State Library of Victoria, St. Patrick's Cathedral and Brunswick Street

Today, I went to the city on my own.  I was really looking forward to this moment because I have always wanted to try traveling alone. Ok, I was alone in Ho Chi Minh for less than one day and the paranoia from crossing its streets amidst the gazillion motorbikes robbed me of the excitement of wandering alone.  So I made sure that one day, one day, I would wander around somewhere on my own.  And Melbourne seems to be a good start. It doesn't matter that I only have one day :)

random photo: public toilet along the road.
my sister said that she doesnt use this because the door automatically opens
once the 3 minutes wiwi time is up

State Library of Victoria

Even from outside, the library is already a lovely place because of its architecture.  And the fact that it's not only a library but also a meeting and a hang-out place (at least based from what I saw) adds to its appeal.

See what I mean? People hanging out 

Im not at the State Library of Victoria writing on one of the desks inside the La Trobe reading room.  You know that pretty reading area at the center of the building?  Yes, that's where I am.
Im hungry and I can feel the call of nature but I just cant let the opportunity of sitting on one of its chairs and writing on one of its desks pass.  Ang ganda! Im so happy I wanna cry.  This is one of those moments that you just want to freeze :)
I went to the galleries earlier. I have stayed here for 1 hour and 30 minutes already but I have not noticed the time. They have a free exhibit of books.  Old books, wooden tablets, midget books, etc.  Ang saya saya! Ooh, the geek in me is so happy right now!

School kids taking a photo of the beauty infront of them
Like me, they were also gushing

 

La Trobe Reading Room from the second floor

The gallery and the dome

The galleries

The dome

 

Entering the reading room

 

I know I had to sit here

Or maybe here...Yeah, I sat here

The design

Note on the exhibit

Ned Kelly's armour

Replica of Ned Kelly's face - kinda spooky

Can you see the design? Pretty

The Bible...made of wood

Scroll



Midget book which apparently was common during the turn of the 20th century



I wonder what it says inside

Kids on a library tour



Probably

Brunswick Street

My grumbling stomach is the primary reason why Im here, otherwise, I might still have been inside the library by now. Anyway, Im hungry and Im looking for the fish and chips place I read online called Hooked. They say it has one of the best fish and chips in town.  Yes, I know the address and I have a map so finding it should be fine.

Okay, Im now walking along Brunswick St. Where is #384?  Oh, there's a street sign that shows which shops are located in this block...What?  The first block is only until 40?  Uh-oh.  This is going to be a looong walk.

And a long walk indeed it was.  Not to exaggerate but I have walked for an hour and 30 minutes just to get to that place.  Google says the distance from the State Library to Hooked is 2.6 km and walking would take 33 mins.  I guess that's when you know the route.  Well, for me, I got lost but I managed to find my way again. So that's additional meters and walking time.

I did not mind the walk though.  At the 'entrance' of the street, I saw old, rusty, and beautiful Victorian style apartments. And the whole stretch of Brunswick is filled with bookstores, vintage shops, specialty stores and restaurants so I enjoyed the sight.  Para syang isang mahabang Cubao Expo. Whenever I would feel fired, I would just go into one of the bookstores, browse through the books and sit in their couch.  Im now realizing that the more than one hour walk could be due to my many stop over.  My feet was definitely tired but my soul was very very happy :)

 

Victorian houses



Traffic at Brunswick Street

 


Murals



Sidewalk

After the long walk, I finally saw it! Hooked!

From the outside, it looks just a simple restaurant.  The sign even says it's a beer garden.  In Manila, a beer garden would mean a different place. Picture videoke machines, men who want to get drunk and have a 'little fun', smoke-filled air, and ladies in skimpy clothing offering their services.  But when I peeked inside, it's completely different :) It was definitely wholesome.  I didn't manage to take a photo of the interiors because I was shy.

Their fish and chips come on different versions.  They had one where you could have set of grilled fish and salad.  I wanted the 'authentic' Australian fish and chips though so I ordered for the battered and fried fish with chips and tartare sauce.  So, it's what I got.

I was so excited to finally try it.  At last, my precious fish and chips.  So I took a bite of the chips. Pwede!  And then, of the fish.  Eeek! Really?  I walked for more than an hour just for this? Sure, the fish seems fresh.  But it was so tiny that I could hardly taste it!  The fish was more of a fried batter with a little slice of fish inside. Tsk tsk.  So the hungry me ended up still a bit hungry.  I guess I chose the wrong one.  Maybe the grilled one with the salad is better.  I'll try it next time.

#384 Brunswick St, Lygon

Fish and chips

On my way back, I was having an internal debate on which side of the street to walk on.  I still wanted to walk on the side where I walked earlier because I wanted to go back to some of the stores.  But I also wanted to see what the other side has to offer.  Hay.  So I took the 'new' side.

