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Hotel Phillip Island is centrally located in Cowes on the esplanade with simply one of the best views from any eatery I have been in. The food is good with a quite extensive menu with plenty of seafood listed.
Quite a nice spot to while away the time with a drink, a meal and the view.
11-13 The Esplanade
Cowes 3922
Phone +61 3 5952 2100
www.hotelphillipisland.com/
Melbourne's tallest building now has a viewing platform on level 88 which is approx 300 metres above sea level. The view from there is amazing, being able to see across to the Dandenong ranges or across Port Philip Bay.
However, for the adventurous and definitely not the faint hearted, there is the 'Edge', a box of glass (with a steel frame) which slides out about five metres from the viewing platform, so you can also look DOWN!
Go for the view at the Southern Hemisphere's highest look out!
Skydeck 88
Eureka Tower
Riverside Quay
SouthBank
phone: 96938888
www.eurekaskydeck.com.au
Another nice little find in my local neighbourhood... Sarands presents a Mediterranean-based menu of seafood or meat dishes. The restaurant itself is light and airy (with an upstairs private dining area for functions), service is pleasant, the wine list small but well chosen and the (mains) servings huge. The prices are reasonable too. Coffee is excellent.
532 Hampton St, Hampton
3188 Vic (200m south of South Rd)
Ph 9598 8944
www.greateats.com.au/restaurants/au/Melbourne_Inner_South/Hampton/14489/Sarands_Mediterranean
Dining at Mirka is a tasty visual experience. Surrounded by murals by Mirka Mora, you dine on food from the kitchen of Melbourne's famed Guy Grossi. Based widely on a mediterranean style (Grossi is Italian), the menu here is about making one feel cosseted and at home.
The wine list is superb with wines from France and South America as well as the best of Australia. Superb service along the art of the dining room makes 'Mirka' one of Melbourne's best culinary experiences. We will be going back.
42 Fitzroy St
ST Kilda
03 9525 3088
100m from St Kilda Light Rail station
www.mirkatolarno.com/
Want to go to Venice but afraid of the hotel prices there? Stay in Mestre and commute to Venice each day. We did and found it fascinating to jump on a bus each morning and go to Venice with the workers. The view of Venice from a bus on the causeway is certainly different.
Armistice day (was Nov 11) and so the Remembrance day ceremonies at the Shrine have passed but Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance is still worth a visit as it hosts a number of exhibitions throughout the year. The latest exhibition is 'Passchendaele: the Australian and New Zealand experience' and it's very good, very simple, very powerful in its message and very moving. ANZACs involvement in the 3rd battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) cost many Australian diggers their lives and this exhibition lets us not forget.
The Shrine was built over six years from 1928 to 1934 as Victoria's memorial to the men and women who served Australia in all armed conflicts throughout Australia's history.
Our Shrine is worth a visit for the
simple message it tells...Lest we forget.
St Kilda rd
Melbourne
www.shrine.org.au
A pub with a view, a great view across Melbourne's bay. A pub with decent food in the bistro, a TAB, a lounge bar and accommodation all within 15km of the CBD.
A pretty good local pub with one of the best outlooks in Melbourne.
Cnr Beach & Bay Road, Sandringham,
just around the corner from Sandringham station
Telephone: 9598 7255
www.sandringhamhotel.com.au/
Strange name for a new restaurant in suburban Hampton. However, it's one with an upmarket atmosphere, very good food and superb service and that makes for a very fine dining experience. It's a touch above our other local Chinese restaurants.
356 Hampton St Hampton 3188
ph (03) 9521 6066
100m south of the railway station
Salix restaurant at the Willow Creek Winery on the Mornington Peninsula south of Melbourne is simply superb.
Local produce and seafood, a great view and the fine wines from the winery and other areas create a high-class dining experience. Go for lunch or dinner and enjoy!
Willow Creek Vineyard
166 Balnarring Road
Merricks North 3926
Salix Restaurant
ph: 5989 7640
www.willow-creek.com.au/index.php?page=salix_restaurant
Want to surf, or laze, or walk the sands? The beach at Merimbula is the go! You have two to choose from, surf beach or protected in the lagoon.
Families flock to Merimbula during the holidays. It is a popular spot with city families with Melbournites and Sydneyites holidaying there. Merimbula is a great spot!
South coast
NSW Australia
www.sapphirecoast.com.au/merimbula.htm
Recently renovated inside, the Flinders Pub has moved to improve its eating areas with a formal dining room in addition to the bistro.
The pub is a favourite of motorcycle riders (it's a great place to start or end a ride) who frequent the bistro but the dining room is a nice place for those wanting something more formal... nice thick linen and quality tableware. It's a nice place to eat for those who have been tramping the wineries in the area or having a hit at Flinders Golf Club.
Cook St
Flinders
Mornington Peninsula
about an hour from central Melbourne
ph 59890201
www.flindershotel com.au
The 'Show' - where city and country get together! Once a year, the country invades the city at the showgrounds and lets city families see what the country has to offer.
In addition, there are quite a few competitions where our farmers and country folk can show off the best bull, pig, horse or who can cook the best sponge or grow the best pumpkin.
Sheepdog and poultry competitions are favourites. City kids also have a chance to see new lambs or piglets or chooks. There are enough circus rides, face painting areas and handicraft stalls to keep everyone happy.
