Day 11 - Uluru to Melbourne
- Woke up at 6 am and relaxed in our room for an hour
- Went down for breakfast around 8:30 am
- Checked out and took the resort shuttle at 10:20 am to the airport
- Flight was on time and took off at 12:25 pm
- After a flying time of about 2.5 hours, we landed in Melbourne at 3:30 pm local time (factoring in the 30 minute time zone change)
- Took a taxi to our hotel but due to rush hour, took almost an hour and we reached our room around 5 pm
- It's a skyscraper hotel in the heart of Melbourne downtown that has shops and offices on the lower floors and hotel rooms above the 35th floor. Our room was at the 40th floor which meant we had great views of the city from our room's windows
- Freshened up and got ready to meet up my friend Bilal Tanvir
- Bilal came to our hotel around 7 pm but then we had to spend almost half an hour figuring out how to install the baby car seat that he had borrowed from his brother for Sereen
- Drove to an Indian restaurant where food was exceptional and we had a great time catching up with him
- Bilal drove us around and showed us some good views of the Melbourne skyline
- Reached back our hotel around 10:30 pm and then went to bed
Day 12 - Cricket History at MCG
- Woke up around 6 am and relaxed in our room
- We didn't opt for the breakfast option when booking this hotel so had in-room coffee with cereal bars
- Booked a tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground for later that day
- Left hotel around 11:45 am and walked to one of the city's highly rated restaurants Chin Chin for lunch. The restaurant serves Asian Fusion cuisine and we had pad sew noodles, beef Masaman curry and wagyu beef stir fry
- Walked to the nearby Hosier Street that is famous for its graffiti
- Emerged from Hosier Street into the Federation Square which is a great meeting point in the center of the city and close to the historic district
- Walked along the Yarra river to the Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Did a tour of the stadium where we saw the playing field up close, the dressing rooms, the honours boards with names of Pakistani cricket stars on them, indoor practice pitches, corporate boxes and an interesting tapestry which had famous cricketers and events depicted on it to commemorate the 150th anniversary of MCG
- After the tour, we made our way to the National Museum of Sports that's under the MCG
- We focused mainly on the cricket section since we didn't have too much time left. Highlights were 3 actual World Cup trophies won by Australia in 1987, 1999 and 2003 on display alongside the actual ball used in the 1992 World Cup final that was held at the MCG and won by Pakistan
- We also played some interactive games (cricket run out and net ball) but sadly there wasn't too much time left and we had to leave once the museum closed at 5 pm
- We relaxed in the park adjacent to the MCG for about half an hour which was thoroughly enjoyable since Sereen constantly babbled and played with us
- Walked back to the main road and then got a taxi back to our hotel
- Samia's father's cousin Jamal Chacha picked us up around 7:30 pm and we drove to his house where we had dinner and chatted. He dropped us back at our hotel and then we went to bed around 11:30 pm
Day 13 - Yarra River Walk
- Decided to sleep in after having woken up early for almost 6 days in a row and got up around 7 am
- Went downstairs and had avocado toast, scrambled eggs and lattes from two different cafes
- Played with Sereen after breakfast and then relaxed for a bit
- Took a nap around 11:15 am and woke up around 12:45 pm
- Sereen fell asleep and since she had been missing daytime naps and napping on the go for a few days, we wanted to let her nap peacefully in bed and so chilled in the room
- Left our room around 3 pm and went to a pizza place next to our hotel for lunch where we shared a pizza
- Sereen needed a diaper change and there was no change room at the pizza place so we came back to our room to change her diaper
- By the time we left our room for some sightseeing, it was almost 4:30 pm! It had been a very laid back and relaxing day
- We walked from Flinders Lane (where all the nice restaurants are) to Hosier Street to Federation Square and then emerged on the other side of river (as opposed to the side where we had walked when going to the MCG on the previous day)
- Walked through a park and then along the Yarra River waterfront. There was still light when we started walking but we kept walking till the sun had gone down and then turned back
- When we reached the bridge which could have taken us back to Federation Square towards our hotel, we decided to not go back and instead continued walking on the South bank Promenade. This walk turned out to be one of the most pleasant strolls along the water that we've had in any big metro city. The other ones that come to mind are the walk in Singapore earlier this year and then two such walks in Canada - one in Halifax and one in Vancouver. I would even dare say say that this is the best of all of them! Melbourne is an excellent city to live in and we were beginning to realize why it rates as the #1 most livable city in the world
