The most fantastic journey of a lifetime

Where can I start about the highlights of this journey . . . there are WAY TOO MANY!!! Federation Square, Victoria Market, Botanical Gardens, MCG, the Observation Deck, Flinders Station, Chinatown . . . and the list goes on. But these are a couple of places which are very memorable to me. Melbourne has got way too much to offer -- it's an amazing city.

Quick Tips:

If you are going in the summertime, take a good sunblock, drink LOADS of water(because the heat of there is very different than the rest of the world), and take the Rough Guide to Melbourne (which was VERY VERY useful).

Best Way To Get Around:

Trams, trains, and on foot are the main ways of moving around. When I was there, I was mainly walking around and using the trams because the hotel was close to the centre.

This is located in Elizabeth Street, right next to the YWCA (that's why its called the YWCA Cafe), and near to the Queen Victoria Market.

The food is ever so fresh. I always went there for breakfast and a couple of times for some lunch. Their breakfast can range from a yogurt, fresh fruit and honey salad, to the well-known backpackers’ special (which is fried egg, bacon, tomatoes, toast, mushrooms).

The prices are very cheap (the fruit salad that I had cost $4, which is about £2 GBP) and the portions are HUGE.

The staff are very helpful in terms of finding directions.

Once you have been there for breakfast, you will always go there…it's just great.

Located in Federation Square, the Ian Potter Museum it a modern art museum (or shall I say, modern Australian art museum). It’s very easy to find and you can tell that you are in a artsy kind of place from the architecture, which is very colourful outside the building. That was the first thing that drew me to go in.

It has got about five floors that display Australian art and you can spend the whole day just looking around in the museum.

I took a guided tour within the museum (the tour takes about half hour to 45 minutes. The guide is VERY good as he/she is very well informed about the Australian exhibitions they have at the museum). It is very interesting because of the difference of culture and you do see where the artist gets his/her ideas from, which, in this case, is the Australian outback.

I do recommend this museum because if you are artsy type, you will find it amazing when it comes to the tours.

The Queen Vicky, as the melbournians call it, is a very good way to see the locals and all the main local products. Looking for the outside of the market, you can't really tell how big this place is. You can easily spend a couple of hours or even the whole day in there just looking at the fruits. In there you can easily find Greek, French, Italian, and Far Eastern products.

If you are after souvernirs to take back home,I do suggest to get them for there as they are cheaper than the high street.

There you can find all sorts of fruits from all over the world,for mangoes(which are the best i have ever tasted)to good old granny smiths apples. If you are after a digiredoo, do have a look in the market as again they sell them a lot cheaper, and plus you will get the real thing.

Being called the Queen Victoria Market, it is the queen of markets I have ever seen.

This is one of the tallest office buildings in the southern hemisphere and the 15th tallest building in the whole world. I came across it by accident one day while I was having a break in a coffee house in Huddsons. It’s not that difficult to find as long as you have a Rough Guide. I got there from Federation Square in about half hour on foot. It located on the corner of Collins and Kings Street in the heart of CBD.

To go in costs between AU$10 and AU$12. The tour guides there are very helpful to everyone who enters. I went inside the lift and there I was going 55 floors up! It takes about 20 to 30 seconds to get to the top. At some point, my ears did pop, but I wasn’t too worried about it!

I got at the top and I stood there in shock -- the view was amazing! You could see the whole of Melbourne! It offers you a 360-degree view of the whole of the city. The people from up there were like dots moving around and the cars were just tiny. Because it was such a clear day, you could see (with the binoculars) as far as Brisbane. Also, you will find available a restaurant, boutique bar, kiosk, and, of course, souvenirs. Overall, I wouldn’t suggest it to people who are afraid of heights because it’s VERY high.

Ok, you want Italian/Indian/Lebanese/a simple drink with friends/a good old fish and chips, so head to Lygon Street where you will find all the above. Someone from Tourist Information by Federation Square suggested to head there if I wanted a good Italian meal, so in the afternoon, I suggested it to the group of friends I was with. We got there on foot, as it wasn’t that far away from the hotel. After making up our minds about what we wanted, we headed for an Italian place.

The food was nice; I had tortellini alla mare (in other words, pasta with seafood). I must say that the seafood was fresh, about a day old. But the service was really great and that is what impressed me.

I would suggest you go to Lygon Street with a group of friends who aren’t fussy with food and you will have fun. You do get plenty of different foods there and different prices . . .

It's okay in summertime (when I was over there in Melbourne); nearly everyone had a bottle of water or a some sort of juice or a smoothie. In the Queen Vicky Market, there is place called Juice Planet. You will get many different types of juices and smoothies. Two of my favourite smoothies are banana and honey, and crush and berry (this one has got berries in it). And trust me, apart from water, the best drink to cool you off is a smoothie in the heat like in Melbourne . . .

Okay, as you all know, in November, everyone in the world is freezing cold, apart from the odd country. Before I went to Melbourne, I was informed, "Be aware of the weather because you will see four seasons in one day." At first, I didn’t really believe as much. . . until I got there. You wake up in the morning and it’s cool enough for you to be wearing a light jacket and long jeans, but come midday, you will want short sleeve T-shirts and shorts. It's just too hot!

In the afternoon, it just goes very grey and you think that it’s just going to begin to pour, but it's just grey and it’s warm! One thing I do recommend is to take a fold-up poncho. They are light enough for the chilly mornings and they are easy to just put in your bag and simply carry them in your bag.

The most annoying part is that in Sydney at that time of the year, the weather is just amazing: warm and sunny.

This journey was the journey of a lifetime for me, but weather-wise, I do say to friends who will going there, "Be aware of the weather, but don’t let that stop you from having amazing fun!"