Away to Melbourne We Went!

Last weekend was a long weekend here in Australia, and we decided to do something other than lazy our time away at home. We planned a trip to Melbourne, this was a city my husband spent his first few years in when he moved to Australia. We were looking forward to it, it was our getaway from the humdrum of routine that had built up. If you read my blog often and wondering why I am complaining as I just got back from one, keep in mind that one can never get enough days on a holiday.

This travelogue will account everything we have done, from booking our hotel, what our stay was like there right down to our flight back home. I promise to keep this post as small as possible!

Once we planned our trip to Melbourne, we went about our booking, of course, we wanted to keep our budget small, we booked our flight tickets and got down to investigating our hotel options. Looking around, we finally decided to have a look at the Last Minute website to see if we got a good deal, we found Vibe Savoy which is located in the CBD. The location was convenient as it was only a walk down from the train station and there was a tram station right opposite to the hotel. The hotel, although rated as a four star does not really feel like one but if you are planning to stay out the whole day and come in only to rest during the day and sleep in for the night then this is definitely what you are looking for. I must mention, the public transport is amazing, the trams work late into the night and it is free within the CBD, you could say it is like the London Hop-on Hop-off bus, to have a look around the city. But if your travelling outside the free zone you would have to get a Myki card which is available at all train stations and Seven Elevens. 

Candid as a tram went by near Little Collins St.

We visited the Crown Casino Plaza the first evening, it is located alongside the Yarra river. With a toddler in tow, the casino was not on our list, but we went to watch the fire display which goes off every hour and have dinner at the food court. There are other fine dining places if you want to go there. We watched the fire display at close range, but I would say watch it from the bridge near the tram station as it is a synchronized display. 

The fire display at close proximity

The next day we planned our trip to the Melbourne Zoo. We bought our Myki cards and hopped onto the Upfield train. It was a beautiful day, not too cold and just right for spending the day watching the animals. The Melbourne Zoo is far better than the one here in Sydney, if you are wondering why I complain you can read about it here. It is worth a day spend, but as we were short on time we tried to make it a half day visit. My personal favourite spot was the butterfly garden, it is a hot house with all these beautiful, different coloured and sized butterflies flying around, if you stay still for a few seconds you might be lucky to find one sitting on your head or hand.  We got to see the elephants, even the ones that had gone in for an examination, as the examination place has a viewing place, the lazy Lions who slept away, the Tiger, the Coatis, the Orangutans and all the other animals on the map. You do not see any zoo keeper around, the animals look happy and the work is done, a sign that it is a good zoo. 

Melbourne Zoo Map

In the evening we went to the Sky Deck. It is the highest viewing point in the southern hemisphere and you can view the city from the 88th floor. It is a sight worth seeing, we went towards dusk so we could see the city before the lights came on and after. The elevator taking you up goes in about 36 seconds and you can go out into the viewing gallery too.

Sunday morning we made our way to the Melbourne museum, the Jurassic World exhibit was on, you get to see most of the dinosaurs, especially T-Rex, and see how the set up of the movie was made. I heard the exhibit is on till October. The evening we made our way around the city on a horse drawn carriage from Swanston street. It is $100 for half an hour, but if you would like to know what it feels like to be on a horse drawn carriage, across the Yarra river, go around the Botanical Garden and see the Shrine of Remembrance. Each carriage seats six people.

Morning at the Museum 

The Horse Drawn Carriage ride experience

Although we had planned to visit the Queen Victoria market on Sunday morning it became about packing and leaving, Melbourne is definitely a place to visit. It is very tourist friendly and a must visit if you are coming to Australia. It needs more than a three day visit for sure. 

If you are wondering where we ate, Melbourne is the place to be for street food. Every street corner has different cuisines to offer. Our breakfasts were at the train station, at a cafe called Cafe Rojo, the food was good, the portions were big and the price was wallet friendly. Rest of the time we ate at my husband's old favourites or in restaurants we fancied.

Cafe Rojo, the one on the left is Bacon and eggs on toast(my Bfast) and the other is Banana Bread slice with butter(The toddler's)

I am looking forward to my next long visit destination. I hope everyone, if you had a long weekend off, had a good relaxing time like we did. Back to the routine again!

See you soon! :)