- We took a break at a bookstore where we bought some books for Sereen and then walked back to Flinders Lane to dine at Chin Chin, again! This time we had the egg fried rice with beef rendang and the food was again delightful
- We walked back to our hotel and then went to bed around 10:30 pm on what was a very relaxing day but where we still ended up walking over 10 km
Day 14 - Good Friday with Friends
- Woke up at 6 am and played with Sereen
- Samia stayed in the room while I went down to get breakfast around 7:45 am and got avocado toast for her, plain croissant for myself and lattes for both of us
- Relaxed in our room and then got ready for 10 am which is when my friend Bilal Tanvir picked us up to show us around the city
- We drove to Williamstown for some excellent views of the Melbourne skyline and then walked along the beachfront for about half an hour. It started drizzling slightly so we decided to head back to our car and by that time the rain had stopped
- Our next stop was the Eureka Tower Sky Deck which is the second tallest building in Australia and the sky deck offers unmatched bird's eye views of the city. Finding parking was a challenge and after we were unable to find street parking, we decided to park within the Eureka Tower building
- Spent a good 45 minutes on the 88th floor observatory and identified all major landmarks of the city
- Drove to McDonald's for a quick lunch and then Bilal drove us through the Port Melbourne suburb of the city
- Sereen had been very patient all this time but finally her patience was running out so we decided to head back and Bilal dropped us off back at our hotel and we were back in our room around 3:30 pm
- Sereen took a nap while we relaxed in the room
- Around 6:30 pm, we went downstairs since the plan was to have dinner with Samia's friends from LUMS, Sumayya and Mahwish who now live in Melbourne with their husbands and kids. We accidentally walked much farther than we needed to but once we realized that, we turned back and reached the restaurant around 7 pm. The restaurant was right next to our hotel and served Mexican cuisine
- Samia was meeting them after a long time and had a good time catching up while I chatted with their husbands and got introduced to their kids
- Sereen started crying around 9 pm so we had to say goodbye and came back to our hotel and went to bed around 10 pm
Didn't get a chance to write updates after day 14 but the last 2 days were just travel days to get back home. Australia is a vast and amazing country with different climates and friendly people. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and would love to visit again someday!
Day 15 - Melbourne to Sydney
Day 16 - Sydney to Calgary
- Woke up at 6 am and relaxed in our room for an hour
- Went down for breakfast around 8:30 am
- Checked out and took the resort shuttle at 10:20 am to the airport
- Flight was on time and took off at 12:25 pm
- After a flying time of about 2.5 hours, we landed in Melbourne at 3:30 pm local time (factoring in the 30 minute time zone change)
- Took a taxi to our hotel but due to rush hour, took almost an hour and we reached our room around 5 pm
- It's a skyscraper hotel in the heart of Melbourne downtown that has shops and offices on the lower floors and hotel rooms above the 35th floor. Our room was at the 40th floor which meant we had great views of the city from our room's windows
- Freshened up and got ready to meet up my friend Bilal Tanvir
- Bilal came to our hotel around 7 pm but then we had to spend almost half an hour figuring out how to install the baby car seat that he had borrowed from his brother for Sereen
- Drove to an Indian restaurant where food was exceptional and we had a great time catching up with him
- Bilal drove us around and showed us some good views of the Melbourne skyline
- Reached back our hotel around 10:30 pm and then went to bed
Day 12 - Cricket History at MCG
- Woke up around 6 am and relaxed in our room
- We didn't opt for the breakfast option when booking this hotel so had in-room coffee with cereal bars
- Booked a tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground for later that day
- Left hotel around 11:45 am and walked to one of the city's highly rated restaurants Chin Chin for lunch. The restaurant serves Asian Fusion cuisine and we had pad sew noodles, beef Masaman curry and wagyu beef stir fry
- Walked to the nearby Hosier Street that is famous for its graffiti
- Emerged from Hosier Street into the Federation Square which is a great meeting point in the center of the city and close to the historic district
- Walked along the Yarra river to the Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Did a tour of the stadium where we saw the playing field up close, the dressing rooms, the honours boards with names of Pakistani cricket stars on them, indoor practice pitches, corporate boxes and an interesting tapestry which had famous cricketers and events depicted on it to commemorate the 150th anniversary of MCG
- After the tour, we made our way to the National Museum of Sports that's under the MCG
- We focused mainly on the cricket section since we didn't have too much time left. Highlights were 3 actual World Cup trophies won by Australia in 1987, 1999 and 2003 on display alongside the actual ball used in the 1992 World Cup final that was held at the MCG and won by Pakistan
