Monday, November 6, 2017

Melbourne Day 1-2

A year back, my sister had a two-week study attachment in Melbourne and we decided to make it a family trip! My dad and me were there for 9 days while my mum stayed with her throughout. S tagged along as well and we took the chance to have some photos taken for our prewedding album! Read about the photoshoot here: www.estherxie.com/p/wedding.html

I have very fond memories of Melbourne and I will be sharing our itinerary in detail!





S rented a car from Avis to drive us around! Although travelling within the CBD area is very convenient with their tram system, it's still nice to have our own vehicle to drive out of town on some days!


Checked into Milano Serviced Apartments, which I highly recommend if you are travelling in a group. We had a pleasant stay throughout and it is conveniently located within the busy CBD district. The supermarket is just few steps away with many eateries within short walking distance. The rooms were well maintained and clean, with simple and modern furnishings. The room rate is extremely good too! Other amenities include a pool, gym, private cinema and tennis court~ The lobby is private with guest-only access and a reception/ concierge to assist.  Overall, I think Milano is comparable to a convention hotel.



Our cozy living room! The sofa can be pulled out into a bed to accommodate more people. The maximum capacity for a two bedroom apartment is 6.


It comes with a kitchenette too. I really like how it feels very homely!



Both bedrooms connect to a single bathroom.


View from the window~ The building opposite is an apartment block with William Barak featured on it's facade. I initially thought it was only a pattern. Only when I was far away at the other side of the city then I realize the face!


Milano Serviced Apartments
8 Franklin St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
www.milanoservicedapartments.com.au

Surroundings of our apartment.


We had an interesting encounter on our first day in Melbourne when we drove out for dinner. The carparks are extremely expensive at around AUD13-14 per hour on average, but that's not as bad as on-street parking.... because it's almost impossible to get a lot in the evenings! We went round and round several times before we finally found one but before we could park ourselves, another car came in from the opposite side and parked before we could. *RAGE*

First meal in Melbourne was fish and chips in a random restaurant after we finally managed to park somewhere!






Nice restaurant but the food was quite disappointing. I guess we were expecting a more robust flavour but the fish turned out quite bland.

Sea Salt 
362/364 Lygon St, Carlton VIC 3053, Australia
www.sea-salt.com.au

We went around for a short walk after that and entered a busy cafe with lots of tempting desserts...! Love the vibes of this town already!



The next morning was shoot day! Woke up super early and headed out for the shoot while the rest  continued sleeping. First stop, St Patrick's Cathedral, then Parliament House a short distance away.



The 2nd half of our shoot was at Brighton Beach and Half Moon Bay at St Kilda. This time, the rest came along!

Brighton Beach is a must-go if it's your first time to Melbourne!



Besides pre-wedding photos, we also took some touristy shots




Happy family!


S looking pretty with a floral headband haha.



Half Moon Bay in Black Rock is a quiet beach a short drive away.



The view is pretty but there's nothing much to do here hence it's not a tourist spot. There is hardly any information about this place online. We only came for the backdrop as we wanted to have a nature setting for some of our prewedding photos in Melbourne and this place is the most convenient one that fits into our itinerary.





We had lunch at the beachfront restaurant afterwards - also our only option haha. It's quite a nice experience eating right beside the sea in the cool breezy weather... Very isolated from the rest of the world!




Our burgers! I had the fish burger and I must say, it's the BEST fish burger I had in Melbourne throughout my stay. I would say it may also be the BEST fish burger I've ever had in my entire life. The generous toppings on the big chunk of very fresh fish went well together and I was left craving for it even several days after.




"I'll be back in 5 minutes but if not... Just read this message again." Hahaha.


Went back to the city and visited the Eureka Skydeck!




View from the observation deck... It's quite pricey though at AUD20 per adult.




We paid extra AUD12 per person to go on the Edge too! It's a glass cube that extends from the 88th floor of the tower and suspends 300 meters over Melbourne with glass flooring.



No photos allowed inside... So we bought a photo for remembrance!


Flinders Station and St Paul's Cathedral from the top. You can see almost the whole of Melbourne CBD from here!



Eureka Skydeck
7 Riverside Quay, Southbank VIC 3006, Australia
www.eurekaskydeck.com.au




Walked over to Flinders Street afterwards. Actually I think that the whole CBD can be easily covered in a day even by foot. Haha. The tram service is amazingly efficient too!








Lord of the Fries have outlets almost everywhere! Tried a portion since we were feeling peckish. Doesn't the staff look like a mannequin in this picture? Haha.



An old fashioned doughnut shop at the corner of the street - we were tempted and bought some doughnuts to share!





Phone series:





For dinner, we found a restaurant called Po' Boy Quarter! One thing about Melbourne is that the service crew are very friendly!




Waffles. Bacon, and Fried Chicken. What a combination!


Doughnut and fried chicken. Not a big fan of this because it's more sweet than savoury.



Seafood stew on rice... Something different.


Chicken wings with sauce drizzled on it! So sinful!


Po' Boy Quarter
295 Smith St, Fitzroy VIC 3065, Australia

Afterwards we checked out the supermarket before heading back to our apartment. The shops close really early in Melbourne!


Managed to catch some of these region-exclusive pokemons too!


That's all for day 1 and 2~ Next I will blog about our road trip to Great Ocean Road, which was one of the major highlight of this trip. Hopefully I'd get the entry out soon!

For more travel entries, visit my travel tab: www.estherxie.com/p/wander.html

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