Secret Gardens

Yesterday Luke and I decided to get out of the house and walk over to Fitzroy Gardens in the center of the city. We spent some time wandering around all of the different areas of the gardens which included a really nice conservatory with some really amazing smelling flowers inside, sitting and soaking in the sun and frequently finding respite in the shade. After wandering all around the gardens we decided to head out of the park and into the city for a bit of shopping.


After modelling the entire contents of several of the stores I thought looked appealing, we headed to a pub for a few beers. We have both been pretty disappointed with the quality of the beer in Australia after finding so many boutique and craft beers in New Zealand, so Luke did some searching online for where the craft beers could be found in Melbourne. The first place we went to was Young and Jackson which turned out to be a pretty nice pub with really good beers. Our next stop was to fill our empty bellies with the most incredible fish burger I've ever had. We decided to explore one of the many laneways that I told you about to find a tasty new restaurant, and find one we did. It was called Sea Salt and they make a mean fish burger.


Our last stop of the night was Beer Deluxe where the list of beers was so long it filled an entire menu aptly named the Beer Bible. It was a perfect way to end a day of exploring.


Today we carried on exploring new gardens by heading to the Botanic Gardens, Queen Victoria Gardens, and Alexandra Gardens (aka we did a LOT of walking). First we stopped at Hosier Lane, a lane that is known for its unbelievable street art. I took photos of probably every section of the street because everything was so amazing. I cannot believe that people can do this with spray paint!



It was so sunny and warm today so we were pretty much applying sunblock after every few steps, but in between we saw so many cool things. The highlight for me was the Shrine of Remembrance which is just outside of the Botanic Gardens. It is a war memorial for all of the soldiers lost in the wars that Australia has fought in. It is a massive monument which gives incredible views of the city once you climb the stairs to the balcony. By the time we got there we were pretty beaten by the sun, so the stair climb seemed much harder, but we made it and it was worth it! The Botanic Gardens were massive! The paths seemed to go on and on and we could have easily lost ourselves there for the entire day. We took a break in the shade and read for a while. Once we rested, rehydrated and re-applied we were ready to carry on. There were native plants like Eucalyptus and not so native ones like Bamboo; there was a makeshift volcano, and some floating islands in the man-made lake. By the time we left all of the gardens we were ready for a seat. We stopped at Federation Square just as the after work hustle and bustle was beginning.


Luckily, Melbourne doesn't want anyone to die of dehydration even if they are in a drought, so they seem to have plenty of these!