31 December 2014
Melbourne in February.
Well, we are off to Melbourne in February with our good friends and neighbors, Peter and Sue. We wanted to see The Lion King but apparently all the good seats had been booked. So, it was off to see Carolina from Flight Centre to organize our Melbourne tour.
We fly out with Jeststar on a Sunday morning at the ungodly hour of 7:15am (ungodly for some who are attending a wedding the night before) and arrive in Melbourne at 10:40am. We then make our way to our accommodation at Oaks On Collins where we have a 2-bedroom apartment for 4 nights. The rest of the day will be spent trolling around the CBD looking for hangover cures etc.
Monday morning sees us on a Yarra Valley Wine Experience which includes pick up from somewhere in the CBD, tours of 4 premium wineries, restaurant lunch at one of the wineries and then topped off with a visit to Domaine Chandon.
Tuesday we are foot loose and fancy free around good old Melbourne town checking out all of the laneways, sampling food and drinks as we go.
Wednesday, we pick up our hire car and head off to the Mornington Peninsular for some sightseeing but making sure we are back home and ready for The Lion King at Regent Theatre starting at 8:00pm.
Thursday, we check out and head off for an adventure on the Great Ocean Road staying at the Lady Bay Resort in Warrnambool on Thursday night (might go to the dogs) and then Captains At The Bay at Apollo Bay on Friday night.
Saturday, we make our way back to Tullamarine for our flight home. Photos to be uploaded as we travel.
22 February 2015
We arrived in Melbourne at 10:35am on Sunday and after unfolding ourselves for a plane that was designed for hobbits, we made our way to the apartment where we are staying for the next few days. As luck would have it our room was ready, and we moved in.
Away we go looking for some lunch and something to drink. Haven’t they heard of pubs in Melbourne!!! We walked for what seemed to be hours and ended up in the pub opposite Flinders Street Station and eventually had a nice meal and a few icy colds. Mate, it is bloody hot down here - waiting for the other seasons to kick in today.
After a bit of a look around we jumped on the free tram and headed for Lygon Street, Carlton. We walked the length, both sides, amazed at the number of cafés and restaurants. We pulled into an air-conditioned bar and stayed there for a couple of hours - did I mention that it was bloody hot down here. Charmaine and Sue sorted through the maps and other tourist stuff while Peter and I did what we do best - nothing.
We made our way to Brunetti's coffee establishment - wow, what a joint - and had the obligatory coffee and cannoli and then found somewhere to eat dinner. Homemade pasta etc., it was fantastic. After the meal and being serenaded by an Italian Elvis we decided that we would walk home - it’s not too far. After wandering around for an hour or so and a $20.00 cab ride we made it home and hit the sack.
Today we are off on a Yarra Valley Wine tour. More later.
22 February 2015
Strike me lucky, we are midway through our wine tour. Not sure how much more I can take but will try my best. Sensational countryside - great folks on board. We just had a delicious lunch at Balgownie Estate and off to 2 more. The driver “T” is a singer and is trying to organise a sing-along in between wineries -fat chance.
She has suggested a restaurant for tonight - Chin Chin - and will drop us off at the door at the end of the tour.
Headed off to Southbank and had breaky at Boatbuilders Yard (Polly Woodside), then took a stroll along the river checking out all of the new apartments and the Exhibition Centre.
Did an about-turn and walked to the bridge on St Kida Road and headed for Flinders Street Station to catch the free tram. Someone should have read the timetable a bit closer - doesn’t start until 10:00am. Off we go and walked up to Fitzroy Gardens to have a look at Captain Cook’s cottage and a few other things in the beautiful park.
Hiked up to Parliament House and weren’t allowed in as Parliament was sitting so we went across the road to the Windsor Hotel. Charmaine and Sue had a Devonshire tea - Peter and I had some Lashes.
Jumped on the free tram and went to Dockside for a bit of a look - some big yachts park here!!
Turns out there is a free tram area which covers the CBD which means that you can catch any tram inside this area, which we did and went to Hardware Lane for lunch.
We are off to Crown Casino tonight for dinner, and we will see what happens after that. Tomorrow, we pick up our hire car and head for Mornington Peninsular for a bit of a drive.
Picked up our hire car and headed for Mornington Peninsular. Covered plenty of miles and went to Brighton Beach, Mornington, Portsea and Sorrento then made our way home to Oaks On Collins.
It was a massive day and we had to line up and go to The Lion King at the Regent Theatre. Luckily for us we found the happy hour at Oaks On Collins and were in fine form by the time we made it to the show. By the way, the show was absolutely fantastic.
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