Cinque Terre.. O Cinque Terre

I don't even know where to begin, this place just blew us away.

Maybe I begin with the drive. The long winding drive along the narrow mountain road.

From La Spezia up to the 5 Terre was a good other hour.

There was this amazing Italian auntie in a little blue old banger driving in front of us and she was so hard to keep up with. And we were in an Audi A3, she an old banger with broken backlights. She was that good! Even at steep turns, she probably just dropped gear and went whoosh. Hubby was so impressed. Without her in front of us, we probably we would have gone a lot slower and taken a good half hour more.

The driving may not be so pleasant (hubby loved it though- he said it was like Initial-D), but the view is amazing!

Endless blue sea, endless blue sky.

We booked apartment at the 3rd Terre Corniglia, which is also the smallest and the only one perched on a hill hence no port.

Corniglia is beautiful. Colourful terraced houses lined up on the hill.

And so is our apartment, Lidia our host is superbly helpful, friendly and wonderful and the balcony came in so handy.

She recommended a seafood restaurant to us and boy weren't we glad we tried!

La Posada in Corniglia was probably the best meal We all had in Italy throughout the whole trip. And definitely one of the best seafood we we've ever had! Or maybe the best! Fish, calamari, prawns all were so fresh and the cooking was simple authentic Italian yet sublime.

You should also go there for lunch for they have al fresco seating overlooking the hills, very scenic!

Sheldon slept in his pram after I fed him their special house pasta, with a sauce that's a mix of pesto, tomato, cream of milk and ham!

It was a unique delightful combi!

The next morning, we climbed down the 300 or so steps from top of Corniglia village to their train station. Surprisingly Sheldon enjoyed it.

But then we found out the train drivers were on strike that day! Alas!

Luckily we drive to Cinque terre. So we took the shuttle bus up to the village again (2.50euro!), and then drove out.

We realised we couldn't cover all 5 villages in a day so we drove towards one direction.. to Vernazza and then monterosso, the 4th and 5th village.

Vernazza was even more beautiful. The photoes we took here were so gorgeous.

Their streets were charming too.

And do try this little place Il pirata. Wow!

It was a very sugar laden breakfast but it was so good!

After exploring Vernazza, we then drove somemore to Monterrosso, the bigger villages with beaches.

And yet again we were in awe.

The village itself was more crowded and touristy. So that part was not as impressive.

However, the view by the beach was awesome.

Monterosso Al Mare...

Sheldon had loads of fun by the beach, throwing stones into the water and looking for colored stones in the sand, red one for daddy, white one for mommy and green one for himself. 

The sun was strong and the water was cold. It would have been a refreshing swim had I brought my swim gears!

Many kids were swimming in the sea and playing in the sand. What a lovely holiday place to take the kids to.

We also has a pretty decent Italian Gastronomia lunch at a pretty corner in Monterosso ( @Gastronomia San Martino), however because it was listed as #1 on tripadvisor, we had too high an expectation and we were let down big time. Or perhaps our dinner at La Posada was just too good!

So we covered these 3 towns and we didnt have enough days to explore more. No worries though, we hear that the other 2 are pretty similar too.

We had to return to La posada for dinner the next evening. It was just THAT good!  Christian the friendly server gave us a wide smile the moment we stepped in.

And that great gastronomic dinner ended a really gorgeous trip to Cinque Terre. We left for Milan the next morning, stopping by Seravelle Factory outlets along the way.

Ciao Corniglia! Grazie Mille!

Firenze Frenzy!

The next leg of the journey is rather hectic. We were very ambitious in the planning. To really savour Florence I feel you need more than 2 nights here. We only had 2 nights.

First stop from Rome was Space Prada outlet in Montevarchi, a small town in the Tuscan picturesque hills. It was about 2 hours drive. But it was an easy drive with beautiful view of the Tuscan hills, fields and villages. 

