melbourne - day 3

With news that it was bucketing down with rain in Sydney, our escape to Melbourne turned out to be extremely timely! Notably, the weather remained perfect till Day 3, allowing us explore to the city even further. (As most of the exploring was being done by foot, I was more than grateful that the skies were holding up.)

First stop of the day was the Queen Victoria markets, reknowned for their selection of fresh produce. Open 5 days a week (closed Mondays and Wednesdays), it's actually quite a big set up. Definitely a lot bigger than Paddy's Markets and each section (Delicatessen, Meat & Poultry, Fresh Fruit & Vegetables, General Merchandise, Clothing) is clearly divided into its own lot. Most of our time was spent in the Baked Goods and Delicatessen section where we grabbed our first meal of the day.

Justin with his Bratwurst & Sauerkrat Roll

We didn't spend long at the markets as Justin insisted on heading to 'Global Rags' - a factory outlet of discounted big brands (including Levis, Mavi, Wrangler, Kitten, Milk & Honey, Wish...). After a big walk and moments of wanting to 'give up', we made it there and began our treasure hunt through the factory to look for items that we were after. An hour later, Justin was empty-handed and with a long face. Jenny managed to pick up two Kitten Tees for $60. Bargain!

The next place we had in mind was Lygon Street, famous for its Italian culture, restaurants and perhaps, not so famous for the mafia and street gangs (which I hear are a thing of the past). Here we passed by an Italian festival that was happening and I spent a good 15 minutes watching some cute old ladies making shell pasta. They made it look so easy! In that 15 minutes, I had an Italian old man tell me how amazing it was and when he started to get too friendly, Justin urged me to move along.

Time for lunch. On Lygon Street, we had an abundance of Italian restaurants to choose from; mainly serving pizza and pasta. We stuck to the rule of choosing the busiest place and settled for Papa Gino's which was brimming with patrons. Here we ate like kings and the bill only came to less than $40 for drinks, pizza, pasta and a garlic pizza as a starter. Bargain! You bet I was feeling bloated like a puffer fish after the meal. Justin had decided to order the Rustico Calzone which was more like a big fat quiche wrapped in pizza base. Mmm...yummy but filling.

The garlic pizza which I absolutely loved!

Feeling gigantic, we continued our way on foot back into Melbourne CBD where we explored some more shopping venues, and tried to find the Nudie Jean store which seemed to have disappeared. Our feet were getting extremely tired and at some point, we sat down on a bench on the street and just watched the trams roll by.

Feeling gigantic, we continued our way on foot back into Melbourne CBD where we explored some more shopping venues, and tried to find the Nudie Jean store which seemed to have disappeared. Our feet were getting extremely tired and at some point, we sat down on a bench on the street and just watched the trams roll by.

One thing I found about Melbourne was that street theatre was a big thing. We watched some guy in boxers display his bum crack as he pretended to be mowing with a lawn mower. Another girl in a neon pink jumpsuit carried around a stereo and walked around. Another guy was balancing on all sorts of pieces. Another even jumped through a fire hoop and nearly landed flat on the floor!

A big crowd for some street theatre

As the skies started to darken, we went for a quick coffee and cake at Cafe Brunetti (another place with a massive selection of Italian cakes and pastries) to wake ourselves up. It was really just a lazy afternoon reading the paper as we rested our weary legs and tried to digest our huge lunch.

By this time, we decided that dinner was out of the question; we were too full. In place of dinner, we took a walk to see the Yarra River and then a tram over to Docklands (Docklands is very similar to Sydney's Darling Harbour and King St Wharf but has yet to be developed and people have yet to migrate over there). I suppose it's actually a little out of the way. Here we took the free City tram which circles around Melbourne's CBD.

Back to the hotel to watch some Ugly Betty (much to Justin's dismay) and then out again to check out Southern Cross Station to check out the airport shuttle bus. Ended up deciding to get some dinner and resorted to the Maccas which was across from our hotel.

Another day over...I was absolutely exhausted!