Melbourne Menagerie V: St. Patrick & St. Kilda Sitting In A Tree...

Melbourne20090423
Swiped from williamnyk.

On Sunday, mum and I took a gamble and went out to St. Patrick's Church hoping to be on time for mass. We hopped on the tram and in no time reached the Mother Church of the Melbourne Archdiocese. Turns out that we were in time. The cathedral was quite a sight. Not as ornate as St. Paul's, but it has its appeal. Not many parishioners were there as expected and around half of those celebrating the eucharist were tourists. After mass, we took pictures inside the church but we later found out that it was not allowed! Adoi! But we had more fun cam-whoring outside anyway. :P. At the side, there's a statue of Mother Mary holding aloft a crown of thorns (interesting to note that earlier in the morning, I spied a stick-on grafitti of the Virgin Mary baring her boobs). And in Her sleeve, a JVC camcorder was slotted in! I don't know if that's vandalism, art or a security camera. Out of the blue, more than 20 altar boys suddenly materialised from the annexxe (some cute!). Turns out that the Bishop was gonna celebrate mass. Such an entourage in full regalia, candles and censer. Mum and I decided to walk back to the apartment, taking in the sights and camwhoring at the same time. Managed to catch the Parliament House, City Museum, The Treasury, and some of the quaint streets along the way.



On the other hand, sis and my bro-in-law were at QVM again to buy fruits (my bro-in-law was popping strawberries like M&Ms) and settle the car rental for our drive out on Monday. Around lunch, we headed out to St. Kilda Beach. It was the hottest day of the whole trip with us shedding our extra layers of clothes. The sun was glaring. The sky was clear. And the sea was SO, SO blue. Being a Sunday, the Maker's Market was also in full swing with lots of arts and crafts on sale-- from glassware and soaps to jewellery and silverware. Mostly of good workmanship and thus prices were not low. The ang mohs were busy soaking up the sun, lying on the grass and literally spreading their legs-- saw one guy was in only his high-cut running shorts and another girl in a mini skirt with the open end facing traffic. :S. Gives new meaning to the phrase "your coffeeshop is open". Luna Park was nearby, but we didn't enter.



Back in town, mum and I went to the National Gallery of Victory. At the European art section, we were welcomed by a painting of Lady Borgia. Always wondered who Savante was referring to. Out of the 4 storeys of paintings, we only managed 25%. No time to ooh-ahh at every exhibit. But it was very nice. Too bad we went in too close to the closing time. Bought some Lord of the Fries chips with traditional Autralian ketchup. Delicious! Dinner was at the Greek quarter. Simply chose the most bustling of restaurants-- Stalactites Restaurant. Ordered the mixed dip with pita bread, mixed giros and mixed grill. Beautifully prepared meat. Succulent. Had Greek coffee served in a super-dainty cup. One pull would empty it, reaching the dregs at the bottom. Definitely not Ipoh white coffee, but it's OK. Tomorrow, Phillip Island!