3-Day Trip to Melbourne

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When someone says, ‘You’ll go places,’ you smile with a polite thank you. There are some lucky days when this phrase comes true, literally. Last year I won ‘Reasons for falling in love with Melbourne’ contest on Indiblogger, sponsored by Tourism Victoria. It was a surreal feeling. I was happy and my husband was overjoyed. After months of preparations, coordination, visa filing, bookings and planning, we landed in Melbourne on 28th September last year.

After we landed, we took the bus to our hotel - Ibis Styles Kingsgate and deposited our luggage there. Then we went to explore the city. Our first destination was Melbourne Cricket Ground. The beauty and grandeur of MCG can’t be expressed in words. It’s a mecca for cricket lovers! We took the MCG tour and went ahead to Fitzroy Garden. It’s at a walking distance from MCG and is a perfect place to relax. After spending some time there, we took the Hop on, Hop Off bus. It was nearly noon and we were jet lagged. We flew from New York to New Delhi, and from there to Melbourne. We called the day off and decided to rest.

City Circle Tram

MCG

We started early the next day and went straight to Flinders Street Station and saw all the attractions nearby - Colin Street, St. Paul’s Cathedral Degraves Street, Block Arcade, Hosier Lane and Federation Square. This may sound too much, but these places in such close proximity to each other than you can cover it in 2.5 hours. Next we headed to Queen Victoria Market. We clicked some pictures, drank coconut water but didn’t shop there. It was around noon and we went to the next attraction - Shrine of Remembrance. It’s spectacular! You get an amazing view of Melbourne city from it. After soaking the gorgeous scenery, our next stop was Royal Botanical Garden, which is adjacent to Shrine of Remembrance. It took us nearly two hours to cover it.

Flower shop at Queen Victoria Market

View from Shrine of Remembrance

Harbour Side

Next in the itinerary Melbourne Star Observation Wheel and harbour area. As we had plans of going to Eureka SkyDeck at night, we skipped Melbourne Star Wheel. We took some pictures and headed to the second last destination for the day - St Kilda Beach. It’s beautiful attraction and we saw the sunset. We waited for the penguins to return to their abodes before we headed to the last destination of the day. Eureka Skydeck. It’s a must visit attraction in Melbourne. When you reach the 88th floor, you feel the stars have come down!

Melbourne Star Observation Wheel

Sunset at St Kilda Beach

Night view of Yarra River

View from Eureka Skydeck

In case you are wondering that we covered a hell lot in two days, let me tell you the joke in our family is - Hamare saath ghoomne ke liye, dil mein jazbaa aur pairon mein running shoes hone chahiye! Oops, I forgot to mention, we also covered Banks of Yarra River and Harbour side. On the third day, we went to Great Ocean Road, which is one of the most beautiful attractions in the world, hands down!

To sum up our experience in Melbourne - it’s relaxed, modern and beautiful.

P. S. - If you want to read the details and see pictures of each attraction, click on the name to read it on my husband’s blog. You can read the winning entry here

Comments

  1. Sri KriFebruary 17, 2016 at 11:14 PM

    Must be a lovable experience for sure.Wonderful Night shot.What is the best time to visit Australia?

    Cheers,
    Sriram & Krithiga

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Saru SinghalMarch 7, 2016 at 11:21 AM

      Most say Early November, but I like to visit when it's a bit cold.

      Delete
  2. UnknownFebruary 17, 2016 at 11:18 PM

    Wow, Great pics. You really captured some amazing view of the city. I live in Melbourne & I love the city..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Saru SinghalMarch 7, 2016 at 11:27 AM

      Good to know. I feel it's beautiful and laid-back.

      Delete
  3. UnknownFebruary 17, 2016 at 11:21 PM

    Woah! You guys captured hell lot in two days. Amazing clicks Saru. And yes hats off to your Jazba & running shoes. :-P

    ReplyDelete
  4. VaisakhiFebruary 17, 2016 at 11:30 PM

    Lovely Pictures!!
    3 days and soooo much to see...did you guys rest like at all???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Saru SinghalMarch 8, 2016 at 1:31 PM

      Nah, we walked an average of 16000 steps a day. :)

      Delete
  5. KalaFebruary 17, 2016 at 11:46 PM

    That was amazing Saru! I managed only two days in Melbourne, in last May....was freezing even then, didn't see many of the places you mention here. Did Ocean road trip thoroughly though! Great clicks. I need to go back!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Saru SinghalMarch 8, 2016 at 1:36 PM

      Cool! Do share your pictures and experience with us.

