Category: Travel

Shopping at Chadstone

Posted on by Libby Withnall

We had a VERY slow morning. After the long day and early start yesterday it was nice to just hang in bed (something I never do at home) with a cup (or more) of tea and enjoy this view. I also edited some vlogs and later ate breakfast in bed. Kevin opted for granola while I had sourdough toast with strawberry jam.

Many, many hours later we had our showers and got dressed for the day. Kevin needed to go to an Apple store to buy a better charger for his watch so we decided to head to Chadstone shopping center. I’ve never been before but knew it was supposed to be nice shopping – though we were more interested in browsing as we aren’t big shoppers any more.

Before we went to the shops I wanted to have a little drive along the foreshore to see a little of St. Kilda.

The drive to Chadstone wasn’t the best with LOTS of traffic but we eventually got there. We were lucky to arrive when there were still some parking spost available (on the rooftop), but it was crazy busy. Neither of us realized there were BLACK FRIDAY sales on !!

I was excited to see this Disney car parked right near us.

Thankfully the center did require facemasks to be worn. We wouldn’t have stayed if they weren’t. Most people were complying. Shops also had limits of the number of people allowed in. The center is lovely, esp. decorated for Christmas. It is huge and I’m sure we visited just a portion of the shops.

First stop was, of course, the Apple store. I thought it was a good opportunity to go to the bathroom, but I got lost when I came out – having taken wrong turn and ended up in the next corridor to where I should have been. I had to laugh at myself and use find my friends to see if I was headed in the right direction.

After being reunited we ventured down to the food court in search of lunch. Kevin suggested Schnitz since they have vegan options. I thought this was a good choice and we were able to be seated straight away. I had the Garden of Vegan wrap. I haven’t had one in the longest time and I’d forgotten how good they were. Kevin enjoyed a Chicken Parmigana.

I’d gotten excited when we passed a Bath & Body Works earlier, and though I don’t really buy all the stuff I used to from there (trying to buy more natural & ethical brands) I thought it would be very holiday like to check it out. Thankfully the line to get in wasn’t too long and actually moved quickly. We waited around 10 mins, which we really appreciated because the store, though busy, wasn’t super crowded. Plus you had to show proof of double vaccination to enter.

The black Friday sale was buy 3 things, get 3 things free. It was fun getting to sniff everything (though Kevin did say it felt strange/wrong during this covid time). Just a few years back I would have bought so many things but this time we ended up with 6 3-wick candles. A good choice really since the weight means we never bring back more than 1 or 2 when we visit the states.

We then went to Peter Alexander which is always a fun store to look around and we picked some jammies for Christy for Christmas.

Kevin spotted the cardboard dog just as walked into the store and we thought it looked very like Koda. How cute is it?

On our way back to the car Kevin picked up a few treats to eat and we went to Starbucks since he had 2 free drinks to claim. We both had Green Tea Frappuccinos. It’s something I very rarely have so did enjoy it.

Just as were about to leave we spotted a Coles so decided to pop in and get a few supplies so we didn’t need to stop on the way home.

We were pretty tired by now and glad to have this task over and done with. Back at the car it took quite some time to exit the carpark due to the number of cars entering and trying to find parking spots. So glad we arrived when we did. There was much less traffic on the road and it only took us 20mins to get back to the apartment.

I spent some time writing up yesterdays blog post before we watching some YouTube. Dinner tonight was some rice paper rolls that we pick up today from Roll’d. They were okay but not as nice as they could have been. I think the ones I make myself are tastier. But I definitely appreciated not having to make dinner.

The sunsets here are pretty late – close to 8.30pm but I’m loving getting to see them as it’s something we don’t experience at home.

Just as were going to bed I realized how pretty it was when the sun had gone down and the city lights were on show.

Tomorrow : Markets and a walk around St Kilda

Want to see more? Watch the daily vlog

The road trip begins

Posted on by Libby Withnall

With boarders now opening up between the states of Australia (some of them at least) it was time to head out on road trip / work trip to Victoria. Kevin had some work to do around Melbourne so decided it was a great opportunity to tag on a road trip along the Great Ocean Road. Then another work day was added in South Australia so we added on another week to head back home.

At 4am we got up, packed the last bits & pieces into an already very full tesla, said our goodbyes to the puppies, made tea & coffee, and were on the road, as planned, by 5am. Not the best weather, unfortunately, and it was raining on and off.

The teslas is great because, being electric, it’s very cheap to take on a long road trip, but it does require frequents stops to recharge. We didn’t find it a pain though as by the time we had to stop we were always in need of a toilet or meal break. Our first stop of the day was Goulburn.

