Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Snapshots! Melbourne, Australia, Brunswick (Day 3)

The 3rd day of my trip spent traipsing down the bohemian district of Melbourne.
I'd much rather visit such places than the touristy places.
Be sure to try the banana bread from any cafe, paired with a nice cappucino/latte.


After 20 years, the trams in Melbourne have vastly improved. This is the 3rd generation tram affectionately known as the 'bumblebee'. its not surprising to STILL see the first and second generation ones STILL on the roads though!


Believe it or not, the flower shop here is more than 20 years old and I took the same photo in front of it then. seems that melbournians are still keeping the romance alive with roses.


We took a walk down the city area: 4 tram stops away from Bourke street.




I found some nice graffiti walls along an alleyway to admire. the life and soul of the city can be found in small alleyways like this - oh and it's perfectly legal, commissioned by the govt.


First stop: breakfast in the city, at pancake parlour. mine's the traditional one with bacon, eggs and yummy pancakes. Went there again to have dinner on my 5th day.


Ta-dah! this cowboy is about $3plus and its butterscotch and cream, a really nice girl's drink if bailey's up your alley. can buy nice and inexpensive wines here too.


This horse...also took a photo here 20 years ago, so I have to revisit the place. it's actually in front of victoria state library, a grand building with wooden desks and green lighting and galleries of art to visit.


Here is how the cab looks like, behind it is the second generation tram. the number and sign on tram is awfully hard to read. and you have to climb some stairs up, not like the bumblebee, which has a lowered floor like the new SBS buses in SG.


A cool biker dude who IS looking at me taking a photo of him. bikes are same price as cars there, so you have to be a real enthusiast to own one.


Cross culture church on swanston street. when i was there it was called swanston street church of christ if i'm not wrong. I went to the 9 am service. on the exterior, nothing has changed in 20 years except the door is now painted red. in the interior though, no more pews, it's thoroughly modern.


Church building, st paul's cathedral was located just next to federation square. people can sit in the grass of the church and picnic, it's fun! the grass here is soft and furry, and no mossies makes it a breeze to picnic.


The statue outside the church. it's kinda funny, look closely and you will see a gull on his head...bad seagull.


Opposite the road of federation square there is a signature building called flinders street station.


Spot the koala... no, it's a boy reading in a tree. i wanted to do that too, but there were no trees my size.


After federation square, it's a short tram ride away to Brunswick. A similar place in Sg would be Haji lane. spotted punk and goth people, homeless old men, lots of vintage shops selling nice retro furniture, bags, clothes, etc. I like this place very much and would venture here again with another free day. here's my coffee for the day in one of the cafes.


Constantly on the lookout for interesting books so i ventured into this bookstore, the decor is nice and clean, you wouldn't believe they are all second hand books. i'm into second hand books now after realising my monthly book budget is not enough to sustain at the frenzied speed i'm reading books. yes, the ladder was placed there, not by me...


Just outside the bookstore there is a huge adidas factory outlet. The roxy and mooks factory outlets are along great ocean road which I didn't go.


Ooh, this car is tiny! Someone told me it was the Fiat 600 from 60s/70s.




I had to take a photo of this tree because it looks like broccoli and very...fake. almost unreal. the 'hdb' apartments you see in the background are for poor people. we can buy quite a nice house in the suburbs with the price of a 5 room hdb...


This is smith street right smack in the middle of brunswick. the beige shop opposite sells retro stuff i've always wanted to buy, like old luggage, mcd toys, even baseball cards, posters, tv series collectibles. nice to just walk and look in awe.


Nice view overlooking the city in our city point apartment, 23rd floor. i could just stare for ages at the balcony... if not for the cold.

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