There was a cafe at the outlet that served decent lunch there. But I had no time to waste so I ate take out pizza in the car, it was from Spizzico a fast food chain and surprisingly it was very edible.

The Space outlet was not as good as people described in tripadvisor and forums. Stuff was not as cheap as they said. Although still a lot cheaper than back home. Wallets were euro$250 and above. Miu miu Totes were euro 550 and above. Prada leather bags were euro 800 and above.

We went on to the The Mall, another outlet that carries more brands as I was after the Bottega outlet. 

It was about half hour drive away, also in the hills of Tuscany, The mall was in another small town Leccio.

Here, Gucci was worth a visit. Nice boutique, with friendly sales assistance ( did I mention handsome?) and lovely bargains. Wallets from euro 150 onwards for women.

Bottega outlet was pretty good too, maybe 30% off boutiques.

We also found Prada outlet there! So actually we could have skipped Space outlet and saved time. Still I was glad I went to Space as I found some really good deals that weren't available at the Mall.

Do google themall.it if you wish to know the full directory.

The mall closed at 7 pm daily. And in we went to Florence.

We were ravenous by the time we got into the apartment. So it was a perfect night to go for the famous Fiorentina Bistecca, that originated from Florence.0 Huge T-bone steak charred on the outside, juicy medium rare on the inside.

Our host recommended this place called la lampara. We though the name was funny. Thankfully the food was not. It was amazing. 

It was beautiful. Love at first sight I'd say,

Our apartment was literally steps away from the famous Il Duomo, the cathedral, and the bell tower. 

Probably, this cathedral was the first one I saw that was prettier outside than inside. However the paintings on the dome overhead kinda made

up for it. Until you look at it more carefully.

If you read Dan Brown's Inferno like I did before visiting Florence. You will be more excited when seeing these magnificent historical artworks. If you notice, the drawings depicted hell scenes, punishments for the 7 sins. Horrifying pictures of Satan and vivid imageries of sinners punished in hell in various cruel and gory ways. Not very slightly, but interesting nonetheless.

Around the cathedral, do look for another entrance to climb 436 narrow steps up the dome.

We didn't go up as It would be too ambitious to climb that many steps with a hyperactive toddler. 

But my friends who did, told us that the view was amazing from the top.

The Grotto's bell tower next to the cathedral is a pretty sight too. And again you may wish to climb it but not if you are with kids. 

I was pretty happy hanging out around il duomo.

The streets, the shops were charming.

However beware of unscrupulous leather goods seller.

I stepped into a shoes shop around San Lorenzo piazza called Martelli. Seeing that the prices were around Euro 20-40, I was excited yet apprehensive.

I asked the shop lady if the shoes were leather and if they were made in Italy. 

She said yes leather and yes they are made in Italy, just not in Florence.

I sniffed the shoes. synthetic. I peeped inside the shoes : Made in PRC.

Sigh. She just spoiled my perfect picture of Florence.

After looking at the other leather shops and comparing the prices. I figure I might as well pay a little more and get a branded one at the outlet. At least quality is not jeopardized.

San Lorenzo market was mentioned in many forums however I suspected that many of things there which are cheap were made in china. I didnt visit in the end. But we did have a nice time strolling along the small streets around duomo. 

We also found this interesting concept store. Fullstop.it. They make a range of bags and watches made of high grade rubber which can be mixed and matched. Pretty fun!

The three of us bought matching watches!

After basking in the Florentian charm, we realised we had to go back to the mall again. Shopping is never enough for us Singaporeans. Especially with such bargains. 

Our suitcases were bursting at the seams by this time. 

This is why driving a car is so convenient, we can go back to the outlet anytime we want haha.

We only came back to Florence after the mall was closed at 7.

We parked along the Arno river ( it was free) and ogled at the famous old bride ponte Vecchio. Also mentioned many times in Dan Brown's Inferno.

We picked a restaurant with great view of the bridge and compromised on the food quality. 

