Day 4: Last Day in Melbourne

G'day mate!! Today we literally walked around the entire city of Melbourne. This was our final day in Melbourne so we had to get in as much as we could in a short amount of time. Let's take a look at our day.

The morning started off with a little reminder of what was going on back home in the states. It was NBA finals time!!! Unfortunately we had a scheduled tour starting at 10am. Maybe they won't notice if we disappear. 

Today we took a Hidden Secrets Tour of Downtown Melbourne. Our tour guide was Amy, she was a local who loves the city and has more knowledge than most about this amazing city. 

Amy told stories of the grand Cathedral, this is one of the most popular cathedrals in all of Australia, not just Melbourne. 

The tallest building in Melbourne is the Eureka Building. This building has 91 floors. She also told us about the observation deck that occupies the entire 88th floor of the building. We might have to check that out.

This popular pub is a staple in the city of Melbourne. It is named Chloe's Rooms after a painting of a naked woman that hangs on the inside of the pub. I wonder if they are showing the NBA Finals?

Taking a moment to here the significance of this popular lane. Interesting fact, Melbourne is home to many lane ways and arcades. Arcades are not gaming arcades, but what they call shopping malls/centers. 

A local coffee shop underground that loves to make coffee. They work off an honor code system. Their slogan is, "they don't want to touch your money, they just want to make your coffee." There is an Orange coffee cup that sits on the counter, you put your money in the cup and take your correct change out. 

Melbourne has a large variety of cafes and dining areas that are hidden down different alleys and lanes. 

The Block Arcade is one of the most historic arcades is Melbourne. 

This tile floor has been here for over 100 years and still looks nice and clean in 2017. 

I'm not too sure the significance of this sign. Mom just told me to take a picture of it. I think she really enjoyed the design. 

This is a ceiling painting inside a store in Block Arcade. It is a phenomenal piece of art that shouldn't be overlooked. 

During our tour we found so many coffee shoppes, sandwich shoppes and dessert shoppes. You can have whatever you like in Melbourne, Australia. 

There are giant clocks and interesting sculptures that are associated with many arcades in Melbourne. 

Halfway through our journey it was time to stop for an afternoon tea break. Really more like a hot chocolate break. We stopped at a chocolate shop, Koko Black and got free hot chocolate.

Not only did we get hot chocolate, we also got our own chocolate candy to enjoy. It was quite delicious. 

Shopping in Australia is mainly done through these major retailers, Myer and David Jones. Myer is Melbourne based, while David Jones is Sydney based. Who knew Sydney and Melbourne had so much competition between the two cities.?

H&M used to be the old post office. The architecture on both the inside and outside of the building make it work taking a look. 

So we have been seeing students all day in the streets of Melbourne. We were confused because someone told us school started at 9am. The students apparently are allowed to go on excursions to research the city of Melbourne. It was really cool to see that the students where free to travel the city without parents or teachers. We saw student from middle and high school the entire day. It was a bit alarming. Mom and I think all these kids are skipping school. We also believe that no one works in Melbourne. Everywhere we went we say people dressed for work, but they were drinking coffee and eating in a cafe. Does anyone work here???

Street art is very popular in Melbourne. Dominique really enjoyed all the street art. 

This is a copper door on a lift(elevator). This is the Manchester Unity building, which Melbourne boasts as more beautiful than the bridge in Sydney. 

This was the first escalator in Melbourne. It was so popular that people would line up for hours, just to have an opportunity to ride it to the top. There were nurses stationed at the top of the escalator to tend to visitors that got so overwhelmed that passed out on the way up. 

Some of the most beautiful view in Melbourne are of the street art. The city council actually has designated areas for artist to come and display there artwork.

These artist are so talented and enjoy lining the streets of Melbourne with their art. 

This is one of my favorite works of art we spotted today. It is hard to see in the photo but it is an image of a young boy starring into the distance. In one eye you see all the skyscrapers of downtown Melbourne. In the other eye, you see what it used to look like before the city was built. Melbourne is a growing metropolis and this piece of art displays its respect for the past and present very well. 

Thanks to Amy of Hidden Secrets Tours for taking us on this journey. It was definitely one to remember. Please pay no attention to the 2 gentlemen to the left of us. They were in another tour and we have no idea who they are. 

We finished our tour at 1pm and it was time to head back to Chloe's room to catch the end of the NBA Finals. Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors!!! Shockingly, there were many Cavs fans located at this pub. Mom was definitely happy about that. 

After we watched the game, we grabbed a quick snack and headed to the Eureka building. We had to go check out the observation deck. 

This building is massive and has the highest vantage point in a building in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Eureka Skydeck was not only an observation area, you could also step out on "The Edge".

It took 32 seconds to get to the 88th floor of the Eureka building. When we arrived there was nothing Melbourne that we couldn't see. 

This view of the city is truly magnificent. 

Now it was time to slip on some footy's over our shoes and prepare to go out on the edge. The edge is a glass case that starts inside the building and exits the building, leaving you standing out the building in the glass looking down to the ground. 

Needless to say we were terrified. 

After we exited the Edge it was time to head back Down to Earth, literally. 

After a brief stop at the hotel it was time to take a ride on the free Tram. This is what it looks like when I take a look at a map and have the whole train system down in a matter of minutes. 

We rode the Tram out to the Docklands to visit one of our favorite places. COSTCO!!!! We were happy to see Costco and wanted check it out and see what was different from the US. Also we spotted that giant Ferris Wheel from when we first arrived in Melbourne. It is massive, but colorful. 

Well... This is new. I don't know how to feel about this. Costco literally does it all. Where else can you get groceries and caskets in bulk? 

We decided to finish the night with dinner and fun at the Crown Casino in downtown Melbourne.

We enjoyed a nice buffet at Kitchen Workshop and then it was time for the real fun to begin. 

The real reason Dominique wanted to come to Australia. The legal drinking and gambling age is 18. Old Man Lloyd, trying to figure out how the machine works. Lol

The boy was on fire. I think he enjoyed his first experience in the casino. All you can eat food, endless sprite and lemonade mix, and he won a few dollars. 

The agony of defeat. Time to go home and rest up. We head to the second city of our trip tomorrow, Cairns Australia!