Part II of my long weekend in Melbourne
On our long-weekend in Melbourne, my friend Jane and I took the plane from Canberra to meet another friend Sandy. As we were landing I had lovely views of the countryside. I don’t know what the yellow fields were but they were stunning.
We stayed at an apartment in the centre of Melbourne which was ideally located for walking around the city and we also had a nice little coffee/pastry shop next door along with views of the nearby buildings which looked so much better in the evening.
One day we decided to walk to from our apartment to a nearby suburb to visit some local markets. As it was an hour walk we decided to wear our exercise clothing….a little later in the afternoon we wished we hadn’t…but more on that later.
We walked past some interesting buildings along the way; one with a huge naked baby on the front [little strange], some nice churches and lovely entranceways.
We finally found the markets which were nearby a beautiful purple wisteria tree that covered the entire front and side of a building. We bought some lovely smelling candles and other small gifts and then then decided to walk back to our apartment and on the way stop at a couple of local bars or pubs for a glass of wine.
Our first was a very interesting bar, plants on the roof, huge paintings on the walls and bright and colourful lights throughout. We sat at a gorgeous velvet covered lounge and enjoyed a glass of wine before we head off to our next stop.
We then walked for about half an hour until we found our next location and along the way we also saw some great local artwork along the street; this is definitely a real funky suburb with fabulous shops.
I even saw a print in a second hand shop, that my mum used to have in our home when we lived in Wales [all those many years ago].
We walked past an amazing bar and we all wanted to stop here but unfortunately we couldn’t as it wasn’t yet open but the owner was very happy for us to take a look around…bright pink walls, gold framed pictures, velvet chairs and settees and mood lighting. The owner told us it’s best to book a table if we wanted to return as it’s always booked out each night.
Our next stop was a local pub; not that interesting inside but good for people watching. We had a mineral water at this place followed by a glass of wine.
After we left this pub, we thought we would walk straight to the apartment to rest up before going out to dinner. However we walked past the Sofitel Hotel and Jane mentioned to us that the bar was very good. I really didn’t want to go as we were in our exercise clothes but the girls said it didn’t matter [it did]…
I think the bar was on the 42nd floor from memory and when we arrived it was about 4pm and there was a table of beautifully dressed people drinking champagne. We thought they had been to a wedding and were waiting for the reception. We sat next to them and apologised to the waiter for our choice of clothing [he didn’t care].
We ordered some snacks [because they sounded great although we already had eaten] and a glass of wine. Jane’s funny story of the day was going to the bathroom and seeing one of the ladies from the table near us and thought her dress was beautiful, so said “I love your dress, you look beautiful’ to which the lady said she was appreciative then Jane said to her [mindful she is in exercise gear] ‘bet you are thinking the same thing about me’ … the lady had a good laugh…as did we when we were told the story.
Jane said the bathrooms in the Sofitel are gorgeous; they have views overlooking the city – guess five star hotels can afford to have this.
It was a relatively small boat with about twenty or so of us passengers on board. On board we were offered hot and cold snacks and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. I had some lovely local fruit and a glass of wine. My friend Jenny enjoyed some hot chicken and a soft drink.
And as it was the lead up to Christmas, the staff had made placed Christmas baubles onto a tree on the boat; a nice way to celebrate the festive season along with some festive music.
There were plenty of hippopotamus along the way; all in the water relaxing…
We were also fortunate to see a couple of zebra along the shore, but a bit far away to get a good shot…
A better shot was taken of the buffalo and the crocodile and an ok shot of a lovely blue bird. I wanted the crocodile to turn around for a facial shot but he/she didn’t.
As we were nearing the end of our cruise, we went close by Victoria Falls so we could see the actual spray of the falls – and at that stage I hadn’t been to the falls, I was pretty excited just seeing the spray.
Along the two hour cruise we also got to see some very lovely scenery…
After I retired from work at the end of November last year, I arranged a little mid-week catch up with two friends; Jane and Natalie. I decided to return to a contemporary Thai restaurant I had been to several years ago but didn’t enjoy but since have heard very good things about the food. I think the main reason I didn’t enjoy it previously was that it was a banquet without many vegetarian dishes. This time I had perused the menu and the vegetarian dishes looked so tasty. Even before I arrived I knew what I was going to order.
We decided to share some dishes but Nat and Jane wanted to also taste some of the meat dishes. This gave me the opportunity to order about three vegetarian dishes as of course I don’t eat meat.