This bridge is famous as it is linked to the palazzo vecchio and there are shops built along the bridge. The shops used to be occupied by butchers but these days mostly by souvenier shops.

So that's all we had for Florence, we would come back for sure. Good food, bargain outlets nearby, pretty places to eat and ogle. What else would we need?

Reminds us a little of Sevilla, friendly little historical town, rich with history, good food and shopping :)

Ciao Florence. See you again next time.

Next, we were going to Pisa and take photo with what Sheldon exclaimed :"This building is not balanced !"

After an hour or so drive, we managed to find parking alongside the road near the tower and took a short walk to the tower of Pisa. Surprisingly there were quite a few Africans selling accesories and toys alongside the road we parked and of course they asked for a "fee" if we would like to park there. So we bought a little turtle toy for Sheldon in exchange for the car safety. That was a bummer. 

Anyway, there's really nothing in Pisa except for the tower and the cathedral and baptismal around it. So it was just a quick stop for us to take the super touristy picture of the leaning tower.

This is the only place that we are allowed to do really weird kicking or pushing poses while taking photoes. 

 

The place was packed with tourists and you have to buy tickets to go up the tower, to enter the baptismal and cathedral. We couldn't be bothered.

We just did the touristy thingy, took silly photoes, selfies, selfie videos, and then headed off for lunch.

Recommended on tripadvisor, we were glad we ate here. It was just a short walk along via Santa Maria : Osteria i Santi.

The grilled beef, the pasta with wild boar and the tiramisu were to die for. The cod was very decent too.

The town Pisa itself is not pretty. Nothing like Florence. So there's not much to see and a quick stop is enough.

On we went again, up north to the coastal towns in the province of Genoa. 

Stay tuned for stories of the beautiful Italian coastal towns and Unesco national parks of the 5 villages : Cinque Terre.

Digging Rome deeper

17-21st Oct- Rome

As one of the oldest cities in the world, base for the magnificent Roman Empire, Rome is rich with history.

That's part of the charm we felt too. Slowly we started finding her piazzas charming and the fountains beautiful and the streets filled with character.

And in between, you will find the various Roman ruins, the colosseum - what Sheldon lovingly calls the "broken old stadium" and all other old fascinating buildings that you would ferociously google after seeing them, such as pantheon.

Rome is vast, spread out and crowded. 

It can hot and dusty, laden with flies in the summer too.

To walk from one attraction to another can take sometime, 15 mins to half hour and to Vatican City at the other side of the River Tiber, even more time. You definitely need more than 3 days here to really see and feel Rome.

Looking unfriendly at first, you may just like it after 3 days.

The Italians are surprisingly unfriendly. I find the Spaniards way better.

They are no frills, no fuss people, efficient but unfriendly. At least so far that's what we felt.

And tourists tourists everywhere.

From European, Americans and Asians.

Plenty of them.

Having said that, the city itself has many picture worthy sites and charming walks. In fact plenty of that. Even along the bustling streets of Rome. 

Around Rome, I recommend walking as a mode of transport, plus taxi for the times you got too tired or too sweaty from walking. The metro is very crowded, didnt like it much. Or maybe it was a sunday. Anyway, not so kid friendly, many times there were no escalator or lift. Probably similar to London tube's old and dirty stations. Except with narrower walkways.

You may want to opt for the "hop on hop off" touristy double decker bus too, if you hate walking too much.

But driving in Rome is confusing and stressful, like Jakarta.

So on we walk... , too many pretty sites to go to. Piazza Venezia, Pantheon, Fountains, Roman forum, Colosseum, various old churches like Santa Maria Ara coeli and many others ..

And as they say, you've never really been to Rome if you didnt visit the Vatican City.

The Trevi fountain is world famous, but alas it was under renovation when we were there. So all the other fountains would have to do.

Take a break in between your conquests at one of their charming trattorias at one of the piazzas. There's always a piazza nearby an attraction.

