Melbourne, My Love
Melbourne is my second city, if I was living in a futuristic world and teleportation was a way of transport - I would come to Melbourne on my days off. But then I'd miss the building anticipation of a flight, the humming rumble of a plane enguine and the way my stomach flips when the wheels take off or land.
As our plane ascended through the night sky in Brisban, I thought. "Melbourne, I'm coming for you."
When our plane from Brisbane to Melbourne landed (somewhat joltingly) on Melbourne soil I whispered the word in my mind on a reverent sigh. "Melbourne."
I love this place of history, art and culture.
It's like my Hogwarts and Hogsmeade all in one. There is so much to look at, graffiti art, mouth-watering food, store windows full of pretty things. A visit to Haigh's Chocolate Shop is always on my go-to list when I am here.
I feel like I'm in a zoo. A zoo full of sky-scrapers, people and trams. My favourite suburbs so far in Melbourne are Phrahan, Saint Kilda Beach and Camberwell and possibly a lot of other places I have been to but cannot name. I love the Queen Victoria Markets too, so many exciting stalls and gorgeous clothes. I have to budget myself for this visit to Melbourne though, only food and transport and will content myself with the good company I'm keeping and taking a kazillion photos to cheer me up in my post-Melbourne blues, which takes me about five days to snap out of.
One day I want to go to Ripponlea a gorgeous 18th century mansion and Great Ocean Road and Brighton Beach. On the way to the airport via the Sky Bus I saw a theatre called Witches that I definately want to put on my go-to-next list on my next trip to Melbourne.
On Wednesday Alan and I went to visit Grandma with Dianne, my mother-in-law.
I loved the houses in this area - pretty, idylic and romantic cottages with tin roofs and tidy gardens with blooming flowers. If I ever make it big as a writer, I would buy myself a sweet little cottage there and call it my writing retreat.
We went to the first State of Origin Game.
It is one of these rare occasions that Alan and I cheer for the same team. We dressed for the weather against the freezing elements with our team colours proudly shown.
The first State of Origin match was a real nail-biter for Queensland fans. Our boys got in a couple of decent tackles by Dane Gagai but in the end all they could do was stop the cockroaches from scoring another goal before the game ended. Queenslanders are livid and awaiting to deliver retribution.
On Thursday we went to the MCG Sports Museum, it is full of athletic greatness. My mind boggled with all of the information, moments of victory captured forever more in black/white and colour. As I walked around the exhibitions all I could think was how Dad would love this place.
I found the MCG to be a place of inspiration and has something for everyone.
(Except the Nutella Donut I consumed on the way back to our rented apartment).
I was so happy when I saw the Nutella was not just on the surface but was right down the middle of the donut. It was a beautiful, novel moment. Worthy of a mention and a picture!
I am not sure of the name of the cafe where I got the donut but it was from a trendy little place on Flinders Street that makes a mean baguette, a short walk across the road from Flinder's Street Station.
Friday morning dawned cold, dreary and wet.
We set out early to Camberwell, I took photos of quaint country cottages and fantasized about living in one of them. We came back to our hotel, Radisson and enjoyed a humble bowl of mushroom and vegetable soup with turkish bread.
Then I dragged Alan to the Melbourne Historical Society, for a dollar coin donation we browsed through the Vera Deakin exhibition. When World War 1 broke out, 16 year old Vera Deakin was frustrated that her gender prevented her from going to war.
Despite her father's admonishments, she decided to fight the war on her terms through humanitarian work that took young Vera from Melbourne to Cairo and London where she met Captain Thomas White, a former P.O.W who appreciated Vera's commitment to helping families find their missing and dead. Vera Deakin White was an incredible woman of her time, she was known as Lady White and even met Queen Elizabeth II. I strongly encourage the people of Melbourne, tourists and particularily young women to visit the Melbourne Historical Society for themselves to be inspired by the life and humanitarian crusade of Vera Deakin White and her amazing legacy of strength, courage and daring.
On Saturday morning I looked out of our window to see another overcast day outside.
