March 15, 2012

.To Do In Melbourne: Part 2.

The weather this week is GORGEOUS! It even reminds me of Australia spring time, which just makes it all a little bit better. Since I can't stop thinking about Australia it seemed like the best time to share with you Part 2 of what to do in Melbourne. Missed Part 1? No worries, you can check it out right....here!

6. Flinders Street Station
Flinders Street Station is one of my favorite stations in the whole city..or state, maybe even the country. It was so beautiful to look at, especially at night. We didn't see much of the inside of the station due to not needing to take the train, but i do hope it's as great as the outside. You can find this station just across from the popular Federation Square, where people like to meet up and hang out, making it a great place to people watch.



7. St. Paul's Cathedral
The architecture and beautifully designed church can leave you speechless. Dave and I spotted the church across from Federation Square and immediately wanted to get a closer look. Usually, I don't like to go into churches because I feel like I am breaking up someone's spiritual time and interfering with things. I also just admire from the outside, however I am appreciative of Dave for pulling me in. The inside of the church is magnificent and wonderfully crafted. This is definitely a place to check out and get lost in beauty. 




8. Hosier Lane
When walking down the street....Swanson Street, I think...we stumbled upon this gem in the city! This little alleyway is filled with graffiti. Every square inch on the buildings has this great, creative, street art spread over it. I think I took a picture of almost every graffiti piece, but for your sake I will just show you a few of my favorites!






9. ANZ Bank/Gothic Bank
This is probably the greatest bank in the whole world...well, not ANZ itself, but this location!! Did you know in Australia the pronounce it as A-N-Zed? Yep! This is one of the first banks I have seen in a gothic revival architecture and it blew me away. I used to be a bank teller and I would LOVE to work in a bank this gorgeous. The pictures below is where the banking takes place as well as the former stock exchange floor. 




10. Ride on the Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road is called one of the worlds beautiful highways and rightfully so. The Great Ocean Road is 240km long with a view of the ocean almost the whole time. At times during our travel on the road we had the ocean on one side and the rolling green farm lands on the other side...just amazing. When on the Great Ocean Road make sure you stop at Apollo Bay, view the 12 apostles, London Bridge, and take it in slowly..you definitely do not want to rush through! We were able to book a day tour through our hostel and it was a great deal for a whole day of beautiful sights!

We spotted this cutie at one of our stops on the tour!




My last tip for everyone when visiting Melbourne is to go online and see what community events are taking place! When we were there a Summer Series of events as taking place in the Fritzroy Gardens every Saturday night. So we walked over to the gardens for a picnic, Bollywood music, and Bollywood dancing. The best part of the whole night was being able to be with a large number of the community and having a blast doing dance moves with strangers and feeling like we were citizens for a night!



The best thing about Melbourne 
is never knowing what you are going to find!!