If you want to do the typical singaporean thingy, go shopping for big brands, hunting for bargains, then head for Spanish steps, where all the big brand boutiques are, where you will see more Asians than Italians on the streets.

Well, the steps itself make for nice photoes.

If you are looking for a pretty little town just outside Rome to relax and breathe some air in between your tours of the bustling capital, head for the Pope's Summer palace at Castel Gandolfo. Just 40 mins drive away,

The Lake Albano nearby is breath taking and the village is charming.

At this point, I have already started liking Rome a little more. Almost like the charm of one of those bad boy thugs your mom warned you about, at the end of the day you just have to fall for the charm. However, soon you realise it was not right and the liking wont last.

Me and hubby decided that we won't come back to Rome, but we may go back to Barca. There's just something missing here. We didnt like it, then we liked it, then we had our moments then it ended and then we felt there are probably better places to go to.

Just like relationships with bad boys. haha

And very importanly for us, how about food? 

People talk about how touristy Rome is and how most of the restaurants are tourist traps. But so far none of the places we ate at were particularly bad. And some were particularly good.

Normally every restaurant would have a few dishes that hit and one of two that missed.

Unlike Barcelona, where the restaurant itself is ether a hit or a miss. Very risky!

We had some really really amazing foods in Spain and some really really disgusting food in Spain, especially Barcelona. 

We figured perhaps if is easier to get a pasta right than say a paella. *shrugs*

On our first night in Rome, we had dinner at one of the lovely piazzas- piazza Navona with 2 charming fountains.

At Tre Scalini, the lasagna and tortellini were amazing and I heard their tartuffo was legendary. I thought it was good, but perhaps not quite legendary.

Our lunch off Via Nazinale was amazing too, with fresh Sole grilled to perfection and the highlight was the onion soup (surprisingly tasty, creamy and not onion-ish at all) and the Carbonara - done the original style: no cream!

And our lunch around the Vatican City ( not inside ) had the best gnocchi i ever had but the Carbonara was a bit too eggy.

We love eating al fresco here, Mid October and the weather was around 20 with strong sun in the afternoon.

But after walking too much, the sweat gets unbearable, so we would take a cab back to the hotel to freshen up before going out again. 

Food was easy for Sheldon, pasta and pizza. And oh! Gelato everywhere! Gelato everyday!

Way easier than Spain.

But overall, I wouldn't recommend Rome for an easy trip with the kids. 

I would recommend leaving the little ones at home until they are big enough to not need the pram at all. Roads are uneven, often pebbly and narrow. 

I feel that Rome is like the Jakarta of Europe, from the airport to the streets. Crowded and messy, dirty and dusty, hot and stuffy in summer, however there are places to go to, you will have your moments and the food is good. 

Next, we are driving to Florence, stopping by Space outlet by Prada and The Mall outlet.. to go shopping mad!!

Most people take trains to Florence as the high speed train would take you there at half the time, compared to driving. But we intend to shop seriously and with a kid on board plus many many luggages, car is a must.

Beware that it is left side driving here. So make sure you drive at the right side of the road! haha

So will tell you more about Florence soon.

It is about 3 hours from Rome to Florence and the highway so far is convenient and easy.

Ciao!!

Worst airport experience welcomed us to Roma

17th October 2014

Buon Giorno!

Yay! We have landed at Leonardo Da Vinci airport, Rome, expecting great weather, comfort of a nice airport, where we can stretch our legs, get ready to see the beautiful Rome.

Alas! We were instead welcomed by an overcrowded airport thats horribly managed.

Being spoilt by Changi airport's amazing effectiveness does not help. The fact that we were expecting something better from an advanced European capital also didnt help.

It was the worst airport experience we ever had. Hot, dusty, crowded. We waited almost an hour for the immigration check, and the queue was unmanaged, overcrowded and messy.

Packed like sardines is appropriate description.

