Took a midnight flight back home to Penang. Thanks to Chin for allowing us to stay at his apartment for two nights and YingHan for the packet of Grinders Coffee. Happy to meet Andrew as well. Most of all, we were happy to see our son MZ but sad for it was time to leave him again. All in all, both of us had a wonderful time and a great holiday in Melbourne.
Couldn’t stop taking photos in the airport too…
…bye bye Melbourne for now, we will be back for a holiday in the near future.
Posted by: CK Lam Tags: Cast Iron, Coin Purse, Flowers, Iron Chair, Knives, Lamp Post, Melbourne Central, Spring Designer, Staircase, Toilet, Weighing Machine, Work Of Art
These are some nice and unsual shots that we took while strolling in the city.
Cast iron chair.
Work of Art…
Large coin purse – wish it was mine.
Beautiful lavendar flowers.
Set of knives on display in a shop in Melbourne Central – “death by the knives“.
Flowers blooming in spring.
Designer’s toilet...
Antique weighing machine.
Fancy lamp post.
Staircase leading to ………????
Posted by: CK Lam Tags: Australasia, Buildings, Colonial Bank, Commerce Building, Hubby, Photo, Porch, South Lawn, Surroundings, Trinity College, University Melbourne, University Of Melbourne
These are the buildings and surroundings of University of Melbourne.
Photo of myself in the South Lawn with the Old Arts Clocktower in the background.
Hubby standing in the Union Lawn with the Old Commerce Building in the background.
This magnificient porch was formerly the entrance of the Colonial Bank of Australasia. It was presented to the university when the building was demolished.
Buildings of Trinity College which is located on the grounds of the university.
Posted by: CK Lam Tags: Amp, Architecture Buildings, Australia On Collins, Bourke Street, Ceiling Murals, Elizabeth Street, Historical Buildings, Indulgence, Melbourne Central, Melbourne Landmarks, Modern Shopping, Mosaic Floors, Parliament, Parliament House, Public Swimming Pool, Royal Arcade, State Library Of Victoria, Statues, Steel And Glass, Victorian Architecture
The Block Arcade runs between Collins Street and Elizabeth Street. It feature huge ceiling murals and very beautiful mosaic floors.
Royal Arcade in Bourke Street is the city’s oldest shopping arcade. There are statues that toll the hour on either side of the clock.
Australia On Collins….with beautiful mosaic logo on its entrance – a place of indulgence.
Melbourne Central – a modern shopping arcade with an old building inside it. The roof is in a shape of a cone which is made of steel and glass.
State Library of Victoria.
Public Bath (nice public swimming pool).
Parliament House.
Posted by: CK Lam Tags: Amp, Anz Bank, Historical Buildings, Interior Shots, Love, Melbourne Landmarks, Photos, Rialto Hotel, Safe Deposit, Victorian Architecture, Victorian Buildings
There are many beautifully preserved Victorian architecture as you can see from many of Melbourne’s historical buildings. One of them which caught our attention is the ANZ Gothic Bank and also known as ANZ Banking Museum. Anyone who passes through Collins Street will fall in love with this building. Here are some exterior and interior shots of this lovely building.
More photos on Melbourne Landmarks & Historical Buildings (2).
Posted by: CK Lam Tags: Australia, Beansprout, Beef Noodle Soup, Beef Sandwich, Bread Bakery, Coffee Prices, Coffee Toffee, Ethnic Cuisines, Greco European Grill @ Crown, Greek Coffee, Greek Version, Grind In The City, Lamb Souvlaki, Lonsdale Street, Mekong, Melbourne, Melbourne Food, Mixed Nuts, Pide Bread Bakery, Rice Bar, Rich Diversity, Selasih, Small Food, Stalactites Restaurant, Swanston Street, Thermos Flask, Victoria Market
Melbourne is known of having a rich diversity of food outlets with different ethnic cuisines. We took this opportunity to try out some food from the following places. Everything was simply marvellous.
In Victoria Market (QVM), we had nanchos served in an edible basket with tomatoes, salsa, melted cheese, sour cream and guacamole from Pide Bread Bakery. The nanchos are warmed in the oven before being served.
Had Vietnamese food in Mekong at Swanston Street. Ate the pho (beef noodle soup with fresh raw beansprout and selasih leaves) and the rice paper roll. It’s good value for money. This restaurant is usually crowded with students most of the day.
