ToyNk: Mmmmm .. Melbourne!

I love Melbourne!

I was really blessed to have been given an opportunity to one of the best cities in the world. I was assigned to work there for a total of 11 months and I still relish that experience to this day.

When my sisters decided to further study and work in Australia, I gave them my all out support to stay in Melbourne. And I am pretty sure they love it!

I was ecstatic when we got a chance to visit them last Christmas -Mom, Dad, JJ and me visiting Johanna and Bajeck. Jeni is missing .. next time hopefully.

So we left on the 22nd of December for Melbourne ... (Considering that I writing several months after our trip, the events are not necessarily in order)

First stop .. St. Francis Church right. I used to attend Sunday mass here. Sometimes I just go inside whenever I am near the area, which is just a walking distance from my workplace. And they have a Filipino mass here!

Tram ride! One of the reasons I love Melbourne is because of its public transportation.

Of course, we have to eat! (for lunch)

We also got to eat at Crown (buffet dinner) .. I used to watch movies at Crown, too!

Pictorials at Yarra River!

Right across the iconic Flinders Station. I told my sisters that we should laugh while the picture was taken. We are so naturals! (And yes, we decided to wear maong for that day! OOTD coordinated!)

Since it was the Christmas season, lights were all over town as well. This one taken at Bourke Street (just near my previous work place!)

Noche Buena is not practiced in Melbourne (except for Filipino families perhaps) But for us, along with the friends of my sisters, we really stayed awake up until midnight. We played charades and ate. We woke Mom and Dad just in time for Noche Buena! (With the cute Christmas tree!) (By the way, that crown thing is apparently a Melbourne/Aussie thing)

We also got to eat sumptuous dinner courtesy of Tita Cybele and family. Busog!

Meeting the animals at Melbourne Zoo

Of course, we took the Great Ocean Road tour. The mini-bus we rode kept on conking out and so we finished the tour late. Nevertheless, it was still an experience worth remembering!

My first helicopter ride was right there at the 12 Apostles! Johanna and I, who experienced it before, kept prodding our mom to take a helicopter ride. After much thought, she decided to go for it, reasoning that the more she gets old, the less probability that she will get to experience. Live and experience now! Johanna and I rode experienced the helicopter ride again!