Our Australia Adventure (Part 1)

__ years ago, we visited Melbourne, Australia with Mama (mom-in-law) and stayed at Mike and PJ’s house in Cairnlea and Ate Letty’s house in Victoria. On our first week, they took us to a park in Cairnlea to feed ducks in the lake, take some photos, hang around and play with the kids.

Australia is a very child-friendly country. They have many outdoor parks for kids (and kids at heart) and all of them are surfaced with soft wood chips to avoid accidents. On the photo below, we were climbing on a pretend giant spider web…

Here, the kids were feeding the ducks with loaf bread.

On our 2nd day, we went to Coles at Brimbank to buy some groceries. Mike, PJ’s husband let us experience Coles’ self serve checkout.

We had pizza from Domino’s to cap the day… Here’s Mikko, Ate Angge, Mama (MIL) chillin’ out.

After a few days, we took a hop on/hop off bus tour via the Melbourne Visitor Shuttle route. There are 13 stops where tourists can hop on and hop off. These are:

Stop 1 Arts precinct
Step off here for plays, pictures and performances.

• Arts Centre Melbourne
• NGV International
• Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA)
• Malthouse Theatre
• Melbourne Recital Centre
• Southbank Theatre

Stop 2 Federation Square
Step off here for visitor services, culture and art.

• Melbourne Visitor Centre
• Federation Square
• Ian Potter Centre, NGV Australia, Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)
• Birrarung Marr and William Barrack Bridge
• Federation Bells
• Flinders Street Station
• St Paul’s Cathedral
• Hosier Lane

Stop 3 Sports precinct
Step off here for stadiums, legends and gardens.

• Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
• National Sports Museum (in the MCG)
• Melbourne, Olympic and AAMI parks
• Fitzroy Gardens, Cooks’ Cottage, Fairies Tree, Model Tudor Village and historic Conservatory.

* Note that this stop is not in service on MCG event days.

Stop 4 Chinatown precinct
Step off here for shopping, theatre and a Chinese dragon.

• Her Majesty’s, Princess, Regent, Athenaeum and Comedy theatres
• Chinatown
• Collins Street, Greek precinct
• State Library of Victoria, Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne’s GPO, Melbourne Central, QV Melbourne

Stop 5 Melbourne Museum and Carlton Gardens
Step off here for culture, cinema and city gaol.

• Melbourne Museum
• IMAX Theatre
• Royal Exhibition Building
• Carlton Gardens
• Old Melbourne Gaol and City Watch House

Stop 6 Lygon Street precinct
Step off here for La Dolce Vita and La Mama.

• Lygon Street lifestyle
• La Mama and Carlton Courthouse theatres
• Piazza Italia
• Museo Italiano Cultural Centre

Stop 7 University of Melbourne
Step off here for museums, music and modern art.

• University of Melbourne
• Ian Potter Museum of Art
• Grainger Museum

Stop 8 Queen Victoria Market
Step off here for the market, museum and mint.

• Queen Victoria Market
• Melbourne Zoo
• Flemington Racecourse
• Arts House and Errol Street
• Hellenic Museum

Stop 9 Harbour Town, Docklands
Step off here for shopping, skating and sailing.

• Harbour Town
• Medibank Icehouse
• NewQuay
• Tourism Lounge

Stop 10 Etihad Stadium and Victoria Harbour
Step off here for arts, parks and sporting events.

• Victoria Harbour
• Yarra’s Edge
• Etihad Stadium
• Docklands Park
• Fox Classic Car Museum

Stop 11 William Street
Step off here for culture, courts and coastal wonders.

• Immigration Museum
• Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural Centre
• Legal precinct
• ANZ Banking Museum
• Enterprise Wharf
• Melbourne Aquarium

Stop 12 Southbank and Yarra River
Step off here for the skydeck, shops and ships.

• Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
• South Wharf Promenade
• Crown Entertainment Complex
• Southgate
• Eureka Skydeck 88
• Polly Woodside

Stop 13 The Shrine and Royal Botanic Gardens
Step off here for music, a memorial and meandering gardens.

• Shrine of Remembrance
• Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne
• Ian Potter Foundation Children’s Garden
• Sidney Myer Music Bowl
• Government House
• La Trobe’s Cottage

I can say Australia is the a great place for families who love a laid-back, comfortable suburb experience. The trip is especially enjoyable with your loved ones, whether they’re your family or friends. I’m happy that I got together with my family and my two boys enjoyed the trip to Australia.