      Delete
  6. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2016 at 11:59 PM

    Fabulous shots of the city!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jyothi D'melloFebruary 18, 2016 at 12:00 AM

    I did read your winning entry last year and also a few pic updates on your FB page. This post sums up your trip nicely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Saru SinghalMarch 8, 2016 at 1:40 PM

      Yeah, I wanted to compile everything in one post. Thanks for reading, Jyothi.

      Delete
  8. Rahul BhatiaFebruary 18, 2016 at 1:26 AM

    A lovely travelogue Saru, and well deserved win which took you there! Wishing you many more wins and travels:)

    ReplyDelete
  9. ArunFebruary 18, 2016 at 2:20 AM

    Awesome pics!
    Even when I visited Melbourne (though it was official and was on a super tight schedule), like a true cricket bhakt somehow squeezed out time and the first thing I did was to visit MCG. Didn't have time to visit any other places though!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yogi SaraswatFebruary 18, 2016 at 2:24 AM

    Really a beautiful place to visit . My sister in law was there 2-3 months ago but now has shifted to the capital city . Royal Botanical garden is superb .

    ReplyDelete
  11. Arun MuthusamyFebruary 18, 2016 at 3:34 AM

    Lovely pics especially the nice shots

    ReplyDelete
  12. ManiparnaFebruary 18, 2016 at 5:41 AM

    Must be a wonderful trip for both of you... nice pictures, Saru. Have read a few of Alok's posts, too... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Somali K ChakrabartiFebruary 18, 2016 at 8:54 AM

    Lovely post Saru. What makes it even better is that you won the trip to Melbourne. An experience of a lifetime!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ujjwal Kumar SenFebruary 18, 2016 at 10:22 AM

    Wow, that is really a great trip, just awesome, one day I will go there too.

    ReplyDelete
  15. rupam sarmaFebruary 18, 2016 at 12:58 PM

    Great, Awesome photos.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Purba chakrabortyFebruary 18, 2016 at 5:27 PM

    Wow! You both had a wonderful time in Melbourne. Beautiful pictures. And your winning entry was too good. Keep rocking! :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. sunaina serna ahluwaliaFebruary 19, 2016 at 12:18 AM

    Wonderful! Heartiest congratulationstoo:)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ami BhatFebruary 19, 2016 at 1:57 AM

    Congrats on this trip....Melbourne is on my to-do list alright.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Shrinidhi HandeFebruary 19, 2016 at 2:39 AM

    nice compilation. I too explored some of these places

    ReplyDelete
  20. SUmanFebruary 19, 2016 at 4:39 AM

    This is just an amazing blog post.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Saurabh ChawlaFebruary 20, 2016 at 1:36 AM

    Wow! Must have been fantastic experience. Congrats again for the win :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Arpita DashFebruary 20, 2016 at 3:22 AM

    Wow lovely pics! It must be a great place for visiting... :) You must have great experience.

    ReplyDelete
  23. UnknownFebruary 21, 2016 at 1:04 AM

    Awesome pictures and great write-up too Saru,am sure you had a great time :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Bushra MuzaffarFebruary 21, 2016 at 10:00 PM

    Saru, you have very nicely compiled your trip to Australia. You surely have covered a lot of places during your trip and am enjoying reading all about them on Alok's blog. He is really good with the camera :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. swatiFebruary 22, 2016 at 9:28 AM

    Saru got the feeling 'I too visited Australia' with your post:) you have described it so nicely with your pics felt we had a trip to Melbourne as well ;);) great piece !!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Saru SinghalMarch 12, 2016 at 8:19 AM

    @Everyone - Thank you so much for your lovely comments. :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Life360degreesOctober 23, 2016 at 2:07 PM

    Lovely pics ! Very well compiled.

    ReplyDelete
  28. R&NBNovember 3, 2016 at 5:17 AM

    Awesome Saru! Congrats! I remember the contest and you are the deserving winner!

    ReplyDelete

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