My Sister Debbie's First 48 Hours in Melbourne

On Friday night at about 11:30 pm Debbie and I safely arrived back in Melbourne after a fantastic vacation in Queensland.  To our surprise it was warmer than we were expecting but it certainly wasn't as warm as what we left behind.

Saturday morning Debbie went on her first world wind tour of Melbourne.  My job wasn't so much to show her all the sights but to show her where many great sights were so that when I'm back at work she'll have some places she'll be able to visit on her own.  So as we left my Melbourne home the first thing I showed her are the two great running paths near my house - the Capital City Trail, and the Merri Creek Trail.  We then made our way down St. George's street to Brunswick street and our first shopping stop was a large bathing suite store.  Debbie was in heaven and purchased a suit she's been looking every where for.  I think she'll probably head back there in her time without me too.  Anyhow I pointed out Brunswick Street which I'm sure she'll spend time shopping on.  From Brunswick Street we headed down Alexander Prde so I could show her the local swimming pool.  We continued on to Smith Street.  We picked up something from the Katmandu Outlet Store and then did some damage in the Icebreaker store.  We didn't spend much time on Smith Street (remember my goal was just to show her where it was so she could explore on her own) and so we headed back to Brunswick Street via Rose Street.  After a quick lunch we continued down Rose Street to the Rose Street Artist's Market.  Debbie again supported the Australian economy and I had a great chat with the artist.  From Rose Street we headed to Nicholson and hoped onto her first tram into the city.  Once in the city I immediately took her to Dan Murphy (it was wine tasting Saturday!) to show her all the wine available for purchase.  From there we walked to the Tourist Information centre via the small secret alleyways.  From Federation Square (where the tourist info centre is) we walked to South Bank.  We then headed back to one of the small alleyways for a coffee and snack.  We then headed to   Flinder's Station to catch a train to Chapel Street and the Prahan Market.  Debbie couldn't believe all the wonderful food we were seeing (all over the city!).  I kept telling her that Melbourne is a great place to shop and to EAT!  Everything looks so fresh and tasty. On the  way to the market we passed another Dan Murphy's so we sampled more wine.  We hung around Prahan Market for a bit and managed to pick up some great dips and snacks for a later meal.  From the Prahan Market we headed back to my home for a quick break and to drop off our food purchases.  From there we headed out the door (again by foot) and walked to Lygon Street to have a meal at a restaurant that was recommended by one of my work friends.  We both ordered a pumpkin (we'd call it squash) and goat cheese risotto and it was amazing!  We're still talking about it today.  We shared sticky date pudding and a bottle of red wine too which we brought with us.  It was an excellent meal.  After dinner we continued down Lygon Street and ended up in the city before catching a tram back home.  It was a very busy but wonderful day.

This morning we were both up early and headed out for our runs (on two different trails). We then hopped a tram into the city to visit Southern Cross Railway station.  I wanted to make sure Debbie knew where it was for when she has to catch her bus to the airport next week. I also wanted to show her where the Designer Factory Outlets were in case she wanted to head back there while I was at work.  We then walked over to Docklands and took a little look around.  

View from Docklands looking back towards a footy stadium.

From Docklands we caught the "Tourist Tram" to Flinder's Station.  We then walked to the Art Centre Market which takes place each Sunday morning.  From the market we headed along South Bank and caught a tram into St. Kilda.  We went to the St. Kilda market, saw Luna Park,  and checked out Acland Street.  

Entrance to Luna Park

Then we caught the tram back towards the city and stopped at the South Melbourne Market.  Since I haven't been there yet I was quite keen to check it out.  South Melbourne Market is a combination of the Queen Victoria Market and the Prahan Market.  We looked around for a bit then went for coffee in a little shop across the street.  

Debbie in South Melbourne Market

While enjoying our coffees we were trying to decide what we should see next.  At the St. Kilda Market Debbie bought a photograph of the Brighton Beach Houses.  Since I hadn't been there yet we decided that we'd head there.  We caught a train, which because of some railway work became a bus, before we boarded another train which finally took us to Brighton Beach.  After a short walk we found the Beach Houses.  I'll let the Beach House photos speak for themselves.

View from Brighton Beach looking towards the city.

If you look carefully you can see the Beach Houses too.

Both Debbie and I were glad we made the effort to see these.  They were great.

From the Beach Houses we could have either headed back to the train station to train/bus/train/tram home or we could walk to St. Kilda to catch the tram directly back to my Melbourne home.  We didn't have a clue as to how long the walk would be but we figured "why not".  Well, in the end the walk took us at least an hour and 15 minutes.  In good shoes that wouldn't have been a problem but my feet were super sore from the day before and the walk turned into a walk of total pain (my feet are still sore as I type this).  Thankfully we made it back to Acland Street (by 6:30 pm) did a quick shop in the grocery store there, and caught the tram back home.  After a 46 min tram ride we arrived home.  Thankfully we had all the great dips, cheeses, olives, grapes, and breads from yesterday's visit to Prahan market so dinner was quickly served (thanks Debbie).  I prepared my bag for work (ugh, yuck, double yuck) and now I'm just about ready for bed.

It can easily be said that we covered a lot in the past 48 hours but I feel confident that I've given Debbie enough of a glimps of Melbourne that she'll be just fine on her own.

It's back to work for me tomorrow, which really does suck because in Canada I'm only paid Sept - June - the months I teach.  So not only am I working in July and August (which I haven't done in YEARS) I'm not being paid!!   But during this term I have three exchange weekends to look forward to, a footy game with a work colleague,  trips to Hobart and Darwin, and a possible trip to a friend's holiday home.  In addition in ten weeks the term will be over and Tammy and Nancy B will be visiting.  We have an amazing trip planned back in Queensland visiting more places I haven't seen.  I can't wait.

Until then...

Oh yah, my digital camera.  Since my camera went snorkeling in a leaking under water bag it still isn't working.  The photos in this blog were taken with my sister's camera but since she's only here for another week I'm going to have to buy a new camera quickly (donations anyone???).  Does anyone know a good place to buy a basic digital camera here in Melbourne? Any tips will be greatly appreciated.