 |
| Chilly Monday morning |
***
Had our brunch over at MART130 Restaurant, a very cozy café located right next to the Middle Park station tram track. Found about its existence while researching on food in Melbourne. Enjoyed the food and watched the trams went by. How I miss the place! Definitely something you can never find in Singapore. Everything was good from the food to the staff and even the location. Prices are a little steep though, AUD40.80 for ours. 
 |
| Loved the vintage teapot set! |
***
Flinders Street Station, the most used metropolitan railway station in Melbourne, is one of the city's most recognisable landmarks for its prominent dome, arched entrance, tower and clocks. It is frequently used to symbolise the city and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. The station is also responsible for two of Melbourne's busiest pedestrian crossings, both across Flinders Street. Definitely have enough reasons to list it on the must go list in Melbourne.
 |
| The mandatory tourist shot of Melbourne. |
St Paul’s Cathedral (diagonally opposite Flinders Street Station), one of Melbourne's oldest and largest churches, another major landmark of Melbourne. I love the little unique details on these aged buildings that you don't find on modern skyscrapers.
 |
| Interior design of St Paul's Cathedral. Stunning stained glass windows up there! |
***
Melbourne Visitor Centre (opposite Flinder Street Station and St Paul’s Cathedral, located at Federation Square), the one-stop solution for all visitor information needs. Services provided include free brochures and maps (take only those you really need), public transport information, free Wi-Fi, accommodation and tour booking service, souvenirs and gift.
***
Look out for the City Circle Tram! It’s a free ride (targeting at tourists) and the tram basically goes around the Melbourne city, operates in a circular route passing major tourist attractions, as well as linking with other tram, train and bus routes in and around Melbourne's central business district.
 |
| City Circle Tram route map available for download here. |
***
Block Arcade, known to be one of the finest examples of a 19th century shopping arcade, richly decorated interior spaces, replete with mosaic tiled flooring, glass canopy, wrought iron and carved stone finishings.
 |
| Pretty desserts window display in the mall. |
***
***
Chinatown Melbourne. The name says it all.
Random street shot
 |
| Gloomy sky. |
Parliament House. Public tours to the Parliament are conducted on days when Parliament is not sitting, no booking is needed for groups of less than 6 people, take place at 6 different timings (9.30AM, 10.30AM, 11.30AM, 1.30PM, 2.30PM, 3.45PM).
***
Victoria State Library, another landmark and cultural icon of Melbourne.
***
Another set of random street shot.
***
Collected our car at Alpha Car Rental. Affordable, great service, nice and clean cars! Everything was so easy and convenient. Picked up our keys at the counter and the lady told us where is our vehicle and you are ready to go! I like the way they make it so convenient for us. No need for the trouble of inspection of the car etc because there was something call the mutual trust. 
 |
| Say hi to our Nissan Tida for the next 3 days. |
***
 |
| Grocery shopping for the next day's breakfast. |
***
Ponyfish Island for second night’s dinner. It's located in the middle of the Yarra River, right underneath the Southbank Pedestrian Bridge. There were no crowd when we were there probably because it was a Monday. Great place to hangout for a quite drink and chat. Definitely not quite an ideal choice if you are looking for a place to fill your stomach as they have pretty limited choices on their food menu.
Finding a good parking slot can be such a chore in the city. We parked our vehicle over at one of the city's skyscraper - Eureka Tower, Skydeck 88 just minutes away from Ponyfish Island. The cheapest carpark we found which was AUD7 for the night.
Yes, you read it right. AUD7 is the cheapest. That is almost SGD8.50 for car park. It is that expensive. I can have my chicken rice add on egg and probably another glass of ice teh. So please stop complaining about expensive car parks in Singapore. Sorry guys, just me being whiny about the expensive car parks in Melbourne.
Yes, you read it right. AUD7 is the cheapest. That is almost SGD8.50 for car park. It is that expensive. I can have my chicken rice add on egg and probably another glass of ice teh. So please stop complaining about expensive car parks in Singapore. Sorry guys, just me being whiny about the expensive car parks in Melbourne.
 |
| AUD26 for our (not very filling) quesadilla. |
 |
| Ending off with the cutie ducky on the Yarra River. |
---
Information you might be interested in:
MART130
107 Canterbury Road, Middle Park
Melbourne VIC 3206 Australia
Opening Hours: 07:30 - 15:00 Daily
Urbanspoon Melbourne
Reviews about Melbourne restaurants and cafes
Flinder Street Station
Swanston St / Flinders St
Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
St Paul’s Cathedral
198-206 Flinders St
Melbourne Vistor Centre
Corner Swanston and Flinders St
Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
Block Arcade
282 Collins St
Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
Victoria State Library
328 Swanston St
Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
(Opposite Melbourne Central)
Alpha Car Rental (Melbourne CBD)
58 Franklin St
Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Ponyfish Island
Southgate Pedestrian Bridge/ Southgate Avenue
Melbourne VIC 3006 Australia
Eureka Skydeck 88
Riverside Quay, Southbank
Melbourne VIC 3006 Australia
