This is the final post about the last day of our Melbourne trip! We spent one more day in Melbourne after coming back from Phillip Island to see the Penguin Parade. The Nobbies (Seal Rocks) was awesome and so was Swan Lake Guest House.

Here’s a random photo Ling took of me at Phillip Island. That bitch (it’s a female dog!) belongs to the car rental company’s owner, a friendly one, wagged her tail and came up to me to be petted. :)

We had a iVenture Card which allows us to choose 5 different things (anything from Puffing Billy to admission to Eureka 88) and we realized that we couldn’t utilize it fully due to a lack of time. I wanted Ling to browse around Queen Victoria Market so that’s where we went after checking into Citidines on Bourke Street.

Unfortunately, it had just closed! Ling had a craving for fish and chips and I wanted to bring her there for some proper ones but since that plan was scuttled we headed to Maccas instead.

Maccas is the local slang for McDonald’s and I eat at different ones all over the world – from McDonald’s in Korea to McDonald’s in Germany (where they serve beer). It’s a favorite haunt of mine from back when I was studying in uni due to their ever changing menu. It was called New Tastes Menu back then and I had written quite a lot about it.

Salads Plus was their new initiative the last time I was in Melbourne in 2003 and this time it was Tastes of America. This is what I love about the McDonald’s in Australia. You can actually eat there every week and have something different from a limited time menu.

We had the California Chicken (AUD 5.95) – pretty much the only thing we can eat since she doesn’t take beef. The other two versions are Smoky Texan (Angus Beef) and New York Classic (also beef).

The California Chicken burger is a chicken patty with sweet chilli lime and summer mayo. I never quite got what summer mayo means.

It’s pretty good though – I love the crisp lettuce in Australia, it’s very different from the limp ones over here.

We also browsed around cooking shops – we share a common interest here – and I bought a Cuisipro decorating pen for AUD 20. I want to use it for plating when I cook for her – you can write stuff using gravy or chocolate, and Ling promptly *stole* it coz it’s too awesome! -_-

Hopped on the free City Circle Tram and ended up at Crown Complex. There’s flames in the evening but it was still early so we walked around instead.

Ling + HB in Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne!

The Travellers! That’s what these wire frame art is called. It chronicles Australia’s history and the first one is called:

Gayip. It represents the Aboriginal period before the settlers came during the convict period (1788-1888). Australia used to be a penal colony e.g. a place where English prisoners were shipped to. The Prime Minister when I was studying then proudly traced his heritage to his grandmother, who was a convicted thief.

Chill On Ice Lounge & Ski Lodge is an overrated tourist trap.

You dress in cold weather parkas and go into a -10 Celsius room made entirely of ice. There’s a free cocktail served in a glass made entirely of ice!

That was pretty good but there’s nothing much to see inside. You can’t take photos either, but there’s buttons to press for posed photos.

None of them turned out well though so we didn’t get the photos. Admission is AUD 30 per person (!!!) – we just wanted to use up the iVenture Card and this was one of the places which accepts it.

The next destination is the Eureka Skydeck 88. It’s located on the 88th floor – thus the name, and it’s the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere with an observation deck at 285 meters.

This was pretty nice – you get an entire 360 degree view of Melbourne from the observation deck. There are avid photographers camping with kitted out dSLRs with huge lenses to take photos of the grand view.

It’s quite nice, especially at sunset. :)

You can see one side is still bright, while the other is getting dark.

We spent quite a while there before going to Coles.

Lord of the Fries! Haha! I love the reference (it’s a rather dark book).

I had promised to cook her dinner before going back – a complete course with kangaroo roast as the main dish. We had a lot of fun in Melbourne – our first trip overseas, but definitely not the last. I’m going to write about the kangaroo meat dinner tomorrow before we head off for more lovely memories together on her birthday weekend! <3

I love you dear! It’s always a pleasure being with you and I would like to spend each and every moment of my life with you in the future. *hugs*