Luna Park

Luna Park is an amusement park located near the beaches of St. Kilda. It is actually a historical site, being open since 1912. It still draws in huge crowds until today. It's quite small in size compared to Enchanted Kingdom back in the Philippines and the rides had more of a classic feel with it's wooden roller coaster and ferris wheel.

The front of the park is decorated by a humongous looking face. Visitors have to go through the wide open mouth of the clown face in order to go inside. Unlike in Enchanted Kingdom where you can buy a ride-all-you-can ticket for all the rides, here in Luna Park you need to purchase it separately. So we were able to buy tickets only for the roller coaster.

The place was filled with a lot of people at the time we visited Luna Park. Families, groups of teenagers waited patiently at long winded lines in order to get into one of the rides.

Me and Kuya Neo decided to ride the Scenic Railway. It was one of the main attractions in the park. It was a rollercoaster that went around the whole park area. It's called 'scenic' because when the coaster goes up above you can see the beach and the overhead horizon of the city.

We had to wait up to thirty minutes to get into the ride but it was worth it! The roller coaster didn't have hoops or anything dangerous like that but that didn't stop us from enjoying it. I totally loved the fact that it was a really old roller coaster. The planks were made of wood instead of steel and they even had a 'driver' to control the movement of the coaster.

All in all, Luna Park is a fun experience. Tourists must really visit it once they get to St. Kilda.

Visiting St. Kilda's

St. Kilda is a bayside suburb in Melbourne that is just a short ride from the city. It has a beach, an interesting pier and shops that lure in tourists and visitors.

Kuya Neo, my brother-in-law, took me on a motorcycle ride and we visited St. Kilda. My sister, Larisa, had to stay at home to take a rest. It's an hour ride from the city and the place was abuzz with people out to have a fun time. And since I'm a tourist, I went trigger happy with my DSLR 'Nori' and took a lot of pictures of the place.

On sundays, St. Kilda hosts a art and craft market along the Esplanade showcasing goods of all kinds. From bright creative paintings, handmade jewelry, scultpures, and photographs.


The main attraction would be St. Kilda's beach and pier. The beach, with its gentle waves, is popular with swimmers and sunbathers during the summer months. The sand is a bit colored sienna, totally different from what I have seen at the beaches back in the Philippines. It's really clean too. No one was swimming at that day since it was already winter and so cold!

And from the beach, you cold see some of the yachts and boats that sails on the bay.

And dogs are free to run around the beach all day.

The St. Kilda Pier is a local landmark and a major tourist attraction. The pier had been built in the 1850's and has been a center of activity ever since. Here's a short excerpt about the history of the pier from www.onlymelbourne.com.au

St Kilda Pier has been the centre of recreational activity in St Kilda since the 1850s. Both the old shed at the pier entrance and the pavilion at the end are part of Victoria's heritage.

St Kilda Pier's History dates back to 1853 when the St Kilda Pier and Jetty Company constructed a wooden jetty to assist the early settlers in unloading timber, building materials and firewood to St Kilda. Not long after its construction the small jetty fell victim to a stormy Port Phillip Bay and was washed away. Various forms of piers were constructed at St Kilda in the 1800s as the demand for a larger pier grew with the ever increasing trade to and from the area. Since then the St Kilda Pier has grown to its present size, with the most recent concrete section constructed in the 1970s.

St. Kilda Pier Sign

Boats and yachts seen upclose

The historic St Kilda Pier Kiosk was built in 1904 and has undergone several renovations in its time. Tragically, the Kiosk was devastated by fire on September 11, 2003. Original drawings from 1904 were used as the basis for the kiosk’s reconstruction in 2005 and now a new era has begun for the kiosk. The St Kilda Kiosk has become a symbol of St Kilda, a place of seaside fun, relaxation and romance. In many ways it offers the same simple pleasures. So take your time to look around and reflect.

There are really interesting things to see at the pier. From swans and seagulls who just swim and hang around the docks to starfishes on the rocks. And of course, the occassional humans who like to take pictures on the pier.


The St. Kilda Pier is even more stunning during sunset. The view took my breath away. So beautiful.

After taking a long walk at the pier. Me and Kuya Neo went back to the shops to find a good restaurant so we could eat dinner. St. Kilda is pretty upbeat at night too.

Some of their shops have really nice displays on the roof! It keeps things interesting and really made me curious of what they were selling in the stores.
There were also cake shops that sold mouth watering cakes and pastries. Mmmm! I kinda regret that I didn't even buy that really big eclair. Everything looks so good and yummy!
The place we ate at was the Abbey Road. Quite an interesting name which made me remember one of the Beatle's popular album covers. The place was decked with different music pharaphernalia from concert posters, album covers, actual records, and pictures of different musicians. The food was good too and worth the almost 30 minute wait. I ordered the Sunday Lamb Roast with potatoes, carrots, english pudding and gravy while Kuya Neo ordered some Angus Rib Eye with chips and roasted mushrooms. Mmm! It was so good! Definitely made the night wonderful.

