MELBOURNE

Hey guys,

Thanks for checking in!

I am writing this post from my very own bedroom in Ontario! … Yes, I am back in Canada. My trip to Australia flew by and I was so sad to leave but it was definitely a trip I will cherish forever. I wanted to write about Melbourne, because it was such an incredible city, and I wish I had time to write about it while I was still in Melbourne so it would be easier for me to remember everything, but there wasn’t enough time! SO bare with me, and Ill try to remember everything I did there and all of the great places to see!

First of all, if you aren’t looking for a BIG CITY to explore, Melbourne definitely is not the place for you. Melbourne is very big, and is very different from Sydney. There are hardly any tourists there and it kind of just reminds me of being in Toronto! It definitely still has its perks though!

First of all, I have to tell you about the hotel we stayed at. It is called the Crown Metropol and is located right by the casino and all of the other Crown hotels. This hotel was absolutely breathtaking! Our hotel room was incredible and definitely five stars! The hotel was attached to the casino and a mall, so Judy and I would explore the mall during the day while the men were at work! It also has my favourite pyjama/lingerie store called Peter Alexander. We do not have it in North America, so I splurged a little while I was in Australia and got a couple of things.

This hotel was also located right along the river, which is so beautiful and breathtaking. Also located around the river are many shops and restaurants overlooking the Melbourne Skyline. At night time, everyone gathers around the rivers edge to watch the famous Gas Brigades show that takes place every half an hour. 8 huge towers shoot the worlds largest fire balls into the sky, but don’t stand too close because it does get very hot! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vnb25awS9Q

The shopping in Melbourne is AMAZING. There are little alley ways all across the city filled with cute little shops and restaurants. They call these alley ways ‘Arcades’ and one of the arcades we absolutely fell in love with was the Royal Arcade. Not only was it filled with great clothing stores, but there was also a candy and chocolate store that were both to DIE for. In the candy store, you could watch the employees making the candy right in front of your eyes! There was a huge crowd around the candy store all day just watching them do their magic.

Another highlight of the Royal Arcade was the French Macaroon stand. It was located right in the middle of the hall, so absolutely impossible to miss! I bought 6 macaroons and was hoping to save some for Steve but they were SO amazing that I finished all 6 before I even got back to the hotel! Sorry Steve!

Another big shopping centre in Melbourne is called the Emporium and is located right by the Arcades. In fact, if you are in the Emporium, and walk through the Myer department store, once you reach the street on the other side, you will find yourself looking right at the Royal Arcade. While inside the Emporium, we stumbled across a Kate Spade and of course had to go inside and take a look! The Sales Associate in Kate Spade was SO friendly. He spent 15 minutes talking to us and telling us all about Melbourne and the amazing places to go and see around that area. He even said if he wasn’t working all day, he would’ve wanted to take us around Melbourne and give us his own personal tour! Of course I couldn’t leave Kate Spade without buying anything, so I treated myself to a new purse!

Another amazing restaurant we went to was called the Conservatory. It was located right in our hotel and Judy and I stumbled upon it while looking for somewhere to eat breakfast one morning. We weren’t really in the mood for a buffet, but the restaurant was so beautiful and overlooked the river so we decided to try it out anyways. Much to our surprise, there was a CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN at the breakfast buffet!!!! We ate SO much, it was so delicious. Ive never been to a buffet that had a chocolate fountain before.

I loved that restaurant so much that Steve and I went back there for dinner on our last night and the dinner buffet was even better than the breakfast one! It had any kind of food you could possibly imagine, and of course for dessert the chocolate fountain made an appearance once again and I couldn’t resist ONCE AGAIN.

Our last full day in Australia, Steve and I were able to spend the day together. We slept in and had breakfast together by the river, and then went on a river boat tour. I really enjoyed the relaxing boat ride down the river and was able to see a side of Melbourne we hadn’t yet seen. It was a beautiful, crisp day and it was nice to get off of our feet for a while and enjoy a different kind of tour!

The Queen Victoria Market is also a must-see while in Melbourne. It’s about a 20 minute walk from the downtown shopping area but well worth it. There are hundreds of vendors, each providing locals and tourists with some of the best foods and goodies Melbourne has to offer!

Another activity I highly recommend doing, is the Phillips Island Penguin tour. Steve and I were not able to do this tour because there just wasn’t enough time, but next time I am in Australia I will definitely be doing it. You are picked up from your hotel and taken to Phillips Island just before sunset where you sit and wait on bleachers for the penguins from the island to make their way back up the beach from being in the ocean all day! From what I read online, some nights you could see thousands of penguins making their way back up the island! The tour also stops at a koala and kangaroo conservatory on the way, so if you want to see some of Australias wild life, I highly recommend doing that tour! I wish I could have seen kangaroos in Australia, but unfortunately I was only in cities where they are hard to come by. Steve was lucky and while out on the road one day, he spotted a bunch of them just hopping around in a field!

Im sorry if all i seem to be talking about in this post is eating and shopping, but thats literally all we did in Melbourne! It was such an amazing city, but most of the attractions and things to do are on the outskirts of Melbourne where I just didnt have access to! I definitely still enjoyed Melbourne and would go back one day for sure.

Our flight home from Australia was absolutely exhausting. We left Melbourne at 9:00am on August 4, fiew to Sydney, then flew to San Francisco. The 13 hour flight from San Fransisco was brutal and never ending. The turbulence was so bad that even after I got off the plane, it still felt like I was moving up and down because we were being bumped around for 13 hours straight! I didnt sleep at all on that flight and then when we got to San Francisco, we were surprised to see that our flight had been delayed 5 hours! So it seemed like a never-ending journey home and when I did get home, Steve and I slept for like 13 hours straight because we were SO exhausted. One thing I did find really cool about the whole flying experience was that we left Melbourne at 9:00am on august 4, and arrived in San Fransisco at 9am on August 4! Because of the time change it was as if the 13 hours on the airplane didnt even happen!

Now that i’m home, its time to get back to reality and back in shape! I’m really going to start to focus on my exercising and eating habits and try to be as healthy as I can be! Steve and I are also starting to look around for a puppy!  For those of you that know me personally, you will know I have a huge obsession with french bulldogs! Steve tried to surprise me by getting me one for my birthday, but in Australia I accidentally came across the emails he had with the dog breeder and caught onto his surprise! I am still so thankful and so grateful that he tried to plan all of that for me, and now I’m excited too because I can help pick out the puppy! I will definitely be writing about that whole experience and will share pictures and videos of the pup daily, I’m sure!

Thanks so much for following me on my journey to Australia, and I can’t wait to update you guys with my next adventure.

• Keer xo