Way DOWN UNDAAAAAAAAAA

"Ello Mate!"... "No Worries, Mate!" .......is what I heard all week in my vacation in Melbourne, Aussie. Took a break from Singapore and went down undaaaaa and explored a different continent!

Bobby, Andrew and I flew to Melbourne with Emirates. It was a nice flight. There were sooo many movies to choose from! I watched all Disney movies of course! I watched "The Princess and the Frog" and "UP"...such great movies. I have anxiety on airplanes, so I barely ate and panicked the whole time as usual. The airplane had terrible turblence so my stomach literally felt like it was jumping from my throat down to my feet. We finally got off and I felt sooo sick. We waited hours for Caitie's arrival from Thailand to Melbourne. Once she arrived, it was off to our hostel, Urban Central.

Urban Central is in the outskirts of the city. It was across from a 24-hour McDonalds, which we did not visit once on our trip. I refused to eat any fast-food, rice, and noodles; I needed Asian-food break. I was very impressed with the hostel. There was a communal kitchen, bar, and computer room. Our family room was so cute. There was a bunk bed, king bed, "living room", tv in the corner, and a bathroom. I did not have anything to complain about, besides the fact it was freezing! It was 4 degrees celsius when we got there, which is 44 degrees Fahrenheit, I believe, so yeah FREEZING COLD, comparing to Singapore's 90 degree weather--sunny, warm, and humid, but it was a nice change. It made me feel like I was at home with the cold weather and autumn.

We explored Melbourne the first day, walking up and down the streets. Melbourne is a beautiful city! There are trams and cable cars on the roads along with the cars and random horse carriages. The Aussies are SO NICE! We had lunch at Young and Jackson, where I had a bagel sandwich with a SALAD...two things I haven't had in MONTHS. I was in Heaven, no joke. After lunch, we walked around some more and familiarized ourselves with the city. We napped and passed out for 8 hours...haha oops? We got up around 10pm and were starving. We went to CROWN Casino. I had a delicious plate of pasta with chicken and spinach with a hunk of parmesan cheese on top. In Aussie, the legal age to gamble is 18, so of course, we gambled. I made 160 Aussie dollars from the Wheel. I was impressed with myself! Maybe it was luck or maybe I am just a closeted professional gambler? One or the other....

The next day, we visited the Rod Laver Arena. Now, I did not know who this was hahaha. He was a famous tennis player, apparently. I am not into tennis, but Bobby (obvii), Andrew, and Caitie are. I was just trodding along. After that, we went to Fitzroy Gardens and Cooks' Cottage. The Gardens were beautiful! Hilarious story...we were taking pictures on this bench and a Chinese lady came up and starting rambling in Chinese. I replied, "I'm sorry I don't speak Chinese." She proceeded to speak anyways and her voice got louder. She actually wanted us to get off the bench so her and her hubby could take pictures... RUUUUDE, girlfrannnn. After that little incident, we went to a rooftop bar, where we had crazy damn good appetizers which included sausage rolls, bread with various dips, spinach Spanakopita, and deep fried polenta sticks. Then we went to a British pub called "The Elephant & Wheelbarrow," where I got two glasses of wine, preparing myself for the wine tour of course. We indulged with french fries ("chips") and nachos, took a cab back, and passed out.

Our first day of tours started with the Yarra Valley Wine Tour. We were the youngest people on the tour. The tour guide (I'm pretty sure) loved us! He was the nicest man ever. We learned to drink wine properly and to "appreciate" its flavors. Each wine place we visited, somebody was explaining the flavor and instructing us to look, smell, and swirl the wine, when really we just downed that bad boy. Go American College Students! hahaha. The instructor would say, "Ok, now drink your wine"...our glasses were always empty. I love wine, I couldn't help myself. Besides the wine, our lunch was fantastic! So fancy! One of my favorite wines is Chandon, which is sparkly, bubbly wine. I finally got my wine and cheese at Chandon as well. The view of the mountains and vineyards was absolutely breathtaking. I could not believe how beautiful it was. I never wanted to leave that place. With wine in one hand, great friends, and a beautiful view, I was very content with my life. After a long day of trying wines, we all took a snoozer on the ride back to the city. For dinner, we decided to treat ourselves to steak at "Squires Loft." My mouth was having a party, I love steak! It was perfectly cooked with a warm baked potato. After dinner, we went back to our hostel and slept, ready for another tour.

