A Day Out in Melbourne City

Yesterday was a fine, fine day. The weather was brilliant for a nice day out to Melbourne City. And so the weather forecast was proved wrong. There was no rain at all! Not even a shower. The sky was clear blue in the morning and we truly thanked God for the good weather!

Aunty Susan and her sister took us out on a day trip to the city. Jon and his cousin Michael spent the day with us too. We took the morning train all the way to Flinders Street in the city. It was a very sunny day. Haha, when it’s hot we want it to be cooler. But when it’s cold, we wish it was a sunnier day! xD That’s how it is in Melbourne most of the time. Either hot or cold. You even have “in-betweens” sometimes.

We went to the Eureka Skydeck. The tallest building in the city. We went 88 levels up. And there was this thingamajig called the EDGE. It’s a glass box that extends 3 meters outside the building – 88 stories above the ground. Some old folks tried it before us, and they seemed unfazed. The five of us gave it a try. It was pretty cool, but definitely not scary.

After that we went for a really nice lunch at the Blue Train Café beside the Yarra River. The portions were super big and for the Aussie price, it was totally worth it. We took loads of pictures and I’m sure you’d like to see them! :D

The tallest building in the picture that looks like a ruler is called Eureka. That's where we went. See the red line? It's where the EDGE came out.

Taking a shot with the Yarra River in the background.

See the spikes on the left? That's the famous St. Paul catheral.

88 stories above!

It was splendid. The sky was so clear and we could see everything from up there. The sprawling Melbourne city (there are very few tall buildings here), the seashore, and far beyond.

Reflection.

This is the brilliant Melbourne performing arts center, I think.

The skyline was so unbelievably clear! That's why I really thanked God for the wonderful weather. Otherwise I wouldn't have taken such nice shots if it was as gloomy as the forecast predicted.

The sprawling city below.

All of us. =)

Lunch at the Blue Train cafe. This is my roast lamb salad. Absolutely scrumptious.

My mum and her Blue Train hamburger.

Aww, doesn't she have such brilliant eyes! Haha, Jirene enjoying her big bowl of penne bolognaise.

At the SUGA shop! Yup, its the sugar shop.

I was playing a ukelele! Man, I badly want one. I heard it really affordable here. About 25 to 30 dollars for one. It's so cute and I can bring it anywhere. I definitely will get one. :D

Sweeettt. :D

If you were wondering where was my dad in the earlier pictures, he actually didn't join us. He went to Box Hill to meet someone. So when he came to pick us from Mike's house at 5pm, we decided to go tour the city again! Haha, so we went to Melbourne city twice in one day! And oh, this is one shot we took in front of the St. Paul's catheral before my camera went out of battery.

Yikes, guess what, my dad just called. He’ll come pick me up at 2.30 to go for an audition at Blackburn High. The butterflies are starting to flutter in my stomach. But I hope I’ll do fine. I’ll be praying hard. xD Hehe.

Will update you guys soon again. Till then, g’day mates! ;)

Familiar Faces!

So far, the people we have met in Melbourne have been unfamiliar faces. At least for me. I’ve been either meeting new people or meeting people whom only my parents know. So today I was really glad that we could meet up with Jonathan Chew and his mum, Aunty Susan. :D They came to Melbourne a week before us. Then last Sunday they just got back from a ten days holiday in New Zealand.

We drove to Aunty Susan’s sister’s house today. We had a nice lunch with them and after that my parents had to go off for awhile to sign some documents and check the house we’re gonna’ rent in Forest Hill. Yeap, so now it’s official! We’ll move in on the second week of December when our furniture and stuff arrive.

Meanwhile, Jon took us on a “tour” around the neighbourhood and to the “milk bar” up the hill. Well, I wouldn’t actually call it a tour, cause’ Jon took us a few rounds and we got lost for a bit. Hahaha. Oh and Janna and Jirene were crazy enough to buy ice cream at the milk bar – it was a pretty cold and windy day, you know!

Well, here are some pictures we snapped. =)

Having a nice simple lunch of potatoes, salad and those really sweet cherry tomatoes that I love, and roast chicken with yummy stuffing.

It was a nice day out. And really nice to see some familiar faces, people you know. Haha. But it’s a pity that they’ll be going back on Thursday already! Hopefully we can meet one last time on Wednesday. :D

Till then, g’day mates! ;)

We’re Back!

We came back from Yarrawonga on Friday evening! A cold and gloomy weather awaited us. The weather forecast says that for this whole week it’ll be rainy and stormy and cold! And guess what, we even had HAIL here and in Brisbane! It’s crazy. The world’s gone topsy turvy. And the most unusual part is that the whole of Australia is gonna’ be rainy and stormy the next 6 days – not just Melbourne. So yeah, it’s kinda’ scary.

On a happier note, we have found a nice lil’ cozy house in a suburb called Forest Hill! Today my sisters and I saw it on the outside for the first time. We also found out that the happening Forest Hill Chase Shopping Mall is less than 5 minutes away! And all the big stores are there. Joy was telling me that the cinemas there have the cheapest rates, too! FYI, the cinema rates here are super expensive (15$ for adult, 12$ for student).

So yeah, thank God so much we managed to get this place. And we didn’t even know it would be such a convenient spot. :D

It’s been cold this few days. Yesterday the lowest was 9 degrees! The wind feels like its seeping through your bones. *Shivers* But I guess it’s good to get used to it after awhile…

Well, here are some pictures we took at Yarrawonga and at the Murray Valley Resort. =)

Jirene and Janna with their teddy and dog -.- on the journey to Yarrawonga.
Country road!

The rolling hills and plains.

See that nerdy-looking girl? Haha.

Looking down on the living room. Our apartment had two floors. It was a pretty neat place.

Jirene helping my mum with dinner.

The stairs goes up to our room.

We also had a few barbeque dinners using the electric stoves outside. The beef here is way cheaper than chicken. Haha, so we'd be eating more red meat.

My mum makes some soup and salad to go along with the barbeque each time. But it's a pity that the food gets cold very fast.

We were chilling beside Lake Mulwala the next day.

It was really, really sunny. See, clear blue skies and NO CLOUDS! But thank God for the cool wind! So we still had to wear sweaters.

My dad and my sisters checking out the wind surfers.

Then there was this guy going water skiing. I'll hope to try it someday...

Off you go!

Whee.

A few days later we went for a cruise on the Lady Murray around the lake.

Seagulls! They are pretty much like the crows in M'sia. Just that they're WHITE. Haha.

Quack.

Having lunch. The whole thing cost us only 50 dollars.

At a park beside the lake.

There are half-felled trees all over the lake. And if you're wondering why, I'm too lazy to explain. xD

A shot with our Aussie car! It's really spacious. It's a 9 year-old Holden Berlina. And we're really glad we managed to get it in time for the holiday! Haha.

Okay, that's all for today. Will keep you guys updated on our new home and all. But we'll only be moving in on the second week of December when our shipping stuff arrives. Meanwhile, my sisters and I will try to occupy ourselves for this week as my parents start running errands again.

Have a nice day and God blesscha'! ;)