great ocean road travelogue

saturday. woke up early and made my way to liar liar, a breakfast destination with a&e plus another classmate that i havent seen in years, and his gf. it was a good meal, lots of catching up and good chatter. after that a&e brought me to a tulip festival. its spring after all, and i love all flowers! was raining for a bit, but i saw loads of beautiful blooms and really took a liking to the bulbs. the atmosphere there was like one of a carnival, with live music and food tents, waitresses in costumes, horse carts and helicopter rides.

we strolled the park, enjoyed the sun when the rain cleared and basked in the atmosphere. after that we headed for THE BEST SCONES IN THE WORLD at miss marples. it certainly didn’t disappoint and i was extremely pleased to eat it again.

we took a slow drive back to a&e’s home where i spent some time there, checking emails and lounging. had some wine too, a&e always spoil me with good wine! i was also initiated into aussie footie, and found it quite exciting a match to watch.

tucked into a good vietnamese dinner and off to bed i go. in cbd, i stayed at yha central. it was clean and comfortable. i paid aud30 per night for a dorm bed. i rate it 4 stars out of 5. (i minused one star because it lacked the warm family environment that i have gotten accustomed to in the other hostels that i stayed in)

the next day was my last day in melbourne. i woke up, chucked my luggage at the southern cross train station luggage lockers and went exploring. first agenda – breakfast. it was a beautiful sunny morning, and the best way to enjoy such a day is to have breakfast alfresco.

i packed hunger jack’s egg and bacon breakfast wrap and a cup of coffee, walked to fed square and sat there, eating breakfast, watching the locals. five minutes into my meal, i realised i was being watched. three seagulls surrounded me. i looked at them. the minute i looked away, one came swopping from behind me, dipped his beak into my breakfast wrap, tore a fat piece of  bacon and flew away. i giggled. my lack of aggression encouraged the flock. at least a dozen now flapped closer to me. i stood up and walked away before they think i am food.

after breakfast i strolled across the river to check out the sunday crafts market beside the national art gallery. i intended to check out salvador dali’s work which was being displayed. however, the queue was way too long, and i didn’t want to waste my last day in melbourne. i hopped onto the free tourist bus shuttle and made my way to the old melbourne gaol.

the three story prison building spooked me. the cells echoes with history, and misery. i didnt even have the guts to close the doors in the cell when i went inside them – the horror was far too real. i then joined a “watch house experience” tour, where we the participants will be given an experience of how it feels like to be arrested and locked up. if you’re ever in melbourne cbd, i highly recommend this “watch house experience”. i was given a taste of the kinda fear criminals feel when they are locked behind bars. we were screamed at, degraded, caged in total darkness. i think everyone should be given this experience so that they understand the consequences of criminal activities.

there was another tour the old melbourne gaol offers, it’s the “trial of ned kelly 1880” where we can act out a scripted role and experience the drama the way it unfolded in 1880. i didnt have time for that as i was about to meet my cousin whom i havent seen in 20 years.

we met at flinder’s station and headed for some hot chocolate. where else but koko black? the chili hot chocolate is simply divine. after that, she took me for some cocktail at three degrees below.

i hunted for souvenirs after that – it was the only spare time i had for shopping.took a brisk walk to pellegrini’s – wanted to have a cup of coffee there. supposedly the italian guy brought in the first coffee machine into melbourne. they were closed however, so i went to have a cup of chai latte at fed square, gazing at flinder’s street station before heading to the airport.