We also couldn't find the baggage claim belt because there was no main LCD panel indicating all the baggage claim information, We had to check one belt by one belt. And it was a long walk from the first belt to the last. And ours was the last! And again it was so crowded. I kept banging into people. I started to wonder if I were actually in some small Indon city airport. 

ok, enough about horrible airport.

Buon Giorno again!!

Now I am waiting for Italian brunch. Ravenous!!

 Perched on a hill, Gianicolo, we had brunch at a terrace with magnificent view of the city.

Loved the fact that all the sandwiches have mozzarella in it. Delicioso!

Next we visited the colossal colosseum!

Sheldon kept saying how broken the castle is haha. I must say it was really a gigantic piece of very important ancient ruins.

Apparently it used to look really majestic with beautiful marble slabs, decorations and sculptures of precious metals but these were stolen and reused elsewhere so we are with just rocky ruins.

It was crowded and also a big place to explore so we took an hour or more here. Pretty tiring but it was very memorable.

We then had dinner at this Tre Scalini at a pretty plaza Navona with 3 fountains.

Not Trevi but pretty all the same. The pasta and tartuffo were amazing.

And with that we ended the day. Sheldon was jetlagged and we were all exhausted.

So far we found Rome not the type of city thats easily likable or irresistibly charming like Barcelona.

But I have a feeling it's a city that needs time to be discovered, to be loved.

It certainly is a very crowded capital. Numerous population with narrow streets don't make a good combination.

Like falling in love slowly. I am excited to know what the next day will enfold for us.

Perth 2014

This post is overdue. Partly because I have been lazy, partly because I was busy with overcoming mood swings and discomfort of third trimester pregnancy, labour and also confinement period.

Being blessed by a second kid and a girl to boot, was simply amazing.

And Perth was our second baby moon (doc says no more travelling after perth til labour!) after Melbourne just barely a month before July.

Weather was cold and windy. It was winter.

We stayed a friend's place by the beach. What! Just by North beach where the surfers did their winter surf (crazy!), the view from the dining hall is breath taking.

We did almost similar things ( what would you do with a bouncing hyper active 3.5 yr old? Aquarium..parks..etc

So just a few new discoveries this time around.

First of all: amazing ribs.

At Hillary's, just a kiosk, the uncle who served us was the owner and he was proud to claim that his ribs are so sought after there are people who flew all the way from Singapore and HK just to eat his ribs.

Yes uncle, ok. Very nice:)

Spicy and tender and tasty. And so value for money. Need I say more.

We also found that the roast duck and HK BbQ downtown next to dragon palace is really good too!

We also bought this supposedly famous Apple strudel from Corica.

I was told it tasted like heaven.

Well I wouldn't know. But it was pretty darn good. Crisp apple, crunchy pastry and very light and irresistible cream.

What's even better? I took the strudel and enjoyed it with a bird's eye view from

King's Park

We also took a trip to fremantle again as we couldn't miss out on Kaili's fresh catch.

We simply love Perth and would like to go for yearly pilgrimage to this lovely place.

Fremantle was packed in the weekend, and the seafood was good as usual.

We ended he trip with our trip to Swam Valley again- stocking up on jarrah honey, nougat, etc.

Alas, it was a monday and we didnt know most shops close on Mondays so you guys better take note.

Thankfully Oggie's was open.

And it was so packed too, probably because there were not many places openned then.

It was so busy that hubby helped on the kitchen voluntarily. In return we for free ice cream though! 

Windarra honey shop was open too, 

Reluctantly, I also bought this eczema balm from the small little house-shop that the aunty kept raving on and on about.

I saw that the ingredients were jarrah honey, cinnamon and virgin coconut oil so I thought let's try for Sheldon ( whose eczema was still bothering him and us!)

Guess what, it worked. Best cream ever!

He rarely itches, redness almost disappeared and now he has pink cheeks but very little irritation.

