With our time in Melbourne wrapping up (say it isn’t so!!) we’ve been trying to hit a few more spots that have been added to our list of “must sees” by friends we’ve met here. We’ve not had the best weather the past few days. It’s been unseasonably wet and chilly so we’ve had to make plans based on the weather as well.
On Sunday morning, we met some friends at a nearby French restaurant, Entrecote. It bears mentioning that these friends have NEVER led us astray when it comes to restaurant recommendations! The breakfast was simply amazing and they make a mean latte (and pain au chocolate according to Jack).
After breakfast, we headed back to our apartment to map out a plan for the day. Based on the cold, wet weather, we decided on something mostly indoors and settled on touring the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, or MCG. Cricket is huge in Australia and is a sport I knew very little about before coming here. I’d say now my knowledge level is “slightly above very little”. Previously, I thought it was like baseball only with a flat bat…not the case. I won’t regale you with my “vast” knowledge of the sport at this point. All you need to know is:
- It’s a big deal here
- Games can go on for DAYS (I still don’t understand how this works when people actually have jobs.)
- The MCG is basically a shrine to all things cricket and is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere (and 10th largest stadium in the world!
We got a tour of the whole stadium, including the locker rooms, which Jack thought was pretty cool. One of the things I found most interesting was around the waitlist to join the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC). Our tour guide, Greg (the lovely chap in the stripey blazer in the picture below), had his first grandchild born this year on Jan 4th. He put him on the waiting list for the MCC on Jan 6th! The members that were granted full membership to the club this year jointed the waitlist back in 1990! The MCG holds 100 thousand seats and I believe there are roughly 250 thousand folks on the waitlist. Needless to say, if you’re interested, you’d better get on early!
The MCG also houses that National Sports Museum of Melbourne. It is a museum dedicated to Australian sports. They had quite a bit on cricket, rugby, Australian rules football and a really great Olympic exhibit. I had no idea we’d spend as much time in there as we did, but there was a lot to see and it was really interactive as well, which kept it fun and interesting for Jack. At the end of the museum, they have an interactive section where you can “participate” in the different sports. You can practice making an out in cricket, scoring a goal in soccer or kicking it through the uprights in rugby (plus a ton of other things). This part was a lot of fun and had it been at the very beginning, we’d have never made it to anything else!
We ended up staying until the museum was closing at 5pm and by the time we left, the weather had finally cleared. It was still a bit cold, but we at least had some sunshine so we decided to hit Luna Park as it would be our last chance to do so. Luna Park is an iconic little amusement park right in downtown St. Kilda. Jack loved it, especially the Ghost Train through the haunted house and the purple dragon roller coaster, which I think we did at least 6 times. The great part about being there at the end of the day when it was so cool was that there were no lines and we basically rode everything as much as he wanted!
After Luna Park, we made a return visit to our favorite Melbourne sushi spot in St. Kilda, Ichi Ni. It was a huge hit the first time we ate there and didn’t disappoint the second time around either. Jack is a huge fan of Japanese food, so he ate two sushi rolls, miso soup and salmon skewers. He is not a cheap date when you go out for sushi!
After dinner, we decided to bundle up and make run (literally!) to see the penguins at the St. Kilda pier. There are some outcropping rocks at the end of the pier and during the day the baby penguins stay hidden, but in the evening the moms and dads come back to feed the babies and you can see penguins just strolling around and hanging out. It was so cold and windy, but we knew it was likely our last opportunity to see them, so we decided it was worth it and it was! The pictures didn’t really do it justice, but it was an awesome experience. They have volunteers there who tell you all about the penguins and ensure that obnoxious tourists aren’t using their flash or sticking selfie sticks in the penguins’ faces (seems like common sense, but you’d be surprised)!
It was a jam packed day, but such a great time. It was after 10pm when we finall made it back to our apartment, tired, but glad we were able to see so many great parts of Melbourne!
The Detour Diary 