Our first splendid day!

We are staying in The Victoria Hotel, funnily enough it was recommended by both Erica and Kathy . After a 230am check in I thought my body would let me sleep in but I was awake at 530am anyway . I purveyed the  tourist  brochures for a leisurely hour then decided that Eric wouldn't notice me gone so I went for a walk around the 'Block' . Imagine my delight when I discovered that we were on the same block as the historic Town Hall and a mere hop, skip and jump away from the famed Saint Paul's Cathedral ! 

After a few hours of sawing logs , Eric woke up and wanted to go to Lygon Street for breakfast . Off we went on search for either a bus or tram bearing the numerals 35 ( how fantastic - a free service) the tram was spotted first and we boarded it at Flinders Street station . I felt we were on The Polar Express , the driver looked like Tom Hanks in the animation and had the same mannerisms. We were lucky enough to nab a seat at the front with another family from Cairns and listened with rapt attention to his commentary. 

We disembarked at Russell Street which turns into Lygon after walking two blocks of the latter it was nearly midday we were both famished . ( I was actually cranky from hunger and wished I'd had a coffee hours ago whilst waiting for snoring beauty)

We deliberated for a ridiculously long time so had to change our agenda and choose lunch instead of breakfast . We finally agreed on an Italian cafe and in superb Italian I ordered bruschetta prosciutto and a cappuccino, Eric ordered a coffee as the plan was now to indulge in a progressive lunch. I foolishly envisaged stopping at the next cafe but how wrong I was. My dear husband decided that the next spot would be the Queen Victoria Markets , so after hurriedly galloping  past the old jail which I had earmarked for a tour in the guide book we found a tourist info map on the street and off we went. 

Unfortunately after scooting past the Museum where I desperately wanted to see the 007  exhibition we arrived in - wait for it- YARRA- yes you guessed it , we had walked for almost an hour in the wrong direction . A friendly local from 'England' pointed us back towards Lygon Street ( apparently we had been 10 mins away when we left that area) . We finally reached the markets where we ordered a bratwurst with the trimmings for us to share, a borek for moi and an unappealing ( in my opinion) burger for Eric. I rounded up some chairs and we ate our lunch (2pm) listening to a busker singing, songs from the 60's . After lunch we purchased a pide, cheeses, dips, cold meats including lashings of prosciutto for snackerels at the hotel . We then enjoyed Eric's predictable activity of choice and looked at cuts of meat for an hour! 

We were both exhausted and this time rather than looking solely at street info boards which we clearly didn't understand we actually did the sensible thing and navigated by using the map given to us by the hotel!!!  After several hours of diversion ( looking at  Christmas displays ( my choice) and looking at small electrical appliances which were too heavy to fit in our luggage ( Eric's Choice) in David Jones , peering over the crowd's shoulders at the Myer - Christmas windows and shopping (no luck) for a thermos we made it safely back to our hotel. 

We had a teeny rest, me on the bed Eric on a bar stool having Carlton on tap, then we set off again for another walk this time we ended up at a Moroccan rooftop bar called Sahara where we had a house red and two delicious pizzas in the spirit of happy hour. It was really ambient and a perfect way to pass the time! We set off back to our hotel where we relaxed in the hot sauna on our floor . The gym area overlooks the city and the view was glorious . After a hot shower back at the room we ventured forth to seek out dinner. 

Once again we were off task. After joining the throng staring at Town Hall waiting for the light show to commence ( It didn't ) for half an hour we went south down Swanson past the Christmas village to Federation Square , back up the block to look at the - now happening for real - light show and then finally  China town !!! 

We were so hungry now that I bought an obscenely large piece of Taiwanese  fried chicken which we shared whilst strolling through the district. All we wanted then was a coffee and a vanilla slice to share . It was bitterly cold and we sought refuge in a churros bar where I was revived by an Aztec Hot chocolate ( with chilli in it) and a side order of churros. Perfecto ! We were absolutely knackered and briskly walked back to the hotel where we collapsed ! First day - over and out !