Life as we don't know it

Back from Melbourne!!

Monday, March 11, 2013 @ 12:00 AM PERMALINK

I'm back from Melbourne!! The 9 days I was there just whizzed past so quickly and before I knew it I was in a cab on the way back to the airport.

Not only did I get to spend 9 days with the boyfriend, I also met up with family that I haven't see since I was a child (almost 20 years ago to be exact), got to attend Soundwave and also got the explore the wonderful city once again. Win-win-win-win situation.

This was my first time flying Emirates and despite all the great things I've heard about it, it honestly wasn't that great a flight and I was a little disappointed.

The flight attendants were super grumpy and would tell passengers that they didn't know simple things and would have to check with their seniors. Like "I don't know anything about blankets, I'll have to check with my senior" They also did very few walk throughs on the plane (and it wasn't due to turbulence cause there wasn't much) and spent most of the time hidden.

To make matters worse when I walked to them to ask for a cup of water, the attendant didn't even bother to get up from her seat and instead instructed me to take it myself. To be fair, the flight was delayed so perhaps they didn't get to change the crew so everyone was super upset or something but still, pretty uncalled for. I've been on budget flights were the attendants were nicer.

My flight back from Melbourne was WAY better though and the attendants were all super sweet and friendly. Strange that the service differs so much on what is supposed to be a top notch airline. .

ANYWAYS.

I landed in Melbourne at about 930am and had arranged to meet Bong in the city instead of him wasting money to come to the airport to get me.

From the airport, it's really easy to get into the city. Just find the airbus ticketing counter and get a ticket. The counter isn't hard to find at all, just follow the signs once you exit from the arrival hall.

Tickets cost $17 each way to Southern Cross Station and from there you can get a free shuttle bus to your accommodation. I met Tracy and Linus on the plane so I had company for the ride into the city but if you don't, don't worry about it, the ride is only about 20 mins long. Just enough time to re-charge from your flight.

As planned, Bong met me at Southern Cross and we took the tram to Carlton.

I had my first breakfast in Melbourne at Threshermans Bakehouse.Housed in an old industrial building, the food selection here is crazy. Hot meals, pastries, pies...

The food isn't anything to shout about but it's still a nice place to grab a coffee and hang out plus the prices are super reasonable.

After breakfast/lunch we decided to go to Carlton Gardens to chill and look at the ducks. We were just wondering what happened to possums in the day when we come across a couple some snoozing the tree.

I love these little guys, they are so cute. You can only see one here but there is another one nestled in a hole in the tree trunk.

For dinner, we headed to Brunswick St, Fitzroy and after wandering around for a bit decided on hot dogs at Phat Brats.

I had the Pork & Sage dog while Bong had the Chicken & Herb. The sausages on these were really great - juicy, lean ( I hate biting into fat chunks) and tasted completely additive free.

As you can see, both dogs were topped generously with really creative toppings. My pork dog had pork crackling and red cabbage while Bong's had fried shallots. I did like the chicken sausage a little more than the pork though - The flavors of the meat just seemed a little more balanced. But with more than 10 different kinds of hotdogs to order - I'm sure you'd be able to find one you really enjoy. In fact, I'm looking at the menu again right now and there are so many I'd like to try the next time I'm there.

We also had a serving of seasoned fries which was tasty and still held up after they cooled down (not an easy feat)

After dinner we headed out into the city to meet some of Bong's friends. We hung out at the Workshop which not only has one of the most innovative bar designs I've seen but also has a super scrumptious cocktail list. Unfortunately, as it is a bar it doesn't have the best lighting to take photos (plus it would be pretty uncool to whip out my camera to snap blurry photos). So either take my word for it or take a look at their website. Eitherways, if you are in the area, do grab a drink there.

Possums are nocturnal so they were out and about as we were walking back. Aren't they so adorable? Bong says they are pretty ferocious when they fight and that some people consider them pests but look at those cute faces..I wish our pests in Singapore looked this cute.

The next day, Bong had to run some errands in Sydney St, Brunwick so once that was done, we walked around a little to look at the shops. We walked past Empire Cafe - were Jasmine and I had brunch once last year but it was closed. In fact, Tuesday seemed to be the resting day for a lot of the shops in the area.

We didn't have a lot of time left for the day so we went to Smith Street for a quick look around and found Lost & Found Market. Yun had told me last year that I'd love it but I never found the time to look for it. She was right though, it is such a fun shop.

Lost & Found functions as a 7 day a week market for people to sell their vintage goods. Each seller gets their own lot in the vicinity to showcase and sell their item, just like Chapel St Bazaar, which I also visited and absolutely love.

I never tire of looking at Bric-a-Brac and Trash & Treasure.

After mulling over what to eat for dinner, we decided to cook dinner ourselves and have a quiet night in. So off to Wollies it was.

Everything we needed for our steak dinner (and a couple of extra things I just couldn't resist - the Arizona Green Tea and a mango)

Bong being ridiculous and trying to hide behind a brunch of broccoli.

Bong was in charge of the steaks while I was in charge of the mashed potatoes (mainly because I had insisted that I wanted to have them)

Steaks and vegetables all prepped and ready to go. We only used one pan so preparing dinner took a little longer than usual but it was well worth it, if I do say so myself.

And I shall end of this blog post with a picture of our home-cooked steak dinner.

It was a pretty domestic first two days in Melbourne but not to worry, we didn't spend all our time cooking and cleaning.. I promise there are is more adventure to come..!

Labels: Australia, melbourne, travel