After a bit of a late night last night from the Penguin Parade, we elected to sleep in and then get up and phone home to those who needed phone calls to ensure we are still alive and well underneath the world! I spent some time doing some research on things to do in Melbourne that did not involve driving and found a tour that was wheelchair accessible (I have experience with Melbourne NOT being accessible) and involved going to pubs for drinks! What a great thing to do! It was departing at 3:45 pm from the Queen Victoria Market in the CBD so we just had to figure out how to get there without driving and we were set!
While we were getting ready to depart, I got a phone call on WhatsUp – which is an app that is used to message and phone people around the world except in North America it seems, which uses WiFi instead of a phone plan, from a guy named Lenny who asked if I needed the tour to be wheelchair accessible. Hmm. This conversation could go two ways and I decided to take the higher road and say, yes, it is advertised that way and that is why we signed up. He then asked if I could go up 2 flights of stairs – not the response I was expecting – and I said no, not unless it was an emergency! He then explained that the 1st bar had an elevator however the 2nd bar was upstairs! He would look into taking the group to an alternate bar if I was okay going up about a 4 inch step (which I was). He did not call me back so I figured everything was great and we planned to get there!
Looking at the tram that was near the hotel it was going to take an hour to get downtown so instead Google Maps suggested using DiDi which is a ride share service we later found out, from Asia. Very similar to Uber, a nice gentleman met us named Andrew and drove us downtown in his gold coloured car! He also drives for Uber and in chatting with him it sounds like Melbourne and the state of Victoria