this issue, as ever, is full of the good stuff, so you know we do – there’s a time and a place for everything. And we shouldn’t always be seeing the world with a camera lens in front of our eyes.”

I guess I did (I’m glad I did), because for some reasons, I did not have pictures of every meal we had in Melbourne…

Melbourne: Greater Love Hath No Man

I have been feeling a bit down for the last 2 weeks. During times like these, I need some happy thoughts to keep me going. So here’s a press (and the first of many to come soon hopefully) about my timeout trip to Melbourne last November. Unlike the chronological presses about Italy/Paris (which were somewhat ‘tedious’ haha), I decided to just press about things that made me happy in Melbourne.

If life indeed has its ups and downs, I think one of the ups of living in Melbourne is being able to immerse in its arts and culture. The first thing we did when we arrived in the world’s most livable city on Day 1 was to visit Federation Square. A square where one can spend a day to soak in the arts and culture, one cannot miss its unique architectural complex which makes it a landmark in the city.

Federation Square – a place to chill in arts and culture.

I have always wanted to find out more about Aboriginal art but never had the time to chance to visit the museums and galleries when I was in Gold Coast and Perth (guess arts is the last thing that will cross your mind in these fun-loving states ) In Melbourne, I finally did it at The Ian Potter Centre: National Gallery of Victoria (NGV)Australia. While the works of Aboriginal artists are very different from the Renaissance or Impressionist artists,  they have been influenced by the developments and subjects of their time.

Not only did I find out more about aboriginal art on this trip, I also heard more stories – happy and sad – about aborigines.

Aboriginal art used colors of the earth (yellow, brown, black), painted about wildlife (snakes, crocodiles, tortoises) and culture (traditions, dances, rituals) in a symbolic way. Perhaps that was realism to them.

Day 6 was a free & easy day, perfect for a city tour of the museums. Our first stop was the Shrine of Remembrance which commemorates WWII and those who had died in the defence of their countries and loved ones.

Indeed, greater love hath no man.

It was an enjoyable and informative tour in the beautiful shrine. Changi Prison was mentioned during the tour and it’s amazing how our history crossed path at one point in time.

A beautiful walk from the Shrine of Remembrance to the city.

We then took a walk at the Royal Botanic Gardens before we walked to the other NGV – National Gallery of Victoria International. Another stunning architecture in Melbourne (I was expecting a Victorian-vintage museum)!

NGV International Facade – it really took me by surprise.

NGV International Entrance.

Although I only went on a 60-minutes guided tour, I was very impressed by its collection of Weeping woman by Picasso and The Banquet of Cleopatra by Tiepolo amongst others. It may not have the depth of collection of the Italian museums but its breadth definitely took my breath away

Some said they love Melbourne and some said they don’t understand why it is the world’s most livable city. For me, I love the many stunning architectures and great museums/galleries. And the many people who are passionate about their country and what they do – I still remember the guides at the museums who are so passionate about their subjects, volunteers who just want to share their personal experiences with visitors and make them feel at home. This, to me, makes Melbourne the world’s most livable city. I wish I had more time to explore its art and culture…