By mutual agreement, Alan and I decided to have a Sloth Saturday where we stay in our pajamas. Alan has a longer sleep and I dedicate half a page to a potential book idea. At 12pm Alan wakes up and I feel his forehead to find he is quite warm and suddenly his lack of appetite and lethargicness becomes clear.
From there I slip into Candy Striper mode, cheerfully encouraging him to drink water and gatorade and placing a tepid face cloth on his forehead. By 2:00pm his fever comes down a little and he is recovered enough to make an appearance for dinner downstairs at HQ on William Street. We order a simple fare called the Rueben slider and a bowl of potato wedges with chilli and sour cream and demolish it.
Then we go back upstairs and while Alan falls asleep watching The Simpsons, I make a bold decision to launch my blog on Facebook and set up a page before I lose my nerve. It's a rough start but at least its done.
I sleep in until 8:25am on Sunday morning, I make enough noise to rouse a still-recovering Alan from his sleep and casually say that our breakfast reservation is at 9am.
I eat like a Queen in HQ and Alan manages to polish off an omlette and a cup of pine-apple juice. He's a little annoyed that his appetite can't do the buffet justice today.
After breakfast we go back to our room, I start packing and tidying and Alan slides back between the blankets and watches more Simpsons. At 11:04pm we check out and head to the Sky Bus stop just around the corner. We only wait two minutes before the Sky Bus arrives and takes us to Southern Cross where we get another Sky Bus bound for the airport.
We check in and the attendant asks us if we are carrying any matches or inflammable objects and I chirp. "Nope! Just red wine!"
"Just wine." The lady chuckles approvingly and after making sure that precious cargo is secure, Alan and I head to the Virgin Lounge.
We nearly do not make it into the Promised Land for Travellers due to a technicality but we pay up and are allowed in.
Now we can while away the seven hours until our flight leaves.
We've got a lovely, close-up view of the planes and the lush Victoria countryside.
Thankyou everyone for reading Melbourne, My Love! If you have a story about Melbourne or want to talk about Melbourne and the places I have written about, please leave a comment on my blog or Facebook page.
Yours Truly,
-SJW ♡
As our plane ascended through the night sky in Brisban, I thought. "Melbourne, I'm coming for you."
When our plane from Brisbane to Melbourne landed (somewhat joltingly) on Melbourne soil I whispered the word in my mind on a reverent sigh. "Melbourne."
I love this place of history, art and culture.
It's like my Hogwarts and Hogsmeade all in one. There is so much to look at, graffiti art, mouth-watering food, store windows full of pretty things. A visit to Haigh's Chocolate Shop is always on my go-to list when I am here.
I feel like I'm in a zoo. A zoo full of sky-scrapers, people and trams. My favourite suburbs so far in Melbourne are Phrahan, Saint Kilda Beach and Camberwell and possibly a lot of other places I have been to but cannot name. I love the Queen Victoria Markets too, so many exciting stalls and gorgeous clothes. I have to budget myself for this visit to Melbourne though, only food and transport and will content myself with the good company I'm keeping and taking a kazillion photos to cheer me up in my post-Melbourne blues, which takes me about five days to snap out of.
One day I want to go to Ripponlea a gorgeous 18th century mansion and Great Ocean Road and Brighton Beach. On the way to the airport via the Sky Bus I saw a theatre called Witches that I definately want to put on my go-to-next list on my next trip to Melbourne.
On Wednesday Alan and I went to visit Grandma with Dianne, my mother-in-law.
I loved the houses in this area - pretty, idylic and romantic cottages with tin roofs and tidy gardens with blooming flowers. If I ever make it big as a writer, I would buy myself a sweet little cottage there and call it my writing retreat.
We went to the first State of Origin Game.
It is one of these rare occasions that Alan and I cheer for the same team. We dressed for the weather against the freezing elements with our team colours proudly shown.
The first State of Origin match was a real nail-biter for Queensland fans. Our boys got in a couple of decent tackles by Dane Gagai but in the end all they could do was stop the cockroaches from scoring another goal before the game ended. Queenslanders are livid and awaiting to deliver retribution.
On Thursday we went to the MCG Sports Museum, it is full of athletic greatness. My mind boggled with all of the information, moments of victory captured forever more in black/white and colour. As I walked around the exhibitions all I could think was how Dad would love this place.
