Next was Train Trak Winery, where we tasted then had lunch. The restaurant there was gorgeous, and did delicious wood fired pizzas.  Packed house for lunch as well. It was during lunch that we convinced our driver Bruce, that we needed to purchase Port, and could do more than the allocated 4 wineries. Then we convinced the rest of the minibus! So, we stopped in at Yering Station (not bad) then at Bruce’s suggestion, Kellybrook. We didn’t like anything there, and we were soon back on the bus demanding one last stop. Lirralirra was that stop, where we surprisingly purchased a Semillon. Disappointingly, I didn’t buy any port this trip.

All up, I didn’t love the Yarra, but maybe it was just the choice of wineries. Maybe I just have high expectations. The Margaret River region is my favourite, and so far nothing has quite compared.

Sunday morning brunch. One of my favourite things. After being let down at dinner last night (Hardware Lane – standard fare food disguised in cute laneway restaurants) I was determined to enjoy brunch. After a tram journey to St Kilda, we arrived at Veludo restaurant & we weren’t disappointed. The corn & zucchini fritters with Persian fetta – divine! After devouring that & all the Herald Sun had to offer, we set out to wander the streets of St Kilda like the tourists that we were.

The fog had rolled in that morning, and hung around most of the day down at St Kilda. We checked out the markets (average) & walked along the pier to the breakwater, where we were lucky enough to see penguins. The fog was cold & oppressive though, so around lunchtime we found The Wine Room.

The Wine Room. An old pub, which is now a classy wine bar. Stainless steel bar, old tiles along the back & wine bottles adorning the walls.  A perfect place to stop & warm up. Hard to believe that halfway through the day we were still fogged in. We jumped a tram back into town where the sun had clearly broken through, and walked along South Bank towards home.

I quite like Melbourne. The coffee & culture that is everywhere is just so different to Brisbane. Everywhere you go there are little boutique shops or cafes. And the old buildings are just stunning. It’s nice to see that they have kept them intact & they maintain their place on the Melbourne skyline, even if now they do have an Apple Store inside.

 
It was then time for something I was really looking forward to – the Tutankhamen exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. We walked up to the museum through the gardens that were just beautiful. Leaves absolutely covered the ground, and there were wedding photos being taken against the backdrop of the old exhibition building. (The bride must have been freezing! I had 4 layers on, plus a beanie & scarf & she was just in a wedding dress!)

Our museum session was 5pm. The exhibit is so popular, you have to prebook & choose a session time. You are allowed to line up around 20mins prior to your session time, when they then send groups through at 5 minute intervals. It is the first time the collection had left Egypt, and was pretty amazing to see. The first part contained pieces from many tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and the second part contained pieces from Tutankhamen’s tomb itself.

Interestingly, Tutankhamen died young, at age 19 from unknown causes, & so the Kingdom was not prepared for his death. As such, he was mummified & placed in caskets (yes, multiple) that were intended for someone else. The pieces on show were intricate and, well, golden. “Everywhere the glint of gold,” Howard Carter, the man who discovered his tomb in 1922. The collection contained stone carvings & statues, furniture & ornaments, even the gold-gilded container that housed his 
mummified liver…! There was a fair bit of background provided about his family tree. His father had 6 daughters & was waiting on a son to take over the empire when he died (which Tutankhamen did at age 9), then Tutankhamen married his half sister, who was a daughter of Nefertiti, one of his father’s other wives.

We emerged from the exhibit to texts, tweets & phone calls about an ash cloud. Apparently no-one was flying in or out of Melbourne for awhile. Oh well, we’d just have to wait & see.

Dinner in Carlton means Italian in Lygon St. Had drinks at Hotel Lincoln first, where I was stoked as it was a pub with an open fireplace. Then dinner at Balzair & WOW. Think I had the best meal of my life. Between us we almost tried everything. Gnocchi with pork & sage, the lightest gnocchi ever – fluffy little pillows of potato goodness. Seafood risotto. Osso Buccho. Roast pork with berlotti beans & char grilled leek. Chocolate torte with the perfect blend of chocolate. Slow cooked Quince Crumble. Finished off with port. Told you it was perfect!