Awesome trip. til next year.!:)

And in the meantime- it's Italy in October 2014!

Sadly have leave mei mei Leighton (my second baby) behind for 10 days with my mom. 

We are only taking the kor kor for this trip and she is only barely 2 months old by then. 

Rome- Vatican- Florence- Pisa- Cinque Terre- Portofino- Milan.

Stay tuned! 

Melbourne Autumn 2014

Baby moon time!

It is May 2014 now and I am 6 months pregnant with my second little lovely ( a girl yay !)

I couldn't help but plan for last minute holiday while I am still allowed to board a plane! Haha... And after much deliberation, considering how easily I get tired and sleepy, Australia won the vote!

Melbourne this time.

Such a lovely time to visit too. Autumn around 15-20 degree C. 

Australia is such an easy choice if you want an easy, fuss free holiday. It is safe, not crowded, The flight is not too long ( compared to Europe or US), it's right side drive, and the people speak English! 

And of course very kids friendly. 

The hubby likes it too cause I wont be spending a bomb on shopping as Aussie is not a cheap place to shop. 

There's no super awesome factory outlets for me to go crazy in and max out the credit card bills.

It's really a trip to spend quality time with your loved ones, with nice weather, crisp air and blue sky.

So I brought my mom as well as the three of us. 

Once we landed, we couldn't wait but got for the roast duck. Funny?

Well heard it was good and Aussie ducks are plump and fatty what. So we expect good stuff. After asking around, apparently pacific house bbq was a popular pick.

After we collected our Turquoise Holden SV6, we were on our way to town! (hubby said in Aussie must drive Ausie car. But he got no explanation on why he must choose one with a V6 engine!!!!)

Collection from Hertz just outside the airport was quick and hassle free though.

Of course, he didn't forget to book one with a car seat for Sheldon. Don't play play in Australia. Get a car seat else get fined. You touch your phone while driving and you get fined $200 too! Wow! They should implement in singapore!

We went to check into our apartments ah docklands but alas! We arrived at 6 plus and the reception for the apartment was only openned from 9-6pm. 

I booked an apartment through agoda, not bad $300 for 2 bedroom per night and its in Docklands, view was gonna be awesome but.... the check in after hours was a hassle. As I had to call the number agoda gave me and the girl wanted me to sms her a picture of my credit card! (???) That is such a no no. Anyway I was on roaming with no 3G or Wifi how can I send her an sms of a picture? 

After much arguing she relented and gave me the pass code anyway. We retrieved the keys from the late check in box. But after we dropped out luggage in the apartment, we were ravenous. Duck time!!!!

We picked the Chinatown branch of pacific bbq and boy did we pay a hefty price for being a noob in finding carpark lot!!!

We couldn't find lot on the roadside or public car park areas so parked in the covered car park in the middle of Downtown - Lonsdale street. And we paid the price. $13 AUD for an hour to be exact as it was a flat fee.

Zzzzzzzz....

And how about the duck?

Sadly, it fell short of our expectations as we have had better ones in Auckland, (No.1 bbq) and of course London ( Gold Mine and Four Seasons). 

But Sheldon finished his rice and duck skin! Haha spat out the meat though as usual. Still a picky eater.

When we were back to the apartments, we managed to go to the supermarkets just downstairs at docklands ( closed at 11 pm), and bought some supplies : milk, bread, butter, cheese, yogurt, honey, etc)

And the next morning, we were greeted by the most awesome view ever.

View of the harbour and a freshly cooked breakfast by my mom! This is why you bring your mom for holidays ahhaha!

So what shall we do on the first day?

It was a Saturday, so off to the market we go. Queen Vic Market is famous and they are open on weekends and certain other days within the week only.

Bustling and interesting, my mom seemed to be having the most fun.

" Wowwww.... nice meat.. wow look at the lamb chops.. so pink. Wow.... the veggie so fresh and green.. wow so pretty !!!"

Sounds like me in a shoe shop!

