We arrived on Friday at 10:15 am. Lauren and Lily picked us up at the airport and we drove about 40 minutes to their home in Cheltenham. That day we went shopping at Chadstone, a big shopping mall. I loved it. There were dozens of shoe stores! We enjoyed Mambo a lot. I also liked Seed Kikki.k and Review women's clothing. I had some great Indian food at a place called Chili Mama. YUM. We were at the mall about 5 hours, I think, so once we got home we were ready to drop. I fell asleep at about 8:30 in front of the tv. Had a great night's sleep despite the fact that poor teething Sienna was crying all night, according to Lauren. Didn't hear a thing!
Saturday morning we got up, had some breakfast and were off to Victoria Market on Queen street. It was a HUGE flea market type place with everything you can imagine. We got some great deals. I got some tall black boots, a fleece jacket for $5, gifts for Austin and Olivia (and some others I won't mention), etc. We ate a yummy lunch there as well. We didn't even hit half of the market it was so big. They also have a big, indoor food hall with different stalls of Lebanese, Greek, French, etc. You name it. It reminded me of all the food you see at Harrod's in London or in San Francisco at the pier. They had every kind of cheese, dip, bread, sausage, etc. including Pumpkin Pesto! Who knew?! I didn't get it since it was $20/kilo and there was just too many other things to buy. Lori and I had some kind of Turkish burrito for lunch. I can't remember the name but it was good. Hers had spicy potato and mine was cheese/spinach. We didn't even know what it was but we saw tons of people standing there practically fighting to get to the counter and said, "We want what they're having!" After lunch we went to the amazing bakery and got some Coffee Kisses (cookies), Carrot Cake, and a Napoleon dessert which was AMAZING. Lori put it right up there with the "Chocolate Bag" desert she had in New York. It was whipped cream between layers of some light puff pastry, dusted with powdered sugar. Delicious. We went to a few more shops then took the train back home to Lauren's.
After hanging out at home for a little while, playing with Lily (3) and Sienna (18 mo) we took off to the city again for dinner. This time, Lauren and Tim came with us. We planned to go to a great Italian place called Papa Gino's which Tim has been going to for years. It was wonderful. We had to wait a while- it was absolutely packed. The street was lined with restaurants- Thai, Malaysian, Greek, Italian, Latin American, etc. Gino's proved to be a good pick. I had cheese ravioli with chicken and spinach marinara sauce. Afterwards we walked to an unbelieveable cake shop called Brunelli. It was an enormous cafe style place with a million gorgeous desserts to choose from. I had to get the Tiramisu. No questions asked. They had amazing cakes there and again, it was absolutely full of people at 10pm. I could see why. If I lived here I would be coming every day!
On the way home Tim kept saying "There's just not enough time" b/c we were talking about all the other great restaurants we should go to. He said, "We navigate the city by food". I would love to live someplace that had such great options and variety! We then stopped at the Sofitel hotel to get a bird's eye view of the city at night. From where else? The ladies bathroom on the 35th floor. I will post photos later on my smug mug since I can't do it from here. There was a huge window, floor to ceiling, looking out on the city. It was about 11pm by then so we went home. Stopped at a grocery store on the way (open til midnight, unlike the Gold Coast where they are all closed by 9pm and 5pm on Saturday!) because Lori and I are making a Maher-style pot roast for Sunday lunch. I am also going to make gooey cinnamon buns for dessert tomorrow night.
Tomorrow it's off to church. Monday is shopping downtown. This is the best vacation I have possibly ever had, only rivaled by South Africa. I am really enjoying the girl time with Lori, the city, the visit with Lauren, Tim and kids, and the relaxation. Thanks Jared and Mum for making it possible. I feel so lucky!
6 comments:
I love the thought of navigating the city by food. What a great way to see Melbourne and eat delicious food all day long. I want a vacation like that. You're making me hungry. So wish I were there with you two. Hope the rest of the trip is this good with excellent meals.
Shopping and that kind of eating make the perfect vacation. How fun for you. Love post roast on Sundays.
It sounds like you're having such a great time, that's wonderful. The picture of the four of you is beautiful (who took it?), you all look like you're smiling from a laugh (which is the best kind of smile in my opinion).
Totally got absorbed in your update of activities, Rob. Thanks so much for all the deatils. You even made the Indian food sound good to me! Why are Lauren and Lori in coats with scarves and you are in a light weight, short-sleeved blouse? Just how cold is it? I'm so happy you didn't hear Sienna's crying all night. Good sleep is the best ever. Miss you.
Navigating the city by food. I love it. We kind of do that with Paris, too. I love beautiful cakes and pastries, it's an art. Thanks for sharing the photos! Enjoy your vacation, totally deserved.
how fun! melbourne sounds like an incredible melting pot of cultures and delicious exotic food - which i absolutely love! i'll just be over here, in provo, with nothing but burger supreme to keep me company. :) i'm so glad you were able to go to melbourne for a bit - that's awesome!
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