Saturday, January 09, 2010

Shop Till You Drop In Melbourne


That's what I did during the 1st week of my holiday in Melbourne & had to buy a new suitcase for all my purchases and also many of the books that my daughter bought at the sales in Border. I think the problem started when we checked into our serviced apartment. I can't believe my eyes when I looked left, there was Myers & then right across the street (3 steps away) is David Jones & GPO & on the right is Chinatown. To top it off, it was 5 days before Christmas & the shops were all opened from 6am to midnight. So all I did was eat, shop, eat, shop, eat, shop ......

Of course, there was shopping for yarn as Morris & Sons was 10 mins walk away & they were also having a 20% sale. But I was very restrained & only walked away with these .......

These 7 balls of 4 ply merino are gorgeous & soft & I know they will be perfect for a cardigan.

I have been wanting one of these for a while & when I saw it in the shop, I had to buy it ......

I used it immediately when I went back to the apartment & starting knitting on my shawl. It is great & now my chart is not all over the place & I can keep track of my knitting with the magnetic ruler.

After all the shopping & eating, I was ready for my BIG TRIP ! We took the train from Melbourne to Bendigo & it was a nice ride. We arrived in Bendigo by 10 am & took a 10 mins walk to town & another 20 mins to find the Tourist Information Center. By then, we were all hot & sweaty as it was a hot day. I got all the information that I needed from the Center & then we started walking for another 15 mins & we arrived at Bendigo Woollen Mills ......

OMG, this can't be happening! I had just spend almost 3 hours & my husband & daughter are all hot & tired & I can't get into THE PLACE that I have been dreaming of for the past few months & all the yarn that I could get my hands on ....... I wanted to climb over the fence ..... I guess it's all my fault - I checked the website for opening hours & did not think of calling them to find out if they are open. This was my biggest disappointment & we had to walk back to town in the hot sun looking for a place to cool down & have lunch. I could not eat ! I just wanted to get out of Bendigo & go back to Melbourne for more shopping therapy. We caught the next train back to Melbourne & I managed to calm down with some knitting ......

The only good thing that came out of this trip is that I got the information that I needed for the Bendigo Wool Show in July which I am planning on attending & Bendigo Woollen Mills better be open !

On Boxing Day, we left Melbourne for Canberra & our 1st stop was this lovely seaside resort, Lakes Entrance. I think my husband had planned this trip very well as he knew that he had to get me away from the Boxing Day Sales as the shops were opened at 5am ! Anyway, I really enjoyed the peace & quiet of this resort & the seafood was so.... delicious .....

I managed to knit quite a bit on my 2nd Featherweight Cardigan during the drive ......


Canberra is so different from Melbourne as it's less busy & the streets are so wide & clean & everything seems so orderly. We did most of the tourist staff - Parliament House, Black Mountain Tower, Botanic Gardens, Chinatown & Central Shopping Mall. I love Canberra & I don't mind living there & it's close to Melbourne & Sydney - maybe one day.

We drove back to Melbourne & by then I was quite tired & ready to go home. We visited our favorite chocolate place for our last dessert before leaving Melbourne .....

I had a good holiday & will love to go back to Melbourne again ..... hopefully in July !




4 comments:

Sue said...

It seems as though you had a great time shopping and seeing the sites. Pity about BWM being closed. We have gone to Bendigo before and found the store closed, so I guess it is better to phone first isnt it, lol! At least you got to see some things in Bendigo didnt you? Canberra sounds nice too, never been there but maybe one day. I hope you can come for the show in Bendigo this year, I wouldnt mind going as I havent been to the last few!

Sam said...

Sounds like a wonderful time except for the Bendigo trip! I've done exactly the same thing before.. unlike you it was only a drive-by stop on the way to my in-laws house, so not out of the way - I can't imagine how frustrated you must have been!! Glad to see you got a trip to Max Brenner in though... YUMMMMM

Rachel said...

Sounds like even with the disappointment of the one store being closed, it was a good trip! I'm still a little distracted by the dessert picture at the end of this post!

Denise said...

Great knitting buys.. what a bummer that place was closed. I would have been sorely disappointed too :(