Mel-Bin :)

Welcome to "Mel-Bin"

I had high expectations for this city, and before we left everyone was telling me what a great time I would have, and it is safe to say that all of my expectations were exceeded. I am so glad we went! Melbourne (pronounced Mel- Bin by Australians) is the second largest city in Australia, and is energetic and hip. It was inspiring to see the city’s architecture- the old and new are combined and well planned in a way that one compliments the other and neither look out of place. I was having more fun just looking at buildings than anything!

Royal Exhibition Building

 

Some of the more popular places in Melbourne were Federation Square (which is great for outdoor events), St. Paul’s Cathedral built on Swanston Street in the center of the city, The Forum Theater (my favorite to look at), and the two train stations- Flinders Street Station, and Southern Cross Station. There was also the Crown Casino which was massive- spanning nine blocks of the city, the Melbourne Aquarium, the State Library and many museums and gardens along the way.

The first day we caught a tram from St. Kilda which took us downtown. We jumped off the tram close to the Melbourne Museum. We saw the Royal Exhibition building at Carlton Gardens which is an area with beautiful parks and gardens and a fountain. This part of the city was relaxed and tranquil, locals were just enjoying the day laying out on the grass or having picnics with friends. 

 

From there we walked down a few blocks and walked through Chinatown. It was so vibrant and packed with restaurants and shops on every corner, I felt like I was transported to Asia when I entered.

Chinatown

We continued to the main streets of Swanston and Flinders, which led us to another corner of the city- Federation Square. There is an extremely useful visitor’s information center, which in my opinion was very well done. If you are visiting Melbourne definitely stop in if you can get a chance. I took a few minutes to get some info for the rest of the trip and all of the staff was highly knowledgeable and helpful. 

Visitors Center at Fed Square

 

Federation Square

We decided to go to the Melbourne Aquarium next and had a blast! I saw penguins and of course sharks. They also had a tunnel which you could stand in and watch everything swim over you. 

  

 

In North Melbourne every Tuesday and Thursday and Sunday, the Queen Victoria Market is the place to be for fresh local produce. As I was walking through you could hear vendors calling out the specials and competing with each other for the lowest price. It also smelt amazing with all of the fresh fruit and veg on display. I purchased some freshly roasted cashews which were delicious! I also haggled for a purse which I desperately needed as the strap on my bag broke earlier in the trip. I was hesitant to buy anything else, as I am not sure that the souvenirs are actually Australian made, and I want to try to find authentic ones to bring back. If you ever need UGG boots though, that is the place to go!

Fresh Produce at the Market

On a different day we sent to see the city from a different angle- actually a bird’s eye view, at the Eureka Sky Deck. As the tallest building in Melbourne, the Skydeck has an elevator which takes you 88 floors in 36 seconds to see all of Melbourne. It made me realize that we covered so little and that Melbourne has so much more than I will ever have time to see! The view from the top was amazing I am glad we stopped. 

View of Federation Square from the Sky Deck

View from the top!

Another interesting point was the Victoria State Library which was not something I would usually think to even stop in at, but it was suggested by a friend before I even left the States, so I knew it was worth going to if I got the chance. We missed the tour by two minutes, (bummer) but we were still able to navigate our way around the beautiful library interior. It was almost like a small museum inside with four levels of artwork, books, and historical information on display including the Ned Kelley display on the third floor. Ned Kelley is a large part of the Australian culture and it was nice to see more about his life and even to see his personal letters and artifacts.

 

Victoria State Library

Inside the Library

There was so much more to see and do than we could ever hope to accomplish in four days, but overall this is my favorite city so far in Australia! These last few pictures were some of the hundreds that I took, hopefully it will give you a good idea of the rest of the city! For now, I am getting ready for Sydney, my next adventure! Cheers mate!

Comedy Festival @ Town hall where we saw a show one night

The Forum Theater, me favorite of all the buildings

Inside one of the side streets we stumbled across the "Royal Arcade"

Daytime view of Flinder's Station

Looking across the bridge

St. Paul's Cathedral

Comedy Festival/ Town Hall at night

Flinders Station