Restaurants and cafes serving great Greek food are located in Lonsdale Street. Stalactites Restaurant which has a cave decor was our choice. You can see the chicken and lamb being grilled the minute you walk-in. This place is very popular with the locals. Try out their famous Lamb Souvlaki – the Greek version kebab with lots of meat. For dessert, we had Greek coffee and Baklava. The taste of this coffee is new to us and the mixed nuts filling in the Baklava was very sweet.
Teatime at Greco European Grill @ Crown after a long walk exploring the Southbank and waterfront. The vast selection of cakes displayed here are so tempting. Had the coffee toffee cake (you must come and try the cakes). This outlet serve Giancarlo coffee. Prices here are higher as it reflect the fact that you are at The Crown.
As for simple and tasty Chinese food, we had it at Rice Bar with our son and his uni-mates. Hot chinese tea is provided free and is served in a thermos flask. Food served in Chinese restaurants in Australia comes in a rather huge portion.
Had roast beef sandwich in Grind In The City which is located on one of Melbourne’s cutest alleys. Manage to grab a small table on the pavement. We got to savour Lavazza coffee here. The whole alley is dotted with other small food outlets and one can find all sorts of snacks here.
Here are two more pictures showing other cafes in the alley.
At David Jones Departmental Store Food Hall, we try out their fresh yogurt. Hubby chose the yogurt with mixed berries. The yogurt turn out to be very creamy.
Posted by: CK Lam Tags: Apricot Cake, Bakehouse, Cafe Trevi, Cafes, Coffee Cakes, Delicious Cakes, Hubby, Italian Ice Cream, Italians, Lovely Place, Lygon Street, Melbourne, Melbourne Food, Money Lunch, Notturno, Outdoor Terraces, Overhead Heaters, Papa Gino, Papa Gino'S, Pasta Dinner, Snacks, Steaks, Tables And Chairs, Teatime, Walkway, Woodfired Pizzas
Lygon Street, Carlton is the place where a lot of Italians resided. There are dozens of restaurants offering fine pasta, steaks, wine and delicious cakes. Many of them have outdoor terraces with tables and chairs set on the walkway. We ate at several cafes located on this street :
Lunch at Threshermans Bakehouse.
Teatime at Cafe Notturno – Italian Apricot Cake with ice-cream and Dilmah Tea.
Dinner at Cafe Trevi – calzones, woodfired pizzas and many types of pasta…
Having tea at Brunetti.
www.brunetti.com.au/ This lovely place is popular all day for coffee, cakes, snacks and meals. They serve Victtoria coffee. Another photo of hubby having COOOL gelato (Italian ice-cream) at IL Dolce Freddo.
Dinner at Papa Gino’s. Outdoor dining can be cold at times but they do provide overhead heaters. The food here is GREAT…. and value for money.
Posted by: CK Lam Tags: Carriages, Central Business District, City Circle Tram, Convenience Stores, Flinders Street Station, Horse Carriage, Hubby, Lovely City, Melbourne, Melbourne Public Transport, Metlink, Nice City, Public Transportation, Spring Holiday, Swanston Street, Taking A Ride, Train Stations, Trams, Transportation Network, University Of Melbourne, Unlimited Travel
Spring Holiday in Melbourne!!! Hubby and myself spend 10 days in this lovely city of Australia and at the same time paid a visit to our son who is studying at University of Melbourne. Moving around in Melbourne is very convenient because it has a very good public transportation network. There are buses, trams and trains and most of them passes through the famous Flinders Street Station (on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Street).
A daily Metlink ticket allows you unlimited travel on all buses, trams and trains within the Zone you purchase for that date. Tickets can be purchase at most convenience stores, on the trams and train stations.
There are plenty of trams plying the streets and here are some of the nicer ones……
Another type of tram is the City Circle Tram – which is free for everyone. It only travels around the Central Business District (CBD).
To me, the most gorgeous way of seeing the city is by taking a ride on a horse carriage. There are various type of carriages. Having a ride on a horse carriage looks romantic, don’t you agree !!!
Its clean and safe environment makes Melbourne a nice city to visit. To know more, do check out www.visitmelbourne.com/ .