To celebrate my retirement I brought along a bottle of French champagne which we enjoyed throughout the meal. I quite enjoy an inexpensive meal with a glass or two of champagne…
Jane and Nat decided on the salmon and pork crackling tortilla with kewpie and ham jam (one each) and the BBQ pork bun again by two so they could have one each.
The restaurant is located on the foreshore about a twenty minute drive from my home and has views of the lake. It’s a very busy area in the summer as with the seats and tables outside, people come for dinner and stay a while for some drinks…some restaurants here are a little overpriced but this one is reasonable and I am sure I will return!
Last year my friend Tracey leased a lovely little home in the southern highlands of New South Wales, which is about a two hour drive from Canberra, and invited me to visit her for the weekend. The home has two bedrooms and a newly renovated bathroom and kitchen. The gardens are just gorgeous with a small pond and waterfall.
After I arrived and Tracey had shown me around the garden and house, we took her dog Laddie for a walk up the laneway and back – a nice little walk in the countryside which takes about half an hour or so. For the next two mornings, I would get up early and do this same walk with Laddie. He really loves his walks and is fine to walk off the lead [unlike my furry babies].
Along our walk there were beautiful meadows containing many cows…so lovely to see the countryside and take in its smells; good and bad!!
The views in the early morning and late afternoon were particularly beautiful…
One morning we went to the local markets where we both bought some locally made jams and condiments followed by a drive to the local village of Fitzroy Falls where within the bushland you will see a beautiful 81 metre waterfall.
There are also some stunning cliff face views and mountain scenery along the way; not a place I think you would want to get lost…
And some interesting Australian bushes [being shown off by Tracey all rugged up for the cold weather].
On our way home we stopped off at a local supermarket which sold great home made soups, desserts, biscuits, jams, pickles etc and bought up a storm both to eat that evening and for us both to take home!
On my second day in Zimbabwe, my tour guide picked me up and off we went to Victoria Falls which is located on the Zambezi River at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is also known as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world (as is our beautiful Great Barrier Reef here in Australia)…and after I saw the falls, I now know why!!
Our first stop was to walk down thirty-eight steps to see a gully and part of the falls. Pretty spectacular even though I couldn’t see the falls from this point as the spray was huge…still wonderful to see.
We then we stopped at the statue of the Scottish missionary and explorer, David Livingstone who is believed to have been the first European to view Victoria Falls in 1855. Mr Livingstone named his discovery in honour of Queen Victoria of Britain.
Along the walk there are fifteen stops to view the falls from different aspects. I loved each and every one. Spectacular doesn’t seem to sum up these views.
One of the last stops was the bridge between Zimbabwe and Zambia – we saw some [crazy] people bunny jumping from the bridge…way too scary for me but when I told my brother about this, he reminded me that he had done just that when he visited Zambia many years ago.
What a spectacular couple of hours to see such a magnificent sight…
My other friend Jane was also invited so the three of us all met at the restaurant. The menu was extensive but after initial perusal Jenny and Jane became rather disappointed as they realised the restaurant was total vegan (great for me though) and the chicken and beef were mock!!! I thought this was hilarious as the restaurant actually has the word ‘vegan’ in its name!!
then pan fried vegetable dumplings – also very good, with a soy based sauce…
And lastly vegetable curry puffs; these with a sweet sauce also…just too good as well!!
The main meals we chose were eggplant hotpot…pretty good I must say [but I still prefer the same dish at my local Chinese dumpling restaurant], however if I did return to this restaurant, I would order the dish again but not with all the other food we ordered – way too much!! Everyone who has made a review of this restaurant on-line mentions how good the eggplant hotpot is…
We also ordered the sweet and sour ‘fish’ with peppers and vegetables. I didn’t mind it but I don’t think the girls loved it. Not the real thing!!
And lastly a mixed vegetable dish; this was also fresh and tasty but by the time it came out we were rather full so only ate a little.
The restaurant is BYO so Jane and I brought a bottle of South Australian Sauvignon Blanc and Jenny brought a bottle of Aussie chardonnay.
The meals are huge in this restaurant and clearly we ordered way too much and whilst Jenny and Jane didn’t ‘love’ the food, they ate it. I enjoyed the dishes and would like to return. A great evening though to catch up with my friends!!
Sue's Fabulous Travels 
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