We had some of their famous bratwurst hotdog too from the bratwurst stall. It has a long queue. Apparently, eversince this stall was bought over by a PRC family, the standard has dropped, the sausages have become smaller. But we weren't complaining. They were good enough!

Sheldon was busy asking for Lollies, macaroons and chocolates, the market has such an array of delectable sweet goodies.

He also picked up a new hobby. photography! He has been borrowing his daddy's DSLR and took some pics!

Some of the pics pretty nice too! 

Let me show you some of his masterpiece:

-

Not too bad for a 3 1/2 yr old at all!

:)

Sadly his eczema flared up again during the trip. Always happens when we go to somewhere colder and drier. But we do being his creams everywhere (eversince the sudden flare up in Spain) so it was easier to handle this time. 

So what else to eat in Melbourne. 

In Perth I saw Chinese restaurant aplenty. But in Melbourne, I saw Vietnamese pho place everywhere !!!

Well the beef is fresh from Aussie itself too so we better try.

Heard this place is good for pho. It is in Richmond, an area in East Melbourne where all the Pho cafés line up.

And the verdict was : Good!!!! Hubby was happy!

Sheldon had some of our rice noodle too. 

Noodle is always easy for kids.

After dinner, there wasn't much to do.

As you know Melbourne, just like other Aussie cities, close down by dinner time. Shops are all closed. Unless you're talking supermarket. .

With a tummy happily full of pho, we walked along the pier at docklands after dinner.

Awesome view.

There was music thumping from the bars too. I heard hip hop and retro. Wew, if I wasn't pregnant I would have jumped in.

We had an early night. Everyone should. Cause you should start your day early in Aussie else by 6 pm you cant do finish your itinerary anymore.

It was Sunday the next day and we decided to go West---- to the Famous Great Ocean Road!

We also found a koala sanctuary along the way, near Geelong.

So we made a pit stop there too. 

We took out our sanwiches and had a picnic in the sanctuary. Sheldon was so excited.

He took some lovely pics here as well:

Love the blanket picture ! So nice! Where did he learn to take such nice pics! ^_^

As usual he was busy running around asking us what's this what's that. He probably enjoyed the sanctuary the most:)

After picnic, we moved on.

Great ocean road is very very long, to complete the whole stretch, probably you will have to stay overnight.

We aimed to go up to Apollo Bay and then turn around ( about 100+ km away from Geelong), but we gave up halfway as it was getting dark around 5, and we were all tired. Boo!!

We managed to take some nice photoes at the AngleSea lookout though.

Prepped up on a hill, it had bird's eye view.

Blue sky blue sky everywhere.

So, we made a turn around and headed back to town.... looking for Chinese food! 

Haizzz... such Cheena people cant love without rice.

We ended up in Footscray area ( lots of free parking after 630 or 730 along roadside like Richmond) , this time it is West of Melbourne but very near to Docklands. 

Here along Hopkins street, you will also find plenty Pho places and some Chinese restaurants. So after much googling and urbanspoon-ing ( Australia's hungrygowhere), we ended up at hongkong bbq. 

I had their beef tomato with rice. An old favourite of mine, when I was a student in UK.  Hmmm.. good stuff.

Footscray area has less choice for restaurants compared to Richmond though. But an alternative anyway.

The next day we decided to go downtown again. But this time we tried to be smarter! 

We are not gonna pay for $8 and hour carpark!

I read that if you visit Melbourne aquarium you can get a rebate for carpark so that your carpark fee will be a mere $10 whole day. Oh whee!!!

So we parked right opposite the aquarium - 474 Flinders.

But the price to pay? - the walk to china town! It was uphill and it was about 15-20 mins. 😳😓😳😓😳 

Up from Flinders street to Collins street to Bourke street and then Little Bourke Street.

Anyway we managed to find the unmistakable red chinatown gates. Finally!

