Day 2: Melbourne City

My very ambitious sister, Bins decided we will do a walking tour of Melbourne city although I had worries on how my aging parents would deal with it. I woke up EARLY that day at 6.30am since she intended to depart at 8am. My parents took their own sweet time and we ended up departing only close to 9am.

The plan was to have breakfast somewhere along Bridge Road where the old building were preserved and converted into businesses. We decided upon a bakery/cafe called Chimmy's after seeing all the accolades it has received from various magazines/newspapers. It was a tad bit pricey but very, very good bread. Those who know me should know I always complain there is not enough good bread in Malaysia. I have found it in Melbourne! My sister and I shared the big fry up (organic sausage, bacon, field mushrooms, eggs and toast), pain perdue drizzled with honey and served with fresh strawberries. My dad and mum shared the roasted beef baguette. Both tasted fantastic!

We then proceeded via tram down to Federation Square to the ACMI I(Australian Center for Moving Images). The plan was to catch an exhibition called "Setting the Scene" there but my sister thought it cost too much ($15) and would take too much time. We decided to walk along the Yarra River bank and to hit the Royal Botanics Garden instead since my mum LOVES flowers. The walk to the Botanic Gardens was SUPER far! (I know, I know, me runner, but I hate to walk!). We didn't spend much time there as we had plenty to do.

We then took the free tourist shuttle back to Fed Square and proceed to walk to Elizabeth Street. We stopped by this hippy alley called Degraves Street for lunch at Degraves Cafe which was apparently one of the first espresso bar in Melbourne. It such a funky street to be in. The espresso was great but the food so-so.

From Degraves we walked to Collins Street which has all the designer boutiques and a lot of churches. We stopped at two of the churches to look inside. We also managed to slip in a Belgian Spoil at a famous chocolatier called Koko Black. I thought the chocolate ice cream was the best! The St Patrick Church was by far the largest and most impressive.

Our next stop was to be Smith Street where it was my turn to go crazy and shop for factory outlet sport stuff. Unfortunately, the tram stop we choose was at the opposite end of where the shops were. By the time we got to the shops, they were closed for the day. Shops in Melbourne close EARLY! Like 5pm. Gosh!

Dinner was with the whole extended family at an Italian place called The Mess Hall on Burke Street. I had the tagliatelle with rabbit ragu which went great with the glass of Persecco that I had. The pasta was homemade and the dish was very light.

The rest of my family opted to go walk around at the Crown. I chose to go home with my uncle to rest for the night as I had a "run date" the next morning at 7am.

Alcohol intake: 1 beer + 1 glass of Persecco + 1/2 glass of red wine