day 5 - the dandenongs

Day 5 - Insect Papparazzi
Originally uploaded by photog larry.

suffice it to say, we slept in a little, catching up on lost winks from the plane ride over. when we finally arose from our slumber, it was off to the pier for lunch. the pier was fairly typical, blending highrise condos with restaurants and small shops, and some random art. we headed to a place called mecca bah, which serves Mediterranean food. Had a pleasant lunch, and headed out for our first taste of the Australian wilderness, the Dandenong Ranges. the Dandenongs are basically a hilly / foresty area outside of Melbourne. We had some fun there, playing with the birds, and hiking towards Sherbroke Falls. However, when we got there, Sherbroke Falls seemed to be no more than Sherbroke dripping faucet. a bit of a letdown, but no worries, there would be plenty more waterfalls in the coming days. so we hopped back into the car and headed up to mount dandenong, where we paid $8 to park, take 2 or 3 pictures and leave. clearly not great value, but what can you do. they had a monopoly on the mountain! we got a good view though, of the ranges, as well as Melbourne city in the far off distance.

so after a good day of pseudo-hiking, we headed back into the city for some dinner at a place called taxi. taxi is a fairly trendy restaurant in the heart of the city. they serve, what I would call Japanese fusion dishes. lots of japanese flavours, but not really Japanese food (though they did have a sushi / sashimi combo on the menu). the gimmick at this place is that the building has floor to ceiling glass (and this restaurant is on the second floor). the natural light drifts in, and reflects off the metal décor. so its pretty bright inside. so they recommend that you bring your “sunnies” if you’re coming before dark. we finished up, and headed to the crown casino, to check out the “fire show” that debra had told us about. there are some pillars outside that let out flames every hour on the hour. so we got there, in time for the show, and waited….and waited….and waited…..no fire. BOOOO. starting to get cold, so we decided to give up, thinking that perhaps the city / county wide fire-ban included decorative fires coming from the casino. At any rate, after some searching on the net, my curiosity was quenched and i found a photo of what the fire show looks like.

disappointed, but undeterred, we went back to the carlton suburb, and headed to Brunetti’s, one of the aforementioned coffee joints. the coffee was as advertised, very flavourful. Linda drooled over the pastries in the window but managed to control herself.

next stop: a day in the city, and a night at the Open.