When living in Brisbane, we never made the short flight to Melbourne. While we are still living on this side of the world, we decided to go check it out. Here was our itinerary:
Day 1:
We landed early (9AM), so had a full day ahead of us! First things first, though….grocery shopping! Oh how we miss our stores filled with everything you need IN ONE SPOT…WITHOUT THE STINCH! Next, we purchased our tram cards for a ride to St. Kilda. Note to future visitors, $20 per person is NOT a necessary purchase for each person on their tram card for the week! We only rode the tram once and it was $6 ($3 for Ellis). The tram is free within the city. After walking St. Kilda, we made our way to the Queen Victoria markets just in time for the veggie sale! They were practically giving away produce; $5 for a box of bananas or a box of avocados! Just to see a head of Cauliflower for $2.50 was heaven compared to $10 here!
Day 2: Pizza and Sunset Cruise on the Yarra River
Website: www.onaboat.com.au
An amazing small cruise along the Yarra River with our tour guide, Alistar! We lucked out and had the boat to ourselves
Cool little bar on the river
Alistar...our boat guide
Crown Casino Fire Display
Day 3: Phillip Island Penguin Parade
We booked our tour through www.thelittlepenguinbus.com.au
This was an amazing experience to see the penguins emerge from the ocean in groups and waddle off to their burrows in the dunes.
We made a short stop at The Nobbies for views of the Bass Strait
Manmade penguin burrow with a penguin inside
Natural Penguin Burrow
The view looking down where the penguin parade takes place
We were not allowed to take photos at the parade, so I "borrowed" these from the internet
Day 4: Australian Open Tour and a Root Canal for Tony
Some people bring back souvenirs, Tony left with a root canal. At least we were in a big city with plenty of dentists! Doesn’t everyone do that on their vacation?
Before Tony headed off for his root canal, we were able to see the outside of Rod Laver arena. Unfortunately, though, construction kept us from touring the inside. We were able to go in Margaret Court Arena and some of the surrounding courts. When that was done, Tony headed to the dentist while Ellis and I walked to nearby Fitzroy Gardens. All the walking led us to want food. We were lucky enough to stumble upon Fancy Hanks. Let’s just say that the yummy smell drew us in!
Margaret Court Arena (used for other events, so the "court" isn't actually there)
Fitzroy Gardens
Cooks Cottage
This building was built in 1755 in England by the parents of Captain James Cook. It was moved to Australia in 1934. Each brick was numbered, packed and shipped to Australia in barrels.
I took this photo in the garden adjacent to Fitzroy Garden. Little did I know, I was taking a picture of a JFK memorial that was dedicated in 1965.
Ellis and I stumbled upon the memorial.
Fancy Hanks!
Day 5: Great Ocean Road and Twelve Apostles
We hired a driver to take us on a three hour ride to the Great Ocean Road. If you don’t have the time to do the entire road, this is a great option! It made for a long day, but the views were amazing. We left our hotel at 7:30AM and made it to the 12 Apostles before it was too crowded. We immediately went to the helicopter area for a birds eye view. Tony surprised us with this portion of the tour. I am glad I didn’t have time to worry about what all could go wrong! AMAZING!
Day 6: AFL Game at Marvel Stadium
North Melbourne vs. Essendon
There are street performers on every corner. This performer, however, drew quite a crowd!
We were back in Alabang in time for Easter with our "family away from family".
Ellis immediately fell in love with the Haydens Easter prize!
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