Wandering around the city...again

After breakfast, we went to Doncaster Aquarena to have a short swim. It was my first time to try swimming in a heated swimming pool and well, it was, uh, warm haha It was a community pool so at half past 9 in the morning, the pool was already crowded. There were kids swimming, adults taking turns swimming in the few lanes available, and elderlies and differently-abled doing their aqua exercises. After swimming for an hour or less, we decided to hit the shower before everybody else does since it is almost lunchtime.

Ate was craving for roti so we had lunch at Pappa Rich, a Malaysian restaurant chain serving Malaysian and Southeast Asian fares. Yes, I flew 3,700 miles to eat something which I could just find anytime from the canteen and hawker stalls here in Singapore. But since I love my sister, yes, Malaysian/Southeast Asian food it is.

Stepping into the restaurant felt like being transported to Singapore or Malaysia. Most of the diners were Asians who come in groups of three or more. The crew were Asians who speak English with that oh-so-familiar accent. And the atmosphere was definitely Asian, noisy, vibrant and warm. Ate ordered tandoori chicken with chapatti while I ordered sambal chicken with briyani rice. When the food arrived, my chicken came with white jasmine rice. No biggie but I was imagining briyani rice full of spices at that time.

The food was ok, albeit a bit sweet. I guess that aside from targeting the migrants, they're also catering to a wider range of clientele so the usual spiciness of the dishes was toned down and replaced with a hint of sweetness. But the milk tea with jelly tasted authentic. So generally, yes, I guess Malaysians could say it was food from home.

 



Sambal chicken with jasmin rice

After lunch, we went to attend mass at St. Francis church. It was already offertory when we came in. It is a common observation among travellers that Catholic churches abroad would usually be populated with Filipinos. Outside of Asia, I have only been to New Zealand before Australia and I can say that in Auckland, yes, this observation seems accurate. But in St. Francis in Melbourne, I couldn't say the same. The churchgoers were a heterogeneous group.

 

St Francis Church

I didn’t have the chance to take photos of the church interiors. It is made mostly of wood which gave that warmth and homely atmosphere. The interior was nice and simple which I like (I have a disgust over modern churches that go over the top in their decorations). According to their website, this church is the oldest Catholic Church in Victoria and the busiest in Australia with 43 masses and 10,000 visiting worshippers each week. There was no choir but the mass was still solemn.

We went to the Catholic bookstore beside the church afterwards. I bought a book of prayers for the kids and a novena booklet for Ate. She found a book about singles and relationships but I thought it was too pricey for an impulsive buy so I didn't take it.

The forecast today said that there were high chances of rain in the afternoon so we opted to just go free and easy again.

GPO

The whole stretch of Flinders Station

And the "It's more fun in the Philippines" ad again

We walked along the banks of Yarra River on the way to the Olympic Park area where Rod Laver arena is located. Rod Laver is the Australian champion for tennis as Manny Pacquiao is to Filipinos and boxing. He was a big name before so they named their tennis arena after him. The arena was closed that time so we just had photos outside.

Elmo, the busker

Winter scene

Bridge

Rod Laver arena

Clockwise from top left: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Olympic Park Stadium, Westpac Centre, Hisense Arena

On our walk back, we saw throngs of footy fans making their way to MCG. Black and white as well as red and black beanies, scarves, jackets, and shirts were all over the place as fans of Collingwood and Essendon show their support for their teams. It was drizzling but people of all ages were there. Ate was imagining that maybe five years from now, she and her husband would also go to one of the games with their children in tow.

Footy fans on their way to MCG

Walking along Yarra River had that melancholic vibe. Aside from the occasional kayakers paddling their way to I don’t know where, the river was serene. Some trees still had their golden yellow leaves on but most were blown away by the wind, or had willingly parted with the branches and reunited with the ground. As one looks up the dark, grey sky, one would see branches and twigs of these seemingly lifeless creatures. But as one looks closely at those twigs, especially of Sakura trees, one would see buds waiting to bloom. Yes, it's winter and cold and dark and heavy but once spring sets in, these buds would bear beautiful flowers and the trees would again grow their leaves to provide shade to birds, bees and people alike. Such is the cycle of life. Charoooot!

Yarra River

What you see while walking

Back at the CBD, we looked for AIX Creperie for afternoon tea. We forgot it's Sunday and even if it was still early (around 4 I think), the shop was already closing. So we went to Brother Baba Budan instead.



Centreplace with AIX on the left

Brother Baba Budan

I saw this place online when I was researching for my trip.  The eccentric decoration – chairs hanging on the ceiling (I could imagine my mom saying “What if they fall on the customers, they could die!”) – and the good reviews won me over so I included it in my must-go-to places in Melbourne.  Needless to say, I had high expectations of the place and gladly, they were met.