We were so hungry by the time we got to Chinatown that I just picked the first decent looking dim sum restaurant we saw ( against urbanspoon's advice),

and boy were we disappointed!!!!

It was absolutely horrible!

 Dragon boat restaurant was a no no. Young waiter with bleached hair was acting cool and cold.

Fried dim sum was cold and lau hong.

Steamed dishes all smelled of frozen meats.

Sad that they had to resort to that, in a land of fresh ingredients.

Anyway, the day has to go on. While me and mom went around chinatown and downtown- waddling along Bourke Street, Collins Street, Hubby took Sheldon to the aquarium. 

Not only Sheldon enjoyed his time in Aquarium, the carpark, from $66 total became $10, thanks to aquarium!

If I live in Melbourne and wanna find cheap parking downtown, think I will buy aquarium tickets everyday (just $30), still better than paying $8 per hour!!

We ventured downtown somemore and then we searched for a good bowl of soup noodle. Shiok in cold weather!! 

Ramen it is!!

Those who miss home food by now, can go to the shop next to Ramen Ya at bourke street - it is Killiney kopitiam!!!! Sls chilli crab too!

Anyway Ramen Ya did not disappoint.

Shiok shiok. Sheldon finished his ramen all by himself too!!! 

I was kind of running out of places to go the next day but then realised we haven't visited the beach. So Port Melbourne it is. Today is the day to go angmoh. Do it the Aussie style! No more Chinese food!

You can park along Beach Street at Port Melbourne to visit the beach and the playground. Cost about $5-6 an hour if I am not wrong.

So no Chinese food today! Fish and Chips it is!

Urbanspoon suggested this place, rating so high at 91%

I was shocked it wasn't crowded.

But fish was fresh!!! Waiter was so nice friendly too! Awesome. And Sheldon had his favourite fries.

They had this fried thing called dim sim ( yeap! not dim sum), it turned out to this fried siu may thingy. ( its that round tube thing in the middle of the plate of fish and chips).

Not bad la, but is this an Aussie-Chinese thing??

Pretty funny! 

After fish and chips, somehow we were tired so we just went back and everyone took a nap. So awesome to go free and easy. Especially when travelling with your kid. No fixed schedule to follow. 👍

At night we still wanted to do somemore angmoh stuff. 

So....What to eat?

Heard the Italian food here is very authentic. So we visited Carlton, the little Italy of Melbourne.

Wow whole stretch of Lygon street was lined with gelato parlours and Italian eatery.

So again- urbanspoon time again- it recommended us to try "Il Cantuccio".

Apparently means "the corner" or something like that.

How about the food?

It was amazing!! The portions were huge too so we ended up sharing- so at AUD$23-26 per portion, it wasn't expensive. 

Cannelloni was nice, pasta was all al Dente, not too soft or soggy. Chewy just the way I like it.

Their carbonara had no cream ( apparently the true Italian style), but only Egg and cheese. And yes another winner.

Vegetable Minestrone was surprisingly good too!

Basically very happy with the Italian food in Melbourne!!! Service was good too and when I wanted to tip they didnt even have a tip box. Is there any tipping culture here at all? Cause service charge was not included.

Anyway, still very very happy.

Just one thing we missed out this trip- a good Aussie beef steak. hmmm

next time then.

We had to fly home the next morning.

Hubby was happy to find out the pho place downstairs our apartment opens ah 6.30 am so we da-bao ed banh mi and pho and kept our fingers crossed.

Not sure if they will be edible.

Surprising!! They were both very good!! Wow! 

Anyway holiday has ended and it was time to go home! :(

We are sure to miss the awesome views from the balcony, the fresh crisp air, he blue sky and chilly weather.

Sheldon definitely enjoyed the trip.

Renting an apartment was a great idea.

It was easy to make him food, milk and he had more room to run around. 

Thanks to the cold weather, he slept easily everyday and for longer hours too!!!

Well, till next time Australia!!! We will be missing you!