Day 2 : Melbourne

We woke up at about 5.30 in the morning. It was officially the fourth day of winter. The temperature was about 11 - 13 degrees outside and grey clouds loomed in the sky. Rain was forecasted. I made sure to wrap myself up properly. I also kicked myself for forgetting to bring my umbrella. It looked like I was going to get drenched.

The hotel

Breakfast was from 6.00 a.m. and hot food would be served at 7.00 a.m. My friends were quite disappointed with the breakfast spread. Me? Hmn. I did not usually eat breakfast. So, I was rather indifferent about it all. There were a selection of cereal, bread, eggs – hard-boiled and scrambled, fried eggs, hash browns. I had 2 slices of toast with butter, peanut butter and honey, and a fried egg. Together with that, I downed a cup of hot chocolate. Sweet.

Breakfast

The shuttle bus was supposed to pick us up at 7.15 a.m., but we waited and it did not show up. We asked the receptionist (A new face. He was Chinese. The poor fellow last night was not to be seen anymore for the rest of our stay. We suspected that he was dismissed.) to help us contact the tour company, and apparently, they were waiting for us at another Sophia Hotel. There are altogether 4 Sophia Hotels in Melbourne! It was not till 7.40 that we were picked up.

We were driven to Federation Square. Down the side of the square were tour buses, lining up. We stood in the cold and waited till past 8.00 a.m. to board our bus for the city tour. Our guide and driver was David, an elderly man in his 60's. He spoke with clarity and showered us with lots of information about Melbourne. He was humorous and I often found myself laughing at his jokes.

Our first stop was Fitzroy Gardens.  The ground was green, but turned golden yellow with lots of autumn leaves falling. Beautiful. We only stopped there for 20 minutes, unfortunately. It would be great to have some time to explore the gardens. We went to the conservatory to view some flowers and plants there. 

Fitzroy Garden

Conservatory

The next stop was the beach - St. Kilda's, but it was drizzling and slightly foggy and I could only make out the vague line where the sea meets the sky. Many did not even get down the bus.

 St. Kilda's

Then the Shrine of Remembrance was where we spent an hour. The shrine commemorates all Australians who have served in the war.

 

 Shrine of Remembrance

Inside the shrine is the Stone of Remembrance. It is inscribed with the words "Greater love hath no man".  On 11 November at 11 a.m. on Remembrance Day, a ray of sunlight is supposed to shine in through the roof to light up the word "love". I thought that was really cool and meaningful.

 Stone of Remembrance

The sights of Melbourne City was splendid from here. 

Ceremonial avenue and Melbourne city in the distance

We lingered a bit, and made our way to the Botanical gardens observatory. And guess what? We missed our bus back! David had driven off without us. Thank goodness there was another way to get back to the CBD. There was a free shuttle bus which would bring us back to Federation Square. And best of all, it was only 2 stops away from the Shrine of Remembrance.


It was time to have lunch and we were going to Swanston Street to look for a Vietnamese eatery named Mekong. Actually, it was recommended by Bro. When Bro did a stint in Melbourne a few years back, he returned to tell me that he ate very GOOD pho there. I was keenly interested in a bowl of good pho, especially on a cold and rainy day.

Swanston was a long, long street. There were many eateries, a few souvenir shops, and even specialty stores which sell chocolates and candies. I bought a folded umbrella as I did not wish to get wet anymore. And we walked and walked and we finally found it to our delight. It faces the Chinatown arch. It was packed with the lunch crowd, all hungry for a hot bowl of noodle soup. 


There were many celebrities gracing the walls. Well, the restaurant has put up photographs of famous people who have eaten here, notably Samo Hung and Jackie Chan. All the more I anticipated my pho.

I ordered sliced beef Pho, AUD$8.50 for a small bowl. 

Sliced Beef Pho
The rice noodles were fine and smooth, and well-deserving of a good slurp. The soup was hearty and naturally sweet. The beef was sliced thinly and were very delicious. I added crunchy beansprouts into the soup for extra texture, and also a sprig of sweet basil for a more peppery flavour. Yum. I enjoyed the Pho lots. Bro was right, it was yum. 

We also ordered the Chicken and Prawn Rice Paper Roll and the Prawn spring roll. I liked all the items.

Chicken and prawn rice paper roll

a.k.a. summer roll

 

   A thin layer of rice paper, a layer of iceberg lettuce, basil, vermiceli, steamed chicken and prawns, served with a special dipping sauce

 

Prawn Spring Roll

Bro said this is a must order item. So we were all disappointed that it was over-fried.

 

Despite that, it tasted GOOD! There was a mixture of prawns and meat in the tasty filling. Yum.

The Vietnamese white coffee was also seriously GOOD!

Fragrant, rich and milky, and not too sweet

Outside of the restaurant ...

See the yellow sign?

It said "Bill Clinton Had 2 Bowls". So did I but on two different days. ;p

After lunch, we went to the Victorian Art Gallery where we spent the entire afternoon looking at paintings, sculptures and other exhibits.

 An ornate cradle that caught my attention

Thereafter, it was a short walk back to the city centre. We walked around Chinatown that evening. It seriously felt like Asia and not Australia, for there were really a lot of Asians around. 

We had dinner at Golden Tower, a small shop along Swanston Street. Goodness, the dine-in tables and benches were really narrow, We were all uncomfortable. I ordered a Lamb Souvlaki in garlic sauce, AUD$9.00. 

 It did not look like much but it was one huge roll packed with lots of lettuce, tomatoes and lamb.I had difficulty finishing it.Taste wise, it was alright, but just a little bit bland for me.

Hmn. It was quite easy to figure out the way back. Our hotel is along King’ Street. It is parallel to Swanston Street. I led my friends back confidently, and they dubbed me their GPS. Lol. It was cold and drizzling. My hands were numb and I was shivering by the time we arrived at about 20 minutes later.