Entering the café feels like I was just stepping into a familiar hang-out place or into one of my friend’s kitchen (except for the hanging chairs).  It is small, welcoming and intimate.  There’s a dining table on the left side of the room where you and your friends could share a cup of coffee with strangers.  I found this a perfect way of encouraging subtle interaction among strangers.  I mean, a dining table exudes that familial impression that a canteen table for example does not have so drinking a cup of coffee on that table with other people, even without talking to each other, sort of makes one feel that he/she is just having coffee with his/her family or people close to him/her. Am I overthinking or what?  J

Aside from the dining table, there were two more bars with (I think) four high chairs each.  One faces a wall and the other faces the coffee machine and the assortment of pastries available for the day.  This is where we sat. 

Coffee making machines

Chairs on the ceiling

Now, the quality of the drinks.  I ordered seven seeds latte while my sister ordered chai tea latte. Im a fan of simple but tasty coffee  - not too strong, not too sweet, no whipped cream – so their coffee really worked for me.   You could taste the beans and the milk at the same time.  My sister’s chai tea latte was good too.  It’s not solely tea and milk.  We were guessing that they put a dash of chili which gave the drink that “kick” which was interesting.  My sister proclaimed that that would be her favourite coffee shop from that point on.

Seven seeds latte

Just water

What a good way to end a perfect Sunday. 



Policemen on horses

Free Melbourne Walking Tour

I found out about the free walking tour here (they also do tours in Sydney).  They do the tours twice daily, one at 1030 and another at 230pm.  We initially planned to join to the 1030 am but we spent the morning walking on our own so we opted for the 230pm tour

There were already four people at the meeting area when we got there.  Daniel was the guide, wearing a bright green shirt which says "Im free".  Daniel was a great guide I think.  He talks to everyone, asking the typical introductory question and he seems to be perfect for his job.  One couple were from Germany.  The two guys were from Canada.  Another couple came and they were from the Philippines! Honeymooners. And then there were four Sydney girls and another couple from Germany plus a guy from Britain.  Most of them were tourists who have been on the road or will be on the road for months.


Daniel the guide

From the library, we headed to the Old Melbourne Gaol where Ned Kelly was imprisoned (I didn't knew who Ned Kelly was.  I just learned during the tour that he was a forest ranger with a robinhood kind of story).  Now, the Gaol is a museum and the courtyard serves as a football field, both under the management of RMIT.


Old Melbourne Gaol courtyard whose walls are made of bluestones which were stacked and glued by hand

Next stop was the Royal Exhibition Building, one of the iconic buildings reminiscent in Melbourne reminiscent of the gold rush, and of its rivalry with Sydney.  The lower trunk of the trees were covered with a metal wrap to keep them from possums.  It was interesting to hear that they choose to keep the trees covered instead of driving the possums away because they recognize possums as inhabitants of the area. Ang galing lang :)


Royal Exhibition Building

Trees with metal coverings around their trunks

Next was the Parliament House.  Australia was a former British colony and Daniel mentioned that while their parliament is an autonomous entity from the British monarchy, the Queen still has one power in the government - and that is the power to dissolve the government.  Interesting!


Parliament House

After the parliament was the inner city walks where we passed by laneways, arcades, cafes and restaurants that were quirky, tiny but warm and endearing.  And then it started raining but we still went on with the tour.  And that's when one would appreciate a water-repellant jacket.  It was a long walk under the drizzle but it's all worth it.


See the shoes hanging on the clothesline?

AC DC lane

I love the pavements

Yes, those are post-it notes

The Block Arcade

The Centreplace

Beautiful walls and beautiful guys :D

Flinders at night (view from Southbank)

The tour lasted for more than three hours ending at the Southbank area.  By that time, the rain was already pouring heavily.  Daniel thanked everyone for sticking out but it was him who really worked hard in that tour. Despite the heavy rains and the long walk, that tour was really worth it.

Walking around Melbourne CBD

Today, I was a real tourist in Melbourne :)

We left the house at around 930am.  Ate drove to Doncaster Park n Ride and left the car there.  It was 9C outside even if the sun was shining so bright.  Ang lamig!  I was chattering from the short walk from the car to the bus station.

The drive from Doncaster to the city was about 20 minutes.  The city center was not very crowded that time. We got off at Lonsdale and walked towards Flinders on our way to the Australian Center for Moving Images.

Flinders Train Station

While crossing the intersection at Flinders, there was a guy who was shouting.  I couldn't comprehend what he was saying but Ate said that this is the place where some individuals would usually air their grievances.  They would just stand at the corner of Swanston and Flinders and shout whatever they hate about their government or something of that sort. 

AMCI at the Fed Square

When we got to the Fed Square, we saw a long queue of people so early in the morning.  I mean it was not even 10.  Yun pala, there was a Disney star who was promoting her album and doing an autograph signing at the same time.  I found it a bit surprising to see an autograph signing so early in the morning.



That's half of the queue for the Bridgit Mendler meet-and-greet

We then went to Cafe Chinotto at the AMCI to have coffee.  There was a queue when we got to the coffee shop.  It is medium sized cafe which could sit probably 20-30 people at one time.  We joined the queue but we were directed to a table when we said that we were eating in.  Although, we already had breakfast at home, we still had croissant to go with the coffee.

