In and Around – Enjoying More Local Spots

This week wasn’t too eventful. Perhaps one small thing to note is I did some bookstore exploring. It seems that Melbourne has an amazing array of bookstores. I came across a list on Buzzfeed (yes, I’m a Buzzfeed addict) and had to investigate for myself. True enough there are a plethora of amazing bookstores all within a very short distance of each other – everything from discount chains, to independent bookstores to second hand books and even small specialty shops.

I don’t know how they all stay in business but it seems the written word is still alive and well here in this city. I didn’t hit up every store on the list but got to about 5 of them including the adorable children’s bookstore The Little Bookroom and Kay Craddock which houses first editions worth thousands of dollars per book. Though I have surrendered to the convenience of downloading books which can be accessed on any of my electronic mobile devices, I have to say that I am still a big fan of physically being able to turn a page so I may be making some literary purchases in the near future.

Today we kicked off the weekend with some lovely weather. Ben and I headed to Queen Victoria Market to do our grocery shopping and to indulge on some fresh made doughnuts. Queen Victoria Market is much larger than South Melbourne Market and we tend to alternate between the two for groceries. Picture an old time Bizarre with endless rows of stands selling everything you can think of. Both markets are fantastic and we are starting to distinguish preferences among the vendors at each.

In the afternoon, we noticed a bunch of booths set up near our apartment along the river. They were holding a small Lantern Festival with a bunch of different Asian food stalls. We wandered over and picked up some lunch. Then we decided to enjoy the day by walking to Queen Victoria Garden.

Spring is definitely creeping up and it was apparent on our walk through the garden. The trees are just starting to bud leaves and flowers are starting to add color. We made our way through the park to the War Memorial which we spent some time appreciating. On the walk back, we stopped and had a quick drink before calling it a day.

It may not seem too exciting to others to be in on a Saturday night but we need to be up very early tomorrow to watch the UGA game. Go Dawgs!!! Tomorrow afternoon, we are headed to the Mexican Festival! I cannot express how excited I am about the Mexican Festival – I might be persuaded to punch a stranger in the face right now if it meant I could get some decent Mexican food. I’ll let you know how it all turns out!