Melbourne Travel Diary - part two.

Day 3 

Day 3 was our second day of our hop on hop off bus tour. One of the tour stops was at Queen Victoria market, which if you read my previous post, you will know that this was a short walk away from our hotel, and we had a previously unsuccessful trip there. So we decided that we would start our city tour from there and leave a bit earlier so we had time to check out the market beforehand.

It was closed. Again. Excellent. 

*Another note to future travellers, Queen Victoria Market is not open on a Monday* 

So we jumped on the bus (which being cruise ship day was very busy) and headed to our first stop. Melbourne Zoo. We were a little naive with the zoo, we thought we could go there and hold a koala, which was at the top of our trip wish list, and maybe even the only reason I came to Australia?Although the zoo does have an 'Australian animals' section. We could not see any koalas in their section, I'm pretty sure I was just looking at trees, and as for the the kangaroos, they were hiding at the back in the shade because they handle the sun worse than me. I did see a wombat though, but honestly who gets excited by a wombat? 

We did also see animals such as monkeys and lions, but to be fair, I could see them at Bristol Zoo, 1 hr away from home, so we didn't spend too much time there.
Disclaimer: The zoo is probably actually really fun, but I don't really like animals so I am just being a misery. 

Back on the bus, and this time we didn't even have a seat as it was so busy, and I had the pleasure of listening to the American tourists from the cruise moaning that they they didn't have a seat. Lucky me. Also we were starving, and conveniently heard the bus driver recommending Lygon Street, which is known as the Little Italy of Melbourne. Being a couple of Italian lovers we decided to check it out for lunch. We chose a restaurant called Tiamo, it was pretty busy but smelt amazing so I was sold. They managed to squeeze us in, and I'm so glad they did, because the food was delicious. I had a chilli and bacon spaghetti dish and it was SO good. We also had a raspberry lemonade which was also really tasty. Before we got back on the bus, we had a little wander around Lygon Street. There were lots of good looking restaurants, and a small selection of boutiques. Another pretty area of Melbourne that I would definitely recommend. 

We decided our next stop would be the Eureka Skydeck. This took us to floor 88 and supposedly the highest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere (although we went on a tour boat later in the trip and they seemed to contradict this information). There views were incredible. Of course this was complimented by the amazing weather. You could see all of the city below, as well as the beaches and coastline. There was even a small area where you could stand outside. Being someone that doesn't love heights, this did turn my legs to jelly. I think I prefer to be behind the glass! There was also an option to pay extra and go and stand in a glass cube that sticks out the side of the building. I felt that was more something I preferred to watch others do. 

I would love to go back and visit the Skydeck at night, as I think the views would be equally as fabulous. Unfortunately Hollie and I had some troubles staying awake at night so that was never going to happen. 

Another attraction we decided to visit was the Melbourne Star observation wheel - this is like a smaller version of the London Eye. However, when we arrived on the bus, it seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, almost seemed to be in an industrial estate, and we were unsure how we would have any good views from this location. So we decided to give that one a miss. I later discussed this with a friend that used to live in Melbourne, and she completely agreed and said it was a strange location and wouldn't recommend it - so I'm glad we made that decision.

Instead, we decided to sit through the whole city bus tour again, as we had been on such busy buses all day, we hadn't heard any of the commentary. Luckily the cruise ship had departed so it was nice and quiet, and a very relaxing and informative trip. So relaxing that the bus driver forgot we were on board and almost took us back to the St Kilda depot as he didn't notice us trying to get off!

Day 4 

Our final attempt at Queen Victoria Market and it was finally open! It was so big, and much better than the market in St Kilda. The market sold a variety of different things, clothes, jewellery, luggage, Ugg boots etc and was where we bought our Melbourne souvenirs as they had a great selection and they were so much cheaper than the shops (sorry Mum, I've got so many fridge magnets)! The market also had a huge food section, and had I had more money I could have spent a lot! I found out after our visit that they actually do a food tour here which I will be doing if I ever return. 

We headed back to the hotel to freshen up and do some laundry, and this is when we had the dreaded power cut. It was actually a bit unnerving being so high up, and not really knowing what was going on (there was a point where I did have my face pressed against the window just checking people weren't running out the building below), so we decided to head to the park to get some sun for a while hoping it would be fixed shortly. When I say get some sun, obviously I hid in the shade whilst Hollie laid out in the middle of the park. On the way out of the hotel, we bumped into some staff who told us that it was just a power cut and shouldn't be too long. However when we got back, it was not fixed and we were still unable to use the lift. 12 flights of steps later and I was, for the second time on this trip, almost dead. 

Our afternoon activity was a boat trip down the River Yara, this was another guided tour. We chose the Docklands route as this was through the city. It was another beautiful relaxing trip. Docklands is an amazing and modern area full of very expensive/dreamy looking properties both apartment blocks and houses. There were also some very expensive looking yachts. It was basically my dream place to live, so if anyone wants to fund that...?

End of blog.
 (Just clarifying for my friend, JP, who commented that part one ended too abruptly - sorry if anyone else felt the same way)