Category: Travel – Australia

Trams & a Disney exhibition

Posted on by Libby Withnall

Any guesses to what happened this morning? Yep, it was another relaxed, very slow start to the day. My fibro was acting up this morning and I was in quite a bit of pain – I’m guessing because I overdid things yesterday. Fibro doesn’t like that !! Thankfully between taking some extra pain medication and having a nice warm shower, I did start to feel better by the time we were ready to leave. Rather than drive into the city we had decided to catch the tram – after all what could be more Melbournian than that? We walked across the road to a 7Eleven to buy tram passes and then to catch the tram. As a side note the 7Eleven had plant based chicken wraps and a plant based pie for sale !!

The tram ride took about 20mins – straight along St Kilda road where we are staying to the city. We hoped off right at Federation Square / Flinders St Station. And I was pretty excited to see some Christmas decorations. Made it felt like we were on holidays in the States (where we normally are at this time of year for Kevin to attend a conference).

After having a look around we went in search of a place I’d found for us to have lunch. It was a little tricky to find somewhere that had a vegan option, was open on a Monday and wasn’t super expensive. Luckily I came across In A Rush Espresso, which had soups and quick eats. I chose a roast veggie wrap. I find these can be very hit and miss but luckily this was a good one.

We got to enjoy this nice view and watch the sparrows that were hopping around while we ate.

Then it was time to head inside ACMI to see

I have to say I was pretty excited to walk through the big Mickey head. It was great to get a little dose of Disney since we still no have idea when we’ll actually make it back to a park. I really enjoyed seeing all the illustrations that were the start of many films. I’m always amazed at just how clever and talented artists can be.

I would definitely recommend the exhibition to any Disney fan but we were a little surprised there was only drawings. I guess it does make sense – but we did think there would be some models, sculptures, etc. that were used as inspiration to the animators.

We had a little walk around the shop.

We then debated doing the City Circle tram trip but with this new covid variant around we decided it was best not to expose ourselves unnecessarily. So we just caught the tram (that we were using for transport) back to our apartment.

Kevin wanted to charge the Tesla before his work day tomorrow so we decided to do that before getting settled in the apartment. The super charger was a little further away than we’d expected (from earlier research) and when we got there all 4 spots were taken. Luckily one car/driver wasn’t actually using the charger so moved shortly after we arrived. Since it was going to take 45 minutes to charge we decided to pop over to a cute looking cafe, , we had passed on our way. We were given a seat by the open window which was really lovely.

I ordered the soba noodle salad which was delicious, and the perfect second lunch / afternoon snack.

Kevin had the hotcakes and an iced chocolate. He enjoyed them but didn’t finish either of them.

After the car had finished charging we walked back over to the car – across a little park area where I took off my crocs and walked barefoot on the grass. It was so nice. Then we had a quick stop at Woolworths to get some Bonsoy and a few other things we needed.

Then back home to relax. I cut up the watermelon for a snack and later cooked some potatoes for dinner.

And we got to enjoy another lovely sunset.

By the beach in St. Kilda

Posted on by Libby Withnall

Another slow, easy morning – seems to be becoming a bit of thing here. But with a view of the ocean outside the window it is VERY difficult to get out of bed.

It was also pretty cool until late morning so there was no need to rush. We had breakfast (sourdough toast with jam) in bed again and I edited a vlog while Kevin did stuff on his laptop.

I think about 11am we decided it was time to get up and moving. We contemplated getting a tram but decided to walk down to the Esplanade/Beach. It took almost 30mins but was pretty nice – past lots of restaurants and cafes.

Such a lovely area and there were plenty of people out enjoying the beautiful weather.

We decided to check out the markets first and look for something for lunch.

Amazingly the very first stall was one serving empanadas – and they had a black bean one which was vegan. It was really delicious and such a treat. Kevin had a cheese empanada which he also enjoyed.

We then checked out the stalls. It was an arts and crafts market (which I quite enjoy) but there wasn’t much I was interested in. You just never know at markets. We did get some more wax wraps.

Next we wandered down to the beach, stopping to rest our feet for a while. I people watched and Kevin had a little lie down.

We then walked out along the pier. It was a nice walk and the views back to St. Kilda & Melbourne were impressive

  • No Fairy Penguins at this time a day but we did get a selfie :-).

We, of course, had to get a selfie at the end of the pier.

On the way back along the pier Christy (and the pups) facetimed time to let me know that their first walk with the dog walker had gone well.

We made it back to solid land and started the walk back to our apartment. It definitely seemed longer on the way home (though luckily was pretty flat) but I had rather sore feet by the time we got home. It’s definitely been a long time since I walked that far and was on my feet that long. But walking did allow us to see many of the lovely homes/buildings in the area, including the church that we overlook….

And a better view of our apartment building.

Boy was I glad to be back and able to put my feet up. But before I did I quickly made us a little snack to enjoy.

Tonight I made (or really assembled) sweet potato gnocchi with a veggie pasta sauce. It was really good. We watched some YouTube videos and enjoyed another stunning sunset.

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.