I was not even half of the walk when I felt mother nature calling again. My mother is so kulit talaga. Tawag ng tawag.  The thing is, all of the restaurants in the area are small restaurants.  As in ALL. So it's kind of awkward to just barge into one of them and go straight to the toilet. Then I saw Woolworths!  I was so happy.  I immediately went inside and looked for the toilet sign.  But wait, it was a small Woolworths.  And wait, they don't seem to have a toilet.  So I bought one apple and two pieces of banana and while paying, discreetly asked the cashier where the toilet is.  And she told me the bad news, they had none.  Oh no!  So there, that means I had to go back to the city center.

I took a tram to the center and got off at the first stop where I saw a big building.  It was the Old Treasury building.  Inside, there was a group of tourists with their guide explaining the history of the building.  I didn't know if the tour inside is free or not. So I initially pretended to be one of them. Yes, con artist, that's me!  After a few minutes, I couldn't contain it any longer, so I asked the information desk where the toilet is.  And she pointed me to an area under the stairs.  Sigh. Ive never been so happy seeing a toilet.

After doing my business, I was thinking if I'd still go back to Brunswick or just stay in the area.  I was going to meet my high school classmate that afternoon so I decided to just stay in the area.  I went to see the mini museum in the building.

Old Treasury Building

Women prisoners

Their mug shots were bad ass..they could pass as profile pics now

St. Patrick's Cathedral

I went to St. Patrick after.  Im not very good with adjectives so I'll just let the photos do the talking.

I was so happy that day and also as to how my vacation has been progressing so I stayed inside the church for a long time to say my thanks.  I like the feel of some churches.  And I like how this church felt.  I might have stayed there for an hour and was about to leave for Flinders but the rain just started so I decided to stay a bit longer.

There was no mass that time so the church was empty.  When I went in, there was one guy saying his prayers.  Occasionally, there would be tourists coming in, taking photos of the altar, of the statues and of themselves.

St Patrick's Cathedral

After staying for more than an hour, I decided it was time to go.  It was still raining but I braved it!  And I realized that it's too strong for me so I went back haha I might have stayed there for an additional 30 minutes before finally leaving.  It was still raining but I was already late for my appointment so I just walked under the rain.  My jacket was water repellant and I had my wool hat and gloves on so I didn't get soaked but I was still sooo cold. I was playing with my breath while walking.  When I couldn't take it anymore, I stopped by Pie Face to buy a cup of coffee.  Normally, I wouldn't drink coffee at night but this is a special case.  I was really cold! And the coffee helped.

I met my friend at McDonalds near Flinders.  He and his wife has migrated here and they have been here for 6 months.  We catched up while waiting for his wife.  We then transferred to a Japanese restaurant along Swanston  for some ramen and more catching up.

Life is good.

Checking out the neighborhood

Today was a lazy day.  I woke up with swollen tonsils and the weather forecast says it's going to rain in the afternoon again so we decided to just stay put. This doesn't mean though that we have to stay inside the house all day long, do we?

So after dropping Eric at Kindy, we took a stroll around the neighborhood. It was a quiet place. While walking, my sister and I were imagining what our mother would say, "Asan ang mga kapitbahay?  Wala ka man lang makita! Wala ka man lang makakwentuhan!"  Yes, you couldn't see anyone.

The houses were a mix of new and old, bungalow and double storey structures.  Almost all had gardens and lawns.  I was like a kid who couldn't contain her excitement seeing unfamiliar trees like lemon, grapefruit and olives.  Yes, Im used to seeing guava, mango and narra trees but not the aforementioned ones :) There were also Sakura which were in bloom, but the majority only had buds.

Sakura tree in bloom

Red Sakura

Neighbor's grapefruit tree

Neighbor's lemon tree

 

Pretty red-necked birds

Random pmushroom patch along the sidewalk

The best discovery for me that day was the paper tree.  It is a tall tree with a huge trunk but when you look closely at the trunk, it looks like an interwoven ream of paper.  Im sorry environmentalists but I even tried tearing out the "leaves of paper" one by one to see how far I could go.  It's amazing :)

 

Paper tree from afar

Taking a closer look

Tearing off the 'paper'

Just like in Singapore, we passed by tons of "junk" thrown out of people's houses.  I guess that's how it is in wealthier countries, when things get broken, people just throw it away.  They don't fix it. They just buy a replacement.  In one of the houses, Ate saw a keyboard but it was no longer working.  In another house, I saw a bicycle, complete with helmets and gloves.  The tires were flat but the break was working.  So I took it haha Bote, dyaryo, garapa ang peg!  On a more sosyal note, come on, let's reduce, reuse and recycle! Im doing my bit in saving mother earth!

 

Me with my loot

Ate trying out the keyboard

An old lady saw me and she said I just need to go to the petrol station to infuse air into the tires.  She was pushing a grocery cart and seems like she's also on the lookout for thrown but still useful things.  I don't know if she's homeless but I was thinking, siya siguro ang version ng magkakariton dun.  I had a short chat with her and she bid me good day after.  Hay, people in that place seem so pleasant.

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.