It was THAT cold! I had to sleep wearing 3 layers of clothes + gloves...Day 2 went on a much relaxed pace, fortunately. We started the day by following James and his friend to the suburbs called
Blackburn. They were there to do some shopping at a Christian bookstore.
Just beside the bookstore was this fish & chip shop. We just had to try the fish & chips as I thought Australia is famous for that. We bought a two persons meal for A$6 per head. As far as I’m concerned, that was the best fish & chips I had in Melbourne. FYI, I like my fish battered, not covered in bread crumbs. Did I mention the humongous serving of fries? Okay, it was
THIS HUGE! heheh
the fish & chips!!
Also, there was a strange side dish that came along with the meal. It was called “Dim Sim”. To me, it looked like a fried Siew Mai (A type of Chinese dim sum, hence I assumed the name Dim Sim came from here) However, it tasted nothing like our meaty siew mai. Instead, it tasted like…… hmmm… like….. I dunno wat! Until today, I still don’t know what I ate that day. It just felt “floury” and “cabbagey” and I didn’t like it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dim_sim 
Inside the shopAfterwards, we came back to the city to continue our city tour. Putting the commotion at Flinders Lane aside,
Flinder's Lane
Some street in the city.... isn't it so arty?
Fa Lung Gong Demonstration on Swanston Streetwe made our way to the
Docklands which is rather similar to our Vivocity area, less the shopping malls. It’s actually a pier.
On our way from Southern Cross Station to the Docklands
Enroute to Docklands
Over there, I had one of the best ice-cream I’ve ever tasted….. Ferrero Rocher flavoured! (as recommended by Clement) It really had big chunks of Rocher bits in it. YUM-MY! We then loitered at the Docklands for a while, looking at seagulls (tat were eyeing Rabbit’s bread-crumb fish and chips) and the view.
Rocher ice-creamAfter that, off we went for dinner – or so I thought. We ended up walking from the Federation Square across a super long bridge towards a Rugby Stadium that seemed miles away. When we found that the stadium was beyond reach, we turned back and head for dinner.
Federation Square when the sky turned dark (it's only about 6pm.... the sun sets really early during winter)The Melbourne tourism board really outdone itself by introducing the
City Circle Tram which basically loops the entire city area, passing by many attraction, complete with pre-recorded introductions to the many attractions. The best thing is,....... IT'S
FREE OF CHARGE ALL YEAR ROUND!!! Definitely a must when travelling in the city. Makes everything so convenient!
On our way back from the Docklands. City Circle Tram
Finally, a dinner of chicken noodle at some Indonesian eatery. Well, tat ends it for day 2.
Chicken Noodles.... super salty.... cost about S$9
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Day 3 (22/07/2007)Hmmm… I would have to say that Day 3 is probably my favourite day of the entire trip. That is simply because
Grampians National Park way exceeded my expectations.
We set off (at about 8am)from James’ place with 12 people in 3 different cars, out of which 2 were rented. 2 1/2 hours later, after passing many large and absolutely gorgeous pastures with sheep roaming freely, we arrived at our first destination of the day,
McKenzie Falls. With our picnic baskets in hand, we had to trek down to the foot of the falls. It was a long way down, which meant that going back up was a problem. It was actually the first and last time I perspired in Melbourne.
All the way down to the falls!
Group photo!Anyway, the main attraction of the day was
Mt William. We reached the entrance at about 1pm and it took us about 1 hour to reach the summit.
On the way up to the summitAlso, it was very very cold! Especially with the wind blowing. There was even ice on the ground as we made our way up. There, the view was simply BREATH-TAKING!!!! The pictures will do the talking.
After that we made our way back to a pizza restaurant on Lygon Street for dinner. End of day!
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Day 4 (23/07/2007)
In the morning, we went to Federation Square. Federation Square is situated on the busiest intersection in central Melbourne, across the road from Flinders Street Train Station and at the most prominent section of Melbourne's busy tram network. Whether travelling on foot, by rail, bike, car, tram, or any other means, there is no other place in Melbourne's CBD that is as easy to get to. Federation Square connects the city with the Yarra River precinct and is built over a railway, creating new connections from Melbourne's CBD to the River.
Federation Square
The iconic Flinder's Street Station
Then we went on the Yarra River cruise. It was a 1 hour journey.
Book your cruise tickets here!
Yarra River Cruise
Following that we went to St Kilda, sort of a seaside town.
Acland Street in St Kilda
Apart from the view by the beach, St Kilda boasts a family favourite theme park called Luna Park. Unfortunately, it was closed on that day. It is famous for the front design that sports the face of a giant clown.
Entrance of Luna ParkAnother feature of St Kilda are the many confectionery shops selling shelves after shelves of salivating pastries. But I must first mention that these pasteries are not very cheap. They cost about S$7-8 per piece.
Shelves after shelves after shelves..... of PASTRIES!!! (Monarch)By the way, we ate at Monarch, one of the more famous pastry shops as recommended by Lonely Planet.
After that, we walked about the seaside and on St Kilda Pier. There are actually penguin tours that set off from the pier.
St Kilda Pier
Penguins and Rakali (watever tat is)
One of my favourite photos of the lot (Taken at St Kilda Pier)
Next, we went back to the city to visit the Shrine of Remembrance. It is one of the largest war memorials in Australia. It was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I, but soon came to be seen as Australia's major memorial to all the 60,000 Australians who died in the war.
Shrine of Remembrance
Finally, we made our last stop at the Royal Arcade. Royal Arcade is a heritage shopping arcade in Melbourne, Victoria. Melbourne's Golden Mile heritage walk runs through the arcade.
Royal Arcade, with Gog and Magog in the background
The arcade, which dates back to 1869, was restored between 2002-04 which resulted in additional natural light and consistency of the shopfronts.
It is a significant Victorian era arcade and is on the Victorian Heritage Register. Along with Melbourne's other arcade, the Block Arcade, and Melbourne's lanes, it is a tourist icon of the city. Royal Arcade is famous for its fashion stores as well as specialty stores such as tarot card reading store.
Originally designed by Charles Webb, the arcade features a high glass roof and windowed stores.
At the south end, the arcade features effigies of mythical figures Gog and Magog and a clock which chimes each hour.
