Exploring more of Melbourne! We started the day where we love starting any day- at the city Market! Taking the tram there early enough to see all the vendors still setting up. Some delicious looking fruit and veggies, decant cheeses and breads and mouth watering meats (ok it was Tony's mouth watering on the last one!) We made it back to the hotel only to go out again, taking the free tourist tram around town, learning all about the history of the city. Getting off with lots of time to wonder around before a lunch reservation Tony had made for us. We ended up in the ritzy portion of the city-full of 5 star hotels and designer shopping! Then right in the heart of that, down a tiny one lane alley was The Kitchen Cat restaurant. Behind two glass doors, are cement stairs leading down into the basement of the building towards a window of food. The window gives you a little hint of what you are about to get into; fresh pasta, cured meats, and housemade breads. We sit down and the waitress brings over some housemade flat bread and some aprocot chips. Delicious. I had the pig's ears, and then the housemade ravioli (which was litterally from the window at the bottom of the stairs- I saw it as I passed by towards the bathroom!) Tony had the bone marrow, and the pig's head. AWESOME meal, yet again in such a foodie town.
That afternoon we got to doing some tasks which we needed to do since we havent seen a city in a few months- banks, pharmacies, clothing for the trip etc...Before a dinner at a Korean BBQ restaurant. Korean BBQ is delicious by the way. It's lots of fun grilling your own stuff and coming up with lots of concoctions (kinds reminds me of when we were kids and used to mix stuff together and think it tastes delicious~ but Korean BBQ is actually delicious!)
Day 3
We picked up the rental car and we were off!!! Great Ocean Road here we come! What an amazing scenic drive. Getting out of the city didnt seem to be too much of a challenge (thank gosh!) since Melbourne is known for it's aweful traffic and too many cars on the road. But we were off! Had a great day checking out all (ok not all cause it would take you FOREVER if you stopped at every lookout point!) the lookouts before pulling into Apollo Bay for a night at the Beach Front Motel. We wondered down the beach and dipped our toes (believe me it's all we dipped it was FREEZING!) into the Ocean before calling it an early night.
Day 4
We continued on the Great Ocean Rd til the 12 apostles (the biggest scenic stop on the trip). It was breath taking. It was also raining and very very cold out. We did the tourist thing, took some pictures, santa (my travelling gnome friend from Uni) was cold so we picked up some hot drinks from the kiosk before hitting the road again. The road was so scenic ocean views around each corner, through the countryside that was filled with sheep and cows, just beautiful. We pulled into the Royal Mail Hotel for the night. We picked the Royal Mail Hotel because it's one that we noted while watching an episode of Anthony's Bourdain's No Reservations. Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations is a show that a chef travels around the world looking for teh best food, and the best food experiences; adding a satiric atmosphere filled with atititude, alcohol and a smart mouth. In this case The Royal Mail Hotel was featured because it's in the middle of nowhere, at the base of mountains that features 5 star fine dinning restaurant filled with all local products. It was devine. The hotel room was huge (tony even said he could live in it if it had a kitchen- I said it's bigger then the one we did live in in PEI with a kitchen!) We eat in the Pub that night (cause 2 months of travel doesnt come cheap) so we wanted to save some of our cash (it was like 100 each a plate!) and enjoy some local product at the Royal Mail Pub. It was great, still all local product just a bar menu. I had a delicious wagyu rump and Tony had a wagyu corned beef. We enjoyed some drinks over talk of our upcoming wedding! (WoooWooop!!!)
Day 5
Waking up to the Grampians was devine. Breakfast was of course included in our stay so we headed across the lane for some grub before taking off. It was great- everything was fresh and made there. We know cause they keep going to the garden and coming back with arms and trays full of their food! What a great way to start your day! We then jumped in the car again and we're away! We weaved our way around the countryside making it to another tiny town after another. Stopping breafly for lunch at a place that Tony found Beer and Breakfast. Delicious. Again all local products paired with guy who loves beer, and the creation was amazing food. We then made our way back to Melbourne for a night in a budget hotel close to the airport before taking off in the am for Singapore!
This is the 12 apostles-- not our picture but it gives you an idea of what we did this week!!!