I found the MCG to be a place of inspiration and has something for everyone.
(Except the Nutella Donut I consumed on the way back to our rented apartment).
I was so happy when I saw the Nutella was not just on the surface but was right down the middle of the donut. It was a beautiful, novel moment. Worthy of a mention and a picture!
I am not sure of the name of the cafe where I got the donut but it was from a trendy little place on Flinders Street that makes a mean baguette, a short walk across the road from Flinder's Street Station.
On Thursday night, Dianne took Alan and I to Fiorelli in Camberwell to have dinner with Dianne's sisters and brother-in-law.
I am pleased to say the chicken rissoto divine and the chocolate souffle positively sinful. My taste-buds are still jumping! The chocolate souffle takes longer to reach the table but well worth it, the chocolate souffle has the appearance of a cake and inside is a warm, chocolate mousse that makes you feel like you're being hugged. It's gorgeously delish.Friday morning dawned cold, dreary and wet.
We set out early to Camberwell, I took photos of quaint country cottages and fantasized about living in one of them. We came back to our hotel, Radisson and enjoyed a humble bowl of mushroom and vegetable soup with turkish bread.
Then I dragged Alan to the Melbourne Historical Society, for a dollar coin donation we browsed through the Vera Deakin exhibition. When World War 1 broke out, 16 year old Vera Deakin was frustrated that her gender prevented her from going to war.
Despite her father's admonishments, she decided to fight the war on her terms through humanitarian work that took young Vera from Melbourne to Cairo and London where she met Captain Thomas White, a former P.O.W who appreciated Vera's commitment to helping families find their missing and dead. Vera Deakin White was an incredible woman of her time, she was known as Lady White and even met Queen Elizabeth II. I strongly encourage the people of Melbourne, tourists and particularily young women to visit the Melbourne Historical Society for themselves to be inspired by the life and humanitarian crusade of Vera Deakin White and her amazing legacy of strength, courage and daring.
On Saturday morning I looked out of our window to see another overcast day outside.
By mutual agreement, Alan and I decided to have a Sloth Saturday where we stay in our pajamas. Alan has a longer sleep and I dedicate half a page to a potential book idea. At 12pm Alan wakes up and I feel his forehead to find he is quite warm and suddenly his lack of appetite and lethargicness becomes clear.
From there I slip into Candy Striper mode, cheerfully encouraging him to drink water and gatorade and placing a tepid face cloth on his forehead. By 2:00pm his fever comes down a little and he is recovered enough to make an appearance for dinner downstairs at HQ on William Street. We order a simple fare called the Rueben slider and a bowl of potato wedges with chilli and sour cream and demolish it.
Then we go back upstairs and while Alan falls asleep watching The Simpsons, I make a bold decision to launch my blog on Facebook and set up a page before I lose my nerve. It's a rough start but at least its done.
I sleep in until 8:25am on Sunday morning, I make enough noise to rouse a still-recovering Alan from his sleep and casually say that our breakfast reservation is at 9am.
I eat like a Queen in HQ and Alan manages to polish off an omlette and a cup of pine-apple juice. He's a little annoyed that his appetite can't do the buffet justice today.
After breakfast we go back to our room, I start packing and tidying and Alan slides back between the blankets and watches more Simpsons. At 11:04pm we check out and head to the Sky Bus stop just around the corner. We only wait two minutes before the Sky Bus arrives and takes us to Southern Cross where we get another Sky Bus bound for the airport.
We check in and the attendant asks us if we are carrying any matches or inflammable objects and I chirp. "Nope! Just red wine!"
"Just wine." The lady chuckles approvingly and after making sure that precious cargo is secure, Alan and I head to the Virgin Lounge.
We nearly do not make it into the Promised Land for Travellers due to a technicality but we pay up and are allowed in.
Now we can while away the seven hours until our flight leaves.
We've got a lovely, close-up view of the planes and the lush Victoria countryside.
Thankyou everyone for reading Melbourne, My Love! If you have a story about Melbourne or want to talk about Melbourne and the places I have written about, please leave a comment on my blog or Facebook page.
Yours Truly,
-SJW ♡
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