Good day Matey—

Today we walked!!! We walked in the morning, we walked in the afternoon and we walked into the night. My final total when I got into bed was 20,970 steps for the day.

This morning, Lori and Mike met an old friend for coffee. Her name is Adele and many years ago ,when our kids were all little, they had an Au-pair. The Au-pair was friends with Adele, so Lori and Mike got to know her way back when. Lori reached out before our trip and they had the pleasure of seeing her for coffee. I met her this morning and she is very sweet.

We then walked to Schmucks Bagels on the recommendation of Scott, my son-in-law. He said its “A little slice of home in Melbourne”. Boy was he right. It was a delicious bagel with cream cheese, lox, capers and tomatoes. The best part was that they put McClures Pickles as a side. Another slice of home.

We went to the State Library Victoria, which was unbelievable. It was built in 1854 and is Australias oldest public library. It mixes history and the modern world in the same building. In the middle of the building there is a grand old reading room and at the top there is a dome. When you go to the top and look down into the reading room, it is very beautiful.

We then made our way through China town and Greek town and were able to see the different areas. The students are returning from summer vacation for the University and the streets are jam packed. The hustle and bustle here is similar to New York or Chicago but more condensed so the hoards of people are definitely noticeable.

The weather is cool here and it is a welcome relief from the last two cities. Again, no complaints but a definite change.

We wound our way back to our hotel, took a 30 minute break and then out to the Outlets. The Outlets were connected to the Melbourne Central railway station and is full of commuter trains, some underground. They carry millions of people a year.

We then got ready for our evening by meeting our friend Bill at the rooftop bar for a drink. We then went to meet a guide for our Progressive walking food tour for dinner. Simon, our tour guide works for Depot Australia. We started at the Marriage registry and took a group photo. Our tour consisted of the Michigan 6 and a guy from New York.

As we walked through the City, we saw the theater district and some very old buildings including Hotel Windsor. Many of the alleys in Melbourne are full of little cafes and street side restaurants. Our first stop on the tour was at a place called Chipati’s. It was Indian food, which I have never had. I keep hearing Scott in my head saying try it, you will like it and all curry is not the same so….When in Rome……

Our first dish at Chipati’s was Dahi Puri. It is an Indian food which originates from Mumbai. It is served with a mini-puri which is a shell that you fill with the Dahi Puri and then you eat it all at once. It’s almost like a savory cream puff, packed with tangy and sweet flavors and spice too. The main ingredient was yogurt, potatoes, chickpeas and onions.

They then served a Prawn Malabar with garlic Naan. Malabar is a delicious Indian seafood dish. It had a little spice too it as well and curry flavors with a prawn to top it off.

Next stop was a Taiwanese street food cafe. Good thing we were on a walking tour because otherwise we would be too full to keep moving. We came to Ahma, which means Grandma. There, Simon ordered a couple of interesting Taiwanese dishes. We had a Taiwanese Taco called Guabau. It is made by folding a flat piece of steamed lotus leaf bun around a filling. We had pork belly with some spices. We also had Taiwanese sausage and a sweet potato fry. All very delicious.

We walked through China town and it was hopping at night. Full of people, shops, street cafe’s. We stopped at the State Library for a little history and made our way to a Chinese street cafe’s for Guikui. Guikui is a flatbread made that has a filling added before it is rolled up into a ball (before it is cooked). Then when you order, they take a ball of dough (the kind you ordered) and roll it out, season it and put it in a kiln like oven. It looks like a crispy pancake It was invented during the Tang dynasty by a laborer who cooked it in his iron helmet over a wood fire. So it comes out super thin. The filling is either savory—chicken, beef, veggies or sweet. Another interesting and delicious find for our progressive dinner.

We then headed towards dessert but walked through a number of dark alleys, filled with little cafes serving dinner and desserts. Ours was in an alley, up the stairs and into the French Salon. They offered French desserts and cheese platters. A delicious end to a fabulous day.

And that is how we walked 20,970 steps. GOOD NIGHT!!!

Cici at Sea signing off.