australia // day ten // luna park, st. kilda + beyond

what about day nine? well, it started in my parents holiday resort and it ended up getting rowdy with some of my closest friends, in the comfort and familiarity of their family home in melbourne's northern suburbs. this is the only picture of that day; it involved duty free pimms, 10c blood oranges, some wine from the barossa and a local beer called "minimum chips". there were hugs and tears and so many laughs. i met their new baby, and they met my 'new' boyfriend. it was an exhausting day of more more travelling, more shopping and more reunions, and it's best left in my memory. day ten though, well... that's another story...

we met my mum in the city and we walked across the yarra toward the tram stops in the middle of saint kilda road. it was a tuesday morning and the station and streets should have been alive and bustling full of busy city workers on their way to their important jobs. except, it was so much calmer and slower than i remember. no one was in a rush, there was no pushy people tutting the tourist's ignorance, it was just... so easy going. three years commuting in london's peak city traffic has left me numb, clearly.

we hopped on the tram to st. kilda; i wanted to take boyfriend to luna park - melbourne's old school excuse for a theme park, and mum wanted to check out the street markets along the esplanade. sadly, when we arrived we realised that the markets are usually only on a weekend, so, tough luck to her. it was during term-time too, but there were so many school kids in the park - the teacher in my mum was appalled. i'm sure she wrote down the school name and sent them an anonymous email later on...

we wandered along acland street for some shopping and some lunch, then made our way to the waterfront. we soaked up the sunshine like we hadn't seen it in days (we hadn't), and marveled at how deserted the beach was. yeah, it was tuesday, but it was a beautiful day - i was shocked that more students or tourists weren't taking advantage of the sun!

we then hopped back on the tram and got back off just before the art centre on st. kilda road. we wandered up to and along the southbank, stopping for a boost juice and ice coffee because it was just so damn hot. i showed boyfriend crown plaze (he wasn't even impressed) and the eureka sky deck (a little more impressed), and finally, eventually made our way to dfo south wharf. it's a massive underground shopping centre dedicated to retail outlets - everything in there is on sale! it was my weekend stomping ground back when i lived in melbourne, and i'd never leave there empty handed.

another fifteen minutes up the road at spencer street is another dfo (direct factory outlet), and you can bet money that we headed there next. i got some major scores that afternoon - my ipad case and new purse from kate hill and five - count em, five - new cardis and jumpers from the store i used to work at called dotti. i was not supposed to shop. i couldn't help it. the cardis and jumpers were marked down to $15 from $50; they were a steal.

that night we were a bit pink, a bit drunk and very, very tired after our day in the sun. melbourne was really turning it on for us, and i was so glad to be back in the city i loved...