Today was a work day for Kevin so we didn’t have the slow, lazy morning we had been having. Kevin left just after 8am. I put on a load of washing while I decided what to do with the day. It was going to be a hot one – over 30C all afternoon so I decided it would be best to get out in the morning and go on a walk to and around the local botanical gardens.
It was supposed to take 15mins to walk there and though it seemed longer (probably because much of the walk was alongside the busy St. Kilda road, it was right on 15mins when I walked in the gates.
I spent the next hour wandering around, sitting to rest for a little bit, and stopping to take lots of photos and videos.
The pond area was lovely, especially once they started the statue fountain
I really enjoyed my walk around the gardens and because of all the trees it wasn’t even too hot.
I found a different route home, off the main road, past some lovely homes with yet more flowers.
I was pretty hot and tired by the time I arrive back at the apartment. But I also felt very rather accomplished. I ate my breakfast (turkish rolls with vegan cheese spread & salad) while I cooled down. Then I draped the washing around the place (mostly in the 2nd bathroom) since there was no drying rack to be found, before showering and getting dressed. I spent the afternoon editing vlogs and writing blog posts. Lunch was some of the leftover pizza. I added some pineapple this time.
Kevin arrived home about 3pm. I cut up some watermelon for an afternoon snack and then a few hours later we ordered a delivery for dinner. I can’t remember the name of the place but it was totally vegan.
I was excited to be able to order ANYTHING I wanted. We both got the Wonton soup. Then shared some “chicken” satay sticks, spring rolls and dumplings. It was ALL delicious.
And of course, another lovely sunset to end the day.
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.
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.
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.