- We also played some interactive games (cricket run out and net ball) but sadly there wasn't too much time left and we had to leave once the museum closed at 5 pm
- We relaxed in the park adjacent to the MCG for about half an hour which was thoroughly enjoyable since Sereen constantly babbled and played with us
- Walked back to the main road and then got a taxi back to our hotel
- Samia's father's cousin Jamal Chacha picked us up around 7:30 pm and we drove to his house where we had dinner and chatted. He dropped us back at our hotel and then we went to bed around 11:30 pm
Day 13 - Yarra River Walk
- Decided to sleep in after having woken up early for almost 6 days in a row and got up around 7 am
- Went downstairs and had avocado toast, scrambled eggs and lattes from two different cafes
- Played with Sereen after breakfast and then relaxed for a bit
- Took a nap around 11:15 am and woke up around 12:45 pm
- Sereen fell asleep and since she had been missing daytime naps and napping on the go for a few days, we wanted to let her nap peacefully in bed and so chilled in the room
- Left our room around 3 pm and went to a pizza place next to our hotel for lunch where we shared a pizza
- Sereen needed a diaper change and there was no change room at the pizza place so we came back to our room to change her diaper
- By the time we left our room for some sightseeing, it was almost 4:30 pm! It had been a very laid back and relaxing day
- We walked from Flinders Lane (where all the nice restaurants are) to Hosier Street to Federation Square and then emerged on the other side of river (as opposed to the side where we had walked when going to the MCG on the previous day)
- Walked through a park and then along the Yarra River waterfront. There was still light when we started walking but we kept walking till the sun had gone down and then turned back
- When we reached the bridge which could have taken us back to Federation Square towards our hotel, we decided to not go back and instead continued walking on the South bank Promenade. This walk turned out to be one of the most pleasant strolls along the water that we've had in any big metro city. The other ones that come to mind are the walk in Singapore earlier this year and then two such walks in Canada - one in Halifax and one in Vancouver. I would even dare say say that this is the best of all of them! Melbourne is an excellent city to live in and we were beginning to realize why it rates as the #1 most livable city in the world
- We took a break at a bookstore where we bought some books for Sereen and then walked back to Flinders Lane to dine at Chin Chin, again! This time we had the egg fried rice with beef rendang and the food was again delightful
- We walked back to our hotel and then went to bed around 10:30 pm on what was a very relaxing day but where we still ended up walking over 10 km
Day 14 - Good Friday with Friends
- Woke up at 6 am and played with Sereen
- Samia stayed in the room while I went down to get breakfast around 7:45 am and got avocado toast for her, plain croissant for myself and lattes for both of us
- Relaxed in our room and then got ready for 10 am which is when my friend Bilal Tanvir picked us up to show us around the city
- We drove to Williamstown for some excellent views of the Melbourne skyline and then walked along the beachfront for about half an hour. It started drizzling slightly so we decided to head back to our car and by that time the rain had stopped
- Our next stop was the Eureka Tower Sky Deck which is the second tallest building in Australia and the sky deck offers unmatched bird's eye views of the city. Finding parking was a challenge and after we were unable to find street parking, we decided to park within the Eureka Tower building
- Spent a good 45 minutes on the 88th floor observatory and identified all major landmarks of the city
- Drove to McDonald's for a quick lunch and then Bilal drove us through the Port Melbourne suburb of the city
- Sereen had been very patient all this time but finally her patience was running out so we decided to head back and Bilal dropped us off back at our hotel and we were back in our room around 3:30 pm
- Sereen took a nap while we relaxed in the room
- Around 6:30 pm, we went downstairs since the plan was to have dinner with Samia's friends from LUMS, Sumayya and Mahwish who now live in Melbourne with their husbands and kids. We accidentally walked much farther than we needed to but once we realized that, we turned back and reached the restaurant around 7 pm. The restaurant was right next to our hotel and served Mexican cuisine
- Samia was meeting them after a long time and had a good time catching up while I chatted with their husbands and got introduced to their kids
- Sereen started crying around 9 pm so we had to say goodbye and came back to our hotel and went to bed around 10 pm
Didn't get a chance to write updates after day 14 but the last 2 days were just travel days to get back home. Australia is a vast and amazing country with different climates and friendly people. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and would love to visit again someday!
Day 15 - Melbourne to Sydney
Day 16 - Sydney to Calgary
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