Day 3 : QVM, Ballarat & Sovereign Hill

We set off at 5.40 a.m. that morning. It was still dark outside. We stepped out of the hotel and shivered as the cold strong South-easterly wind beat at us. It was seriously cold at 10 degrees but we had to walk a short distance to the Queen Victoria Market. It is said to open at 6.00 a.m.

 A large market established since 1878

When we reached there, however, only the fruits and vegetable stalls were set up.

Lots of root vegetables ...

Neat rows of apples ...

Chilli peppers ... I'd never seen them in this colour!

What we actually wanted to buy there were some nuts, i.e. macadamia, almond, walnuts to name a few. So we were quite disappointed when we found none. We stayed for a while at the market, looking at the fresh produce and took some photographs. And when we were about to leave, we came across a stall selling beans and nuts. Yippee. I bought some almonds and walnuts for Mom. Not cheap though. 500g of natural almonds cost AUD$6.00 and 500g of natural walnuts were AUD$9.00.

We walked back to our hotel for breakfast. Yes, it was the same menu as the day before - cereal and bread and eggs. Right after that, we were picked up by our shuttle bus for Federation Square. The wind was really strong and cold, and I could feel it penetrating my fleece. All of us shivered while we waited in the open for our bus.

At about 8.15 a.m., we set off for Ballarat, about 90 minutes drive Northwest of Melbourne. It is a historic city, well-preserved to showcase the architecture of the Victorian era. We were to spend a day at an open-air gold mining museum named Sovereign Hill.

It was drizzling by the time we reached there. The guide told us that the temperature was 10 degrees and the wind could bring it down to be about 4 degrees. Geez. No wonder. I was freezing, wet and cold. I could not pay attention to what he was saying about alluvial gold mining, i.e. panning for gold.

The guide explaining and demonstrating gold panning

The main street @ Sovereign Hill

Steam powered machinery and another view of the Main Street

But since we were there already, we went for the Red Hill Mine Tour. It brought us underground and told us how the "Welcome Nugget" was discovered. The Welcome Nugget was a 69kg gold nugget, the biggest ever discovered in the world to this day.

After that, we went for the Gold Mine Tour. While waiting for it to commence, we met a very friendly guide who allowed us to thaw in front of the fireplace. He even stoked up the fire for us. Phew! I felt much better after that.

Inside a gold mine

 Mining carts

The tour lasted 40 minutes underground. It provided much welcomed relief against the cold. Then, we had a late lunch at the New York Bakery. The food here was great.

Roast pumpkin soup with cream and chives, AUD$9.50

The soup was really rich and creamy and satisfying. One spoonful will leave you craving for more! 

 Tortilla Wrap with Grilled chicken, Swiss cheese, bacon, aioli, tomato and salad leaves, AUD$15.50

I liked the tortilla as I could taste every ingredient in there, and I really appreciated how well they complemented each other. Delicious!

 Devonshire Tea, AUD$10.50

Scones with clotted cream and raspberry jam, served with a tea or coffee

The scones were really soft and they melted in the mouth. Yum.

After lunch, the sun finally crawled up and the rain went away. Finally. Yeah. We took the opportunity to go around the museum. Before long, it was time to leave. We drove another hour and a half back to Melbourne.

We went to thaw ourselves out at Mekong that night, our second meal at this restaurant. I had my second bowl of beef pho.