Tomato and cheese croissant

One thing I noticed about the coffee is that they didn't serve it in cup or mug but in a short glass.  Sort of an old school, probinsya-style kind of serving where they use empty coffee jars.  (And I noticed that this is how they do it in most coffee shops.)

Warm latte
 

View from the coffee shop

We proceeded to AMCI after breakfast to see what's on.  There was a free exhibition of film paraphernalia since the Melbourne International Free Festival was ongoing that time.  Ate saw the Play School "watermelon lady" and she got so excited for her kids that she had her photo taken with her :)

Justine Clarke gamely posing for the camera

We were on our way out of the AMCI when we realized that we haven't paid for our breakfast yet!  We realized that because when we were ordering, the lady already directed us to a table instead of us paying at the cashier first which was how it was supposed to be.  Kaloka!  Buti na lang we were honest =D

After paying, we walked back to the city center to look for the State Library of Victoria where the meeting place for the tour is.  We walked along Swanston St and passed by St. Paul's Cathedral, a beautiful Anglican church beside AMCI.   We also passed by the Melbourne GPO (General Post Office).  The buildings are so pretty!  They brought out the old soul in me.



St. Paul's Cathedral
 

View of GPO from the side street

Facade of GPO with flowers in bloom



Another pretty building

Flowers for sale



Saturday morning traffic

And guess what we saw.....tadaaa!!! DOT ads plastered on the trams! Ang tindi ng marketing ng DOT! Kahit saang sulok ng mundo :)

 

It's more fun in the Philippines ads

We also went to some of the laneways to see graffitis which Melbourne is famous for.  I remember when I was in Wellington two years ago, my friend and I also went to some of the graffiti-filled alleys and I felt a bit uncomfortable because they had that "subculture" feel in them in the sense that going in those streets felt like intruding in someone else's territory.  The laneways in Melbourne though felt different.  I don't know if it's because of the location or because the laneways are well-lit or because they were bigger that made them felt safer.  Looking at the street art felt like just looking at an outdoor gallery.



Image of a girl

I found this a bit curious because it says "Free the Press, Singapore"

Row of restaurants



Human statues along Collins Street

 

One of the buskers along Collins Street



Another shot at one of the laneways

After walking about 4 or more blocks, we found the State Library of Victoria.  It was a sunny Saturday morning and there were a lot of people outside the library doing their own stuff: skating, having coffee, some probably waiting for their friends, tourists waiting for their guides.  Seems like a good place to just sit, have coffee and sandwich, and watch the world go by :)



The State Library of Victoria

Close up



Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology which was a few steps away from the library

Since we still had some time to kill before lunch, we opted to ride the free City Circle Tram which has a stop at La Trobe street beside the library.  The tram goes around the city, with stops at major points of attraction.  The "tram guides" would speak in loud voice and alert the people on what the next stops would be and what tourist attractions would be found there.  It's a good way to "orient" one's self about the size of the CBD and how close the attractions are from each other. The guides though were not the friendliest.  Medyo grumpy ang matatanda haha

It took probably more than thirty minutes for the tram to complete its route.  We got off at the corner of Queen St and La Trobe and made our way to Queen Victoria Market for lunch.  It was midday but windy which made us very cold.  I didnt even bother to take out my hands from my pocket to take decent photos!


Queen Vic

The place was full since it was lunch time.  We had pumpkin soup and chicken shnitzel wrap.  And while we were eating, someone sat beside us eating a hot bowl of Asian noodles!  Inggit!  Bakit ba hindi namin nakita kung nasaan yung nagbebenta nun?



Lunch.  Pag eto nakita ng nanay ko, sasabihin nya, asan ang kanin?

After lunch, we walked around a bit.  Para pala itong Farmer's Market sa Cubao na 10x mas malinis.  It was a market for fresh produce.  Ate was gushing at the fresh meat and vegetables which were way cheaper than the ones she gets from the grocery near their place.  We also bought cheap gloves ($5 each).  Ang lamig kasi! We also wanted to try the bicho-bicho-like donuts sold at the cart with a very long queue but we were running late for the tour so we opted not to.

We then headed back to the State Library of Victoria where the meeting place for the tour was.  There were already 4 people there chatting with the guide.

After the tour (which deserves a separate entry), Ate and I walked back to Flinders trying to find a nice place were we could havea  warm bowl of noodles.  We couldnt find one so we just decided to go to Melbourn Vietnamese Noodle House along Swanston St where she and her friends usually eat.



Melbourne Vietnam Noodle House

We shared a large bowl of pho and fried spring rolls for $19. I found the soup MSG-rich but it was still good for a very cold and rainy weather like what we had that night. 

 

Large bowl of steaming pho

  

Night scene at Swanston

After that, it was going home time.  We dropped by Woolworths to buy shoes for Eric.  The bus ride from the city back to Doncaster was a breeze and we were in Doncaster in a short time.  When we got off the bus and walking towards the car, ang lamig ulit!!!  We were "puffing tiny clouds" (harhar) in the air with our breaths.  Yun pala, it was 8C.  Good stuff!