Our second tour was to Phillip Island to see Aussie critters! For breakfast we went to Babka Bakery (Russian). It was unbelievably delicious! I had Russian Breakfast tea with a herb omelette with cheese and freshly-baked bread. I had a plan to indulge and spoil my stomach, and I was doing it justice in Melbourne. We grabbed some lunch from Babka as well and off to Phillip Island! We first went to a farm with the typical farm animals: goats, cows, horses.... and of course being in Aussie, there were kangaroos and wombats! I FED, PETTED, AND HUNG OUT WITH KANGAROOS! I have always wanted to do that, and I did it! I can "check it off" on my "bucket list." Kangaroos are such sweet animals! I was so excited, probably more excited than the children on our tour bus. After that, it was time to see koala bears! They looked like huge fluffy gray balls; they were up in the trees sleeping away. I was a foot away from a sleeping koala bear! They are soo adorable, but if you mess with them, they will claw your face off! Such cute, vicious creatures! It was finally time to go to the actual Phillip Island to see penguins! But before, we saw a field of wallabies (mini-versions of kangaroos) and took pictures on top of a cliff of an ocean view where penguins climb up to get home (very steep!). It was a beautiful view! We got to the penguin parade just in time and purchased ponchos to sit on. It was pouring rain.. rain or shine, the penguins were coming! They swam out of the ocean and waddled up the shore to their homes. I was right next to penguins! They are adorable little things, waddling to go home. I felt so Aussie at that moment, hanging out with kangaroos, koala bears, and penguins! (felt a bit like Steve Irwin ....may he rest in peace).

The third and last tour we went on was a Sports/Beer Brewery Tour. We visited the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, Flemington Horse Race Grounds, and drove on the Formula 1 Racecar tracks. I personally did not care too much about the sports tour, I was just looking forward to the beer! We visited the Carlton Brewhouse and saw how the beer was made. We were all given 4 glasses and chose the beer we wanted to sample. I got the Carlton Mild, Pure Blonde, Cascade, and Bulmer's. Now, Bulmer's is a special beer... it is a Cider, and it is life-changing. It was the most tasty and delicious beer/cider I have ever had; it is probably my new favorite drink. It needs to get imported to the USA right away. For dinner we went to an Italian restaurant where we had endless garlic bread, cheese platter, wine, chicken marsala, and pastas. Such a great meal to end the day.

Queen Victoria Market was the next "place to visit" on our Melbourne list. For breakfast, we went to this cute cafe where I had hot chocolate (SO GOOOOOD and WARM) with Eggs Benedict...absolutely fabulous! We rented and rode bikes to the market. I haven't been on a bike in years and I was surprised on how normal it felt, although it was terrifying sharing the roads with cars and buses and trams! Queen Victoria is a huge market where one can find fresh vegetables and fruits, every Aussie souvenir you can think of, and endless shopping. We ate at the Vic Market Place where I had a huge block of lasagna with a hunk of cheese right on top....oooooh I was loving life...cheese and all!

For our last night in Melbourne, we went to P.J. O'Brien's (Irish pub) for dinner and drinks. I had a fat hamburger with fries. I had way too much Bulmer's Cider and felt pretty good towards the end of the night. I danced, sang, and had a great last night with Caitie, Andrew, and Bobby. In PJ's, we were the youngest people and got carded! SAY WHAT. The pub was full of cougars, old people, and weird people, but it was so funny to people-watch. It was a great night to end my week of Melbourne, by the way Melbourne is pronounced "Mel-bin"...ha!

On our last day in the beautiful city, we had lunch at an Italian place. I had a caprese pizza bread....soooo good! I think we were all depressed when we got up that morning, knowing that we would have to leave and return back to Asia. Something that really was depressing was that I did not get to see Erin and CJ in Melbourne. They are actually studying there at Monash Uni. Erin and CJ were on THEIR break, so we had just missed them! It would have been more fun with them there to show us around and explore together, but hey I still had an amazing time in Melbourne. One day I will be back to visit and make my way up to Sydney and the Outback! Did I mention how hot the Aussie accent is? I was loving the boys!!!!! I will never forget my time in Melbourne.

.... Back in Singapore now with less than 2 months left! I cannot believe it, seriously. I just got here! Where did the time go? October will be stressful with lots of presentations to prepare for----a huge chunk of my grade.. I guess I should start actually doing work. Studying abroad and school work? WHAT? =) Tomorrow night I am going to Marina Bay Sands with the girls and Loyola boys to see.......LION KING BROADWAY! sooo stoked! Until that production, Much love from the Chatty Chong! xoxoxoxo