Adults have flamenco, hip hop, capoeira performers, belly dancers and others to keep them entertained.
And of course, there are fireworks at night. Everyone should go and don't forget to grab a ShowBag.
Sept 20 - 30
Royal Melbourne Showgrounds
Epsom Road, Ascot Vale
take a tram or train there from the CBD (car parking is available too)
www.royalshow.com.au/
Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Or, so it said in Lewis Carrol's Jabberwock!
Cafè Callooh is a new cafè in Hampton with an unusual interior, great coffee and snacks. Soup of the day and other eats are great. Kid-friendly too. Tucked away from the main part of Hampton's High street, Cafè Callooh is well worth a visit! Enjoy the wall writing....
75 Ludstone Street
Hampton Vic 3188
T: 9521 6865
Situated not far from the CBD, Sandown racecourse was the home of some of the first car races in Australia in 1904. Since then a horse racing track and lake have been built inside the motorracing circuit.
Since its early days, Sandown has hosted a variety of events with the EasterNats, Historic Sandown and Sandown 500 featuring the V8 Supercars, being regular events.
Being so close to Melbourne's centre, Sandown is also used for new car release and corporate drive days. Mercedes Benz and BMW conduct driver training there
Princes Highway Springvale
entry via Sandown Rd or Racecourse Drive
Ph +61 3 9518 1300
Fax +61 3 9518 1353
on race days, Sandown's own railway station comes into operation
www.sandown.net.au
Just opened, Kushi Indian Flavour Restaurant (strange name) presents seriously good Indian food in a restaurant setting that has some class. Nice seating, crisp white tableclothes and super service from the young black-clad waiting staff.
The wine list has been well thought out and there is also a good range of beers (which suit Indian food). A choice of the various Indian breads are offered on the menu. Vegetarians are not forgotten with quite a few selections in the Entree and Mains area of the menu.
504 Hampton St
(near cnr with Littlewood st)
Hampton 3188
ph 95984023
A local hotel with plenty of different beers, decent service and an interesting food menu.
157 Moray Street, South Melbourne Tel. 9690 4511
www.melbournepubs.com/v/59/
Cafe Latte is not a drink, it's a nice little Italian restaurant in swanky Toorak. Great pasta dishes (mainly southern Italian style), nice wine list, central bar and a fantastic atmosphere make this a place 'to eat out' at.
521 Malvern Rd, Toorak, VIC, 3142
Phone: (03) 98265846
www.cafelatte.com.au
Melbourne is the home of footy. The game was devised here, was first played here in a paddock (on what is today part of the MCG) and, despite it branching out to be played, spectated on and barracked on in all corners of Australia, Melbourne still rules the footy.
The 'footy' is aussie speak for football, which is played under the rules of the Australian Football League.
However, this football is like no other on earth. It is uniquely Australian and uses some of the skill sets from Gaelic football (but not use of their round ball), some of the tackling skills of the two rugby codes and the use of the oval Rugby ball but none of the hassles of 'offside', 'own goal', or 'handball' which taint the rules of soccer.
It is a 'winter' game played by both sexes and is very much a sport where the entire family can attend and barrack for their favourite team (or player). It is a game with history going back to the early 1850s and with its rules and first clubs pre-dating even the setup of other major football codes. Some of the rules even relate to age-old aboriginal sports which featured jumping to catch a ball made of possum fur, today reflected in the rules related to 'overhead marking'
Our great game results in a Grand Final (after 22 matches between 16 national teams) traditionally held on the last Saturday in September.
The rules? Too many and complex to list here so I suggest a visit to the AFL website or, if in Melbourne between March and September, go to the footy! It's a Melbourne institution!
at your nearest footy ground
or visit the
Australian Football League at
or www.afl.com.au
or
www.realfooty.com.au
Visit Edinburgh in the middle of winter - at Christmas or at New Year...?
Yes, and I recommend it!
The locals are full of bonhomie; every pub or eatery with a fireplace is welcoming; and the locals, who act as tourist guides at the castle and other touristy places, are happy to see you and have a chat.
Crowds? No ... have have the castle and the whisky tours all to yourself.
You can even venture out of town and maybe have a hit at St Andrews ('cos there is noone else there playing).
There is also the added bonus of Scottish New Year celebrations. Something everyone should do at least once in a lifetime: Hogmanay.
Downside? It's cold - very cold; sleeting and snowing, but hey, nothing a couple of jackets, coats, mufflers, gloves and hats can't fix.
Seriously: go and visit in winter;
it is a different place.
Edinburgh is in Scotland! Drive or fly or train it there.
www.edinburghschristmas.com/
and
www.edinburghshogmanay.org/
Provence has a mystique to it that can be overshadowed by difficulties in getting there and getting around.
Getting there? The best two ways are by train and plane.
The SCNF TGV fast train leaves Paris for Lyon, Orange, Avignon and Aix, places that can be stop-offs to access Provence. They also have car hire places.
Plane arrival means going to Nice and getting car hire there.
Getting around Provence is best done by car. You have access at your leisure to the tourist towns (Gordes, Menerbes etc), trips to all the local town markets (recommended) or you can go further afield to The Camargue or Marseille.
Send your feedback or queries to been.there@guardian.co.uk
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