One thing Melbourne (and much of Australia is known for) is good coffee shops and cafes. In Melbourne Lisa had visited a small shop in the Carlisle area called Batch. Jason Chan, the owner of Batch and is one of the top baristas in the country. So, we had to make the journey to Carlisle to have some coffee (and breakfast).
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| Lisa at Batch |
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| Mom and Dad got coffee, I got a stamp |
Melbourne has trams that run all over town and provide one of the main sources of mass transportation. We could see the tram lines running from the balcony of our hotel and Siena had spent days watching the trams go by. So we when headed out for breakfast we took the tram. Siena got to experience all kinds of new modes of transportation on this trip. We rode planes, trains, buses, the skyrail, boats and now we were on a tram. This was all very exciting for our little girl.
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| Relaxing on the Tram |
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| Looky Look |
The Carlisle area of Melbourne is a community focused neighborhood filled with bakeries, cafes, neighborhood stores and what seemed like a drug store on every street corner. Find Batch was easy since we had the address, without it you probably would wander right by this small café with only sign in the window. Batch was great; really good coffee, tasty breakfast and a casual morning. Lisa got to connect with Jason again and we learned about how his business had grown over the years. He is now brewing up his own gin and has his sights set on expanding his business. Best coffee on the trip and likely the best in Melbourne.
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| Downtown |
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| City on the Yarra River |
Since trams were such a big hit we decided to ride around town a little more. We headed downtown and to the Melbourne Aquarium. Yes, we were off to find Nemo again. Unlike the aquarium in Sydney, the Melbourne Aquarium was more compact and was a good attraction for a short visit. Clearly Nemo had gone in a southwesterly direction as he was now in Melbourne. Mommy spotted him for us in the reef tank. On our visit we saw few good size sharks, a small croc and lots of native fish. All the exhibits were nice but one stole the show, the penguins.
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| Just the right height |
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| Nemo |
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| Wow! |
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| Making friends |
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| Showing Mommy the fish |
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| Watch out behind you, Shark! |
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| Not afraid of sharks |
The penguins captured everyone’s excitement and Siena had found some friends to play with. The exhibit housed two types of penguins; the Gentoo, a fun loving playful brood, and the King who were billed as “regal and majestic.” Siena decided to try to communicate with both of them. The King penguins stood there and watched her, not so exciting, but these penguins were as tall as Siena so she was intrigued. The Gentoos on the other hand were fun. They were swimming laps, sliding down hills, piling rocks (a couple’s thing to do, kind of like building your nest) and following people along the glass. The Gentoo were a little shorter than Siena so she was right at home with them. We encountered the penguin exhibit on the way in, first thing you see as you enter. We went back at the end of our visit to see them again. When we returned, Siena had purchased a small Nemo toy from the gift shop and she had it in her hand. When she went up to the glass, the penguin on the other side saw the fish (somewhat life-like in size) and started following Siena. When she held the fish up to the glass the penguin tried to eat it. Yes, I know the signs said you shouldn’t do this with the penguins, but Siena and the penguin interacting might have been one of the most priceless moments of the trip and luckily one we captured on video.
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| Playing with a Gentoo |
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| So this is what they eat, and I have one |
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| More rocks is better |
After a long day of touring around the city we headed to a great steak dinner and then back to our hotel. As you can see from the picture, it was still winter in Melbourne and on a chilly blustery night the tram seemed to take forever to arrive.
