chatting with good ol’ timmitus who once stayed in melbourne for five years. he gave me a whole bunch of tips to stretch my time there. lest i forget, here’s what timmitus suggested:

1. Grampians for some rock formation thingy
2. Dandenongs for english tea
3. Werribee for zoo
4. St Kilda for sunday’s market
5. Victoria Market on sundays
6. Flinders Station opposite botanical garden
7. Great Ocean Road a must
8. Brunswick Street for artsy fartsy stuff, old books and coffee
9. Lygon Street for gelato
10. Cafe Sienna on Chapel Street for egg omelette (this is in Toorak)
11. Vietnamese food, beef pho and spring rolls in particular

suddenly three weekends seem awfully short….melbourne has so much to offer! just checked the weather forecast and its a pretty warm week ahead - average of 24°C during day and 16°C at night. also found out that it’s apple season! i might be able to squeeze in an apple picking day. wheee!

chewa passed me a note scribbled with three addresses of places i must go in melbourne :

Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar
66, Bourke St, Melbourne

Degraves Espresso Bar
23-25 Degraves St, Melbourne

Koko Black (for chocolate)
at Royal Arcade (which houses a handmade candy store and a cult/new age shop)

super tired so am gonna make this a quick post. landed safe and sound. hardly slept on board. had a whole array of good inflight movies to watch and what did i do? watched twilight. twice. lets just say i was in the mood for some vampire flavoured teen flick.

melbourne’s airport is the most different airport i have ever been to. they are strict. they are serious about protecting their unique environment, and they do it right. as soon as the immigration officer stamped my passport, i was greeted by another officer who interviewed me on the spot. they got my visa verified, advised me about future visa applications and sent me along. what impressed me was - they did this courteously. most immigration officers would’ve made you feel like a criminal.

our carry-on luggage was sniffed by labradors. checkk-in luggage sniffed by beagles. those dogs are so adorable! upon collecting your luggages you have to declare quarantined items else you’d be faced with a hefty fine. food - fresh, instant or dried, anything made from natural material like wood/bamboo, plants, even the soil from your boot. all poses danger to aussie’s unique environment.

my coffee - confiscated. again, all done in a friendly manner. very courteous. they even apologised for the inconvenience, so i was very impressed and willing to part with my coffee.

loving my service apartment! it was a fully equipped kitchen (most importantly - wine glasses), a washing machine, a dryer, microwave, fridge, dishwasher and a lovely balcony.

okay, am off to bed people. stay true!

just a mere two weeks home and i’m already mentally planning for another trip to melbourne. maybe even this year. that’s how infected and affected i am of that place. what i miss most - the good white wines i find myself having daily, the strong full bodied coffee, st kilda and the great ocean road.

when i’m there next on a proper proper only-travelling-not-working trip, i will be staying in st kilda. and slowly travelling through the great ocean road, sipping coffee by day, wine by night. with the occasional beer of course.

for those going to melbourne - i envy you! throw your guidebooks away, melbourne’s visitor’s centre is packed with information. you can get any kind of brochures - tailored walks, information about their famous roads and suburbs, the integrated bus-tram-train network, anything. you can even book day tours from the visitor’s centre itself and i am very impressed with their day tours - excellent tour guides/drivers. book without worries - it’s all quality.

the must-do stuff in melbourne? get lost in cbd. sat vic market. sun st kilda arts & craft market. talk a walk to the end of st kilda pier. great ocean road. yarra valley vineyards. walk into any eucalyptus tree forest and breathe deeply. miss marples at sassafras. if you like trains - then puffing billy is a must.

above all, experience melbourne with an open heart. talk to the locals, smile lots. prepare to be dazzled by the easy aussie charm. if you need any info or tips - feel free to drop me a mail, i am more than happy to help shape your itinerary in one of my favourite places on earth. email me at eatingchaos[at]gmail.com.

if you enjoyed this travelogue, check out my other journeys. ciao peeps!