So today we FINALLY took the plunge and got out there to properly explore the wonderful city that is Melbourne. Seriously, I cannot get enough of this place. I keep telling everyone I just love it here, I started to sound like an Ambassador for the place….hmmmm! I wonder would they hire me……!
Anyway, so today we’d the alarm set for 8am (yawn!) and we plodded out of bed much to Jamie’s disgust and got ourselves a nice breakfast before venturing out. Thankfully today was in around 17 degrees so shorts and light jumper it was.
We decided we would firstly head to the Sea Life Aquarium. I was going to book the tickets online as they’re $40.50 at the aquarium itself and they were online selling for $32 yesterday but today when we went on to actually book them they were gone up to $35 or so. I guess the closer you book to the day the more expensive they become. However, we managed to get our crafty little hands on a 20% off voucher so instead of paying $40.50 each we paid $32.40 (or €20.49) which was pretty reasonable in the grand scheme of things! So off we went joining the queue with dozen upon dozens of school children who turned up at the same time as us. TYPICAL eh!
I had carried out a little research on the tour and checked out some Trip Advisor comments to see was it in fact worth visiting. Sometimes I feel once you’ve seen something like this before they’re pretty much the same worldwide. For example Madame Tussauds, we went to this in London and we were a little disappointed to be honest. So definitely I wouldn’t fork out for this again, at the end of the day they’re just wax figures. Now, we’ve been to a few Aquariums (London, Dingle in Kerry, and I would say the one in Kerry is better than the London one, and cheaper!) But I thought since we’re in such a different part of the world the tour is bound to be that bit more interesting.
It takes about 2 hours in total so be sure to allocate yourselves enough time but it was fab and really worth the morning we spent there. So from crabs to lizards to frogs to a salt water CROCODILE there’s plenty to see. The crocodile was massive guys like really big. I never realised how big they can be. There’s also a 4D Cinema screening which displays a movie in… 4D! In case you’re wondering what 4D is, it’s basically a 3D movie, generally action related and when something moves in the movie, your chair might move slightly, they blow air at your face, little fake snowflakes fall from above and they might even spray a little water too up in the air. You might get a little wet, but not much. It’s so much fun.
So… next up we hit the shops in the Melbourne. I’m a little prone to spending my monies on clothes and Melbourne city was no exception. I must say though, people told me the city is expensive and in terms of bottles of water it is (yes, I’m still going on about the prices of bottled water), but the prices of clothes, in the sales anyway, are so damn reasonable. For example I got two tops in the sale in H&M for $12! That’s only like €7.50. Now that is cheaper than Ireland, or at least along the same lines. So I’m happy that I can buy a few bits in the city and throw away some gear I’ve been wearing for the past 10 weeks!
Next up was lunch. Only like the second most important meal of the day! With a little quick Google search we found this incredible place called 1932 Café and Restaurant situated in this fab art deco building across from Melbourne City Town Hall on Swanston Street. I got a delicious pulled pork burger on a brioche bun with coleslaw. It was to die for, oh and chips on the side. This one is definitely going to make an appearance on The Best Eats in Melbourne anyway, be sure to watch out for that!
<<<< Look at that for a burger
They can be found on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/1932CafeRestaurant/
Then we said we would hit the Eureka Skydeck, which is basically an observation deck on the 88th floor of the building with panoramic city views. The entrance for this was $19.50 for an adult or $15 for a student (ahem!). Once on the 88th floor there is an option, for I think about $12, to go out on The Edge which is a protruding glass cube. Our nerves got to us though so we didn’t do this. It’s basically like a sideways lift, you go into a cube and it moves out towards the edge of the glass cube it is contained within. I think from what I could see the glass appears darkened when you go out and then it turns back transparent and bang you’re out protruding 88 floors above the city of Melbourne. That alone would freak me out so we stayed safely inside the confines of the solid 88th floor!
What a fantastic day we had I just love everything about the city so far. I like the free tram zone, the cleanliness of the place and everyone seems so nice. So that was day one of exploring Melbourne, many more to come.
If you’ve any questions, queries, comments or even suggestions on where we should go next please pop me a comment below or even privately send me a mail here!