It was a fun day. A bit tiring but worth it. We also visited the Luna Park, a small amusement park near the beach but I'll save that story for another post.

Tim Burton : The Exhibition

I had always been a fan of Tim Burton and had watched a lot of his films. From his Batman Films, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Big Fish, Sweeney Todd, and the latest Alice in Wonderland. Each of his films are both entertaining and inspirational but I never knew how creative the man really is until I visited this exhibition.

The exhibit was held at ACMI (Australian Center for Moving Image) at Federation Square. It's just across from the Flinders Street Station. It's quite easy to get there. When I got to the building I had to join a very long line that lead to the ticket booth. It warmed my heart seeing how many people wanted to see Tim Burton's exhibition. From old men to little tykes, everyone were just excited to see his works.

The ticket cost about $19 (Australian Dollars) and the exhibit was absolutely worth the long wait. Photos aren't allowed at the exhibit itself so I just took pictures of Tim Burton mementos that were situated outside the exhibition hall.

Behold, The Batmobile which was used in the original Batman films!
Holy Cow Batman!

A giant blow up of one of the characters from Tim Burton's "Tragic Toys for Girls and Boys"The exhibition was mind blowing. It showed Tim's works from the time he was a child until his current work in films. There were a lot of things to see. His sketches, poems, stories and clay models were displayed in glass cases. His sketches were often macabre and yet comedic at the same time. He often shows his creativity by exploring different themes like women, numbers, clowns and love.

Snippets from his movies were shown by overhead projection. Actual costumes used from Batman, Sweeney Todd, Sleepy Hollow, and Alice in Wonderland were shown. I even saw the clay head models used for Jack The Pumpkin King from the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas.

There's actually a lot to see and I really describe every little detail since Tim Burton has done a lot. When I say 'a lot' it really means 'A LOT'. There must have been hundreds of sketches and artworks. It really shows how creative Tim is as an artist. He really had explored a lot of artistic mediums from clay, oil paints, watercolors, colored penciles, pastels and film. He had also penned a lot of stories and poems.

It's really life changing and inspirational to see his works. It also made me know Tim Burton as a person and not only as a celebrity or as a director. It made me see how his persona seeps into his works and just vast his imagination is.


Since I wasn't allowed to take pictures in the exhibition area, I visited the ACMI shop to look for something to buy as a remembrance of my trip. There were a lot of merchandise to choose from.

Figurines of characters from Tragic Toys for Girls and Boys
Corpse Bride Action Figures and The Adventure of Stain Boy Cards.

Beetlejuice!!!
Alice in Wonderland!

Since I wasn't able to take pictures in the exhibition hall, I decided to buy the accompanying book for $24 (Australian Dollars).

It was worth it to buy the book since it showcased some of my drawings, scultpures and pictures by Tim Burton.

All in all, Tim Burton:The Exhibition was worth every cent of that $19 ticket. It's a wonderful trip to a macabre and imaginitive world. Please do visit it if it comes near or in your country.

To the Docklands!

After taking a really long bike ride, we hopped on the train from Altona, dropped off at Southern Cross Station and visited the Docklands. The docklands was an interesting place lined with different kinds of shops. From shoe stores, clothes shops and biking gear, you can find a lot of things at the Docklands.

Since we haven't eaten lunch yet, we decided to stop by at a Japanese restaurant that sold a variety of sushi and bento box meals.

The sushi is absolutely delicious! I ordered a mixed sushi set. I loved the Inari sushi the most and was surprised at how yummy the teriyaki chicken sushi was. Yum yum!

After eating sushi, we ventured off to the Chocolateria San Churro and ordered our dessert. Chocolateria San Churro is a cute shop that sells Spanish food.
And their main specialty would be 'churros'. We ordered a 'Churros for Two' with six pieces of churros and two dips of white and dark chocolate. It was absolutely delicious! The taste of the churros complemented the sweetness of the white chocolate and the bitterness of the dark chocolate.
You can also order hot chocolate at Chocolateria San Churro. They have a large variety of hot chocolate that can satisfy different tastes. I ordered a steaming cup of Mint Chocolate while my sister ordered Chocolat with Chili. The Chocate with Chili was a bit surprising since it was quite spicy, specially when you gulp it down.


After eating our delicious dessert, we then visited the docks next and took pictures by the bay. A wonderful finish to a wonderful day.