Melbourne is the capital of Victoria state, second biggest city in Australia, behind only Sydney. It is estimated that due its large population growth, in a few years it will be the bigger city in the country. It is considered one of the most livable cities in the world and since nothing is perfect in 2013 it was considered by “The Economist” magazine the fourth most expensive of the world.
It is a city full of charm, its contemporary, has lots of coffee shops, bars, cultural shows, restaurants and at the same time, has old constructions very well conserved, such as churchs, train stations, bus stops that help preserve the memory of this city founded in 1835. And to complete has beach, like most of cities in Australia, since the populated region is costal.
I spent my first days in Australia in Melbourne, while I was still getting used to the time difference.I was quiet days, without hype. I visited Saint Kilda beach, near my brother’s house where I was staying. Walked through the beachfront seeing the landscape, which is amazing. Wandered the famous Acland Street, where there are some fashion and gift stores and several trendy restaurants.
I went to the city center, disembarking on Flinders Station, visited the exhibition on Federation Square and look up the art shops around there, which were amazing.The works of art are unique, modern and colorful, just the way I like. I wanted everything.
Leaving the Federation Square I walked through Swanston Street where there are some stores, coffee shops and street artists. Went to Chinatown where I tried an chinese pancake, it was delicious. On this same street we came back at night to a bar on first floor called Father’s office.
One day we chose to do a city tour using a hop-on-hop-off bus. We bought the ticket on the local groupon for half price. The bus goes through the main city tourist spots, where you can get off and pick up the next bus, which goes every 30 minutes. We chose to visit the National Gallery of Victoria, where there are art exhibition from different places around the world, and every piece is dedicated to a location and a historical period. We also hopped off on the Eureka Skydeck, the tallest building in town, where you can have a privileged view from the entire town and take good pictures.
With a rented car we visited the famous colorful storages on Brighton Beach. This is one of the most valuable residential areas in Melbourne, one storage has recently been sold by 300 thousand australian dollars. Going on this region we find stunning houses.
To finish the day we watched the sunset on Black rock beach.
Next post I will tell you about my trip to Great Ocean Road. One of the most incredible places I have ever seen, be sure to come back! See you.