Friday night at Federation Square.

Last Friday we went in to the city to buy a few things before Sean went to Shanghai. After shopping we decided to have dinner somewhere in the city. We walked around a few lanes and streets - tried to find a place which we had heard of - got there and decided we were underdressed to go in... Walked around and up and down the same streets again, found a place which was recommended by a collegue - but they were fully booked - went to the next door place and was told we could be accommodated in 20 minutes - but we weren't prepared to wait... So we finally decided to dine at a place called "Time Out" in Federation Square. Quite an apt name after roaming the streets of Melbourne for almost 2 hours! We sat down and sipped on an ice cold Pilsner and ordered dinner...


Roaming the streets of Melbourne is very interesting - there is so much to see - and something new on every corner - no matter how many times you walk the same streets - there will always be something different. The streets are very vibrant at night, and you will find street performers from people in bunny suits to musicians to religious groups chanting their views. It is nice once in a while to walk around and take it all in - but yes it can be time consuming!

Federation Square

View from Time Out

Restaurants in the laneways 

Restaurants in the laneways

Graffiti on the walls

More Restaurants

Location, location, location!

Our apartment is located in a great area – close to shops, restaurants and the beach… There is a nail parlour just below our apartment where I go to get a pedicure done when I feel like some pampering. All the staff are Asian (Vietnamese). You sit in a massage chair while you are having your pedicure done! It is so relaxing! Your feet get soaked, cleaned and massaged while you are totally relaxed… So nice to have a place like this right on my doorstep!

Shopping in Melbourne...

There are a lot of direct factory outlets (DFOs) in Melbourne where all the major name brands can be found. The prices at these shops are supposed to be cheaper at these shops – and I suppose to Australian standards they are… There are times when they have sales on and then the prices are really good! We have bought ourselves a few things from the DFOs - skechers and levis – my first pair ever! 

A day in the Yarra Valley...

We went for a drive out to the Yarra Valley to do some wine tasting and to have lunch in the Valley. It was a very windy day. We started off at Domaine and Chandon, had a tour of the winery and then did some tasting. They make really good champagne – in the traditional method. We then stopped at another winery for some tasting and then off to Balgownie where we had booked for lunch. 

On arrival we were told that they had no power and they would not be able to accommodate us for lunch and they suggested we find somewhere else to have lunch… So off we went to another winery down the road – The Mandala – and were told the same thing – it seemed like there was a power outage in the area due to a fire somewhere. We decided to try a winery a little further away from the area – hoping that they would have power… Helens Hill winery also had no power but they were happy to accommodate us for lunch – as they cook on gas. So we proceeded to have a wonderful lunch.

It was amazing how the different wineries handled the no power situation… They all cook on gas but they weren’t prepared to make food as the extractors weren’t working. It was a bit warm in the restaurant at Helens Hill – but not unbearable – so glad they let us in to enjoy their wonderful food!

Domaine Chandon

Where the champagne is fermented...

View of the Vineyards

Mandala Winery

The Vines restaurant at Helens Hill

Phillip Island

1000 steps

Just on the outskirts of Melbourne there is a mountain range called the Dandenong mountain range. It has a few picnic areas and walks in and around it. One of them is the thousand steps. It is literally one thousands steps! We decided to walk up it to see what it is all about… It was not an easy walk but was fun none the less! 

There were many people that were using it as a training area – running up and down the steps a couple of time! Once you get to the top, there is an area where you can sit and take in the scenery. So peaceful amongst all the trees…  When we climbed down the steps we got out our esky (cooler box) and cooked some boerewors and the electric barbecues which they have in the picnic areas. We sat under the trees our lunch and read a book… Was a lovely afternoon!

Diving the Great Barrier Reef!

From Sydney we flew to Cairns to start our open water diving course! The first 2 days were spent learning the theory and getting familiar with the dive equipment in the pool. We had the best instructor that anyone could ask for – very knowledgeable, vibrant and always happy!

There were 14 people on the course which made it a very big group… On the third day we were taken to a day boat that takes people on day trips to the Great Barrier Reef and to the overnight boat. The trip out was quite bumpy and a few people were looking very green! We were transferred to the overnight boat, had lunch and waited patiently for our first open water dive in the afternoon. Sean and I had bought our own masks to dive with and this was the first time we would be using them… Sean was not very comfortable when he put his on – he was sure air was leaking in through somewhere. We then got into the water with our instructor and had to snorkel to the boats anker rope before we descended.

We started descending down the rope – Sean and I were the last 2 to descend. We started descending and when I looked around Sean was nowhere to be found… I was very worried and didn’t know whether to signal to the instructor or to go back up and find Sean – but the rules are stay with your buddy!

So back up I went to find Sean. He was on the surface holding a lens from his mask in his hand – his mask had broken! Sean was given a new mask thrown to him from someone on the boat and down we went again. It was a scary feeling at first but once you see what is down there the feeling disappears quickly!

We had to do 5 open water dives before we were certified – and this included many skills – taking your mask off and clearing the water from your mask, buddy breathing and how to retrieve your regulator once its been knocked out.

We decided to do the adventurer course too which includes a deep dive (30m), night dive and navigation dive.

It was an amazing experience to see the under water world! And cant wait to dive again!

Once back in Cairns we did a day trip to Kuranda on a scenic railway train. It was a very hot and humid day so we walked around Kuranda - which is filled with markets and small shops. We then headed back to Cairns with the Skyrail which is the highest skyrail in the world and it goes over a rainforest – very picturesque.