It was still early and the Visitors Center was closed so we took a walk over the toilets in the gardens across the road. The gardens were a real surprise and I was glad of the opportunity to see them and take some photos.

By the time we walked back to the car it was charged enough to continue to our next stop.

It was about 8.30 when we arrived at Gundagai and we were ready for breakfast at Olivers Real Food. Kevin had the vegetarian burger and I had the vegan one. They are same except Kevin’s had haloumi cheese and mine had hash browns (be sure to order extra hash browns as there is only one small one of the burger). It’s been quite a while since I had one of these (funny that during a pandemic and lock downs) and I’d forgotten how good they are.

Since Kevin had never been to to see the dog on the tuckerbox we walked (a whole 2 mins) to see the statue.

Back on the road…to Aubury – where we tried, unsuccessfully, to find parking – still can’t believe how busy the town was. So we drove on (over the unseen border) to Wodonga in Victoria for another charge. It was raining pretty steadily here so we just sat in the car and watched a youtube video (which you can do in the tesla).

More driving, and thankfully some better weather.

We finally stopped at a service station that had a number of food options, and electric car charging. Kevin chose McDonald’s nuggests and I chose a falafel wrap -which was delicious. We sat outside to eat and it was nice to get some fresh air before getting back in the car.

We were getting to the stage of having enough of being in the car, though the trip had actually gone quite fast due to frequent stops and listening to a book.

The skies continued to clear the further South we travelled and before too long we were arriving into Melbourne.

For the first time we aren’t staying right in the city, but in St Kilda – Kevin has one work day here. We arrived just on 4.15pm, which is when we got a phone call from the guy we were meeting to see how far away we were – which was less than a minute away. He couldn’t believe we were so on time. We parked the car and he took us up to the apartment. We had had a bit of a hassle with information the booked agent had wanted from us that we were reluctant to give (photos of the front and back of a drivers license) but we were SO happy when we saw the apartment and the view.

Nice as the apartment is, the best part has to be the view.

We then got the car unpacked and most of our things put away and settled in with a cup of tea and relax after the long drive.

We eventually ordered some delivery vegan pizza for dinner from Vegan Bar on High. I had the BBQ tofu which was really good but missing the promised pineapple. Kevin didn’t really care for his Hawaiian pizza but he’s not the biggest fan of many vegan cheeses.

While we watched TV we were able to enjoy a lovely sunset.

Day 21a – Disembarkation & quick visit to the World of Disney

Posted on by Libby Withnall

We woke up after a really a bad nights sleep (for both of us) just as we were arriving in Port Lauderdale. It was pretty windy and rainy out there. We showered and dressed and finished our packing before heading up to Windjammers for our last breakfast. It was very crowded which is why on all previous cruises we have gone to the dining room the last day for breakfast. But we wanted to be off and on our way to Orlando as quickly as possible.

After breakfast we collected our luggage and we thought our departure number had already been called so we promptly disembarked. Only to then find our luggage wasn’t yet ready for collection. So we sat in the little waiting area and we were amongst the first to retrieve our luggage when it was available. This worked out really well as it wasn’t crowded and our collected our luggage easily and were through customs and out in the uber pick up area before we knew it. Our uber turned up a few mins later and dropped us off at the Dollar Car Rental. By 9am we were on our way to Orlando.

About 11am we decided to stop at a service center, as Kevin needed a little break from driving. The centers here are HUGE !!!! I thought Kevin was buying lunch so I got myself a vegetable fajitas from Chicken Kitchen, only to find he’d just gotten an Iced Coffee on almond milk (the USA doesn’t seem to offer soy milk at some of the tea/coffee places). Not to worry as I’d had mine cut in half so happily shared with Kevin. It was really good too and totally hit the spot as an early lunch.

We had quite mixed weather on the trip, alternating between raining, cloudy and sometimes a few patches of blue sky. Luckily though it was still cloudy in Orlando the rain seemed to have stopped.

About 1pm we drove past the Caribe Royal, where we are staying for the next two nights, on our way to Disney Springs.

Our goal for today was just to visit World of Disney. It was crowded enough and I knew it would be packed tomorrow.

World of Disney at Disney Springs

We probably spent about an hour and half here. Such a stunning store and I love looking around here. Would be great to have one visit just to look at everything (preferably when it’s quiet) and then come back another time to make purchases.

Don’t worry – I didn’t bring home the giant Stitch

We then headed back to the Caribe Royal and got checked in to our room. We stayed for 2 nights on our last trip but had a different room type this time (as it was just the two of us and we didn’t require a kitchen).

It’s such a nice looking resort but sadly, just like last time, we didn’t get the chance to have a look around.

We basically dropped off our luggage, quickly got changed and headed right back out….because it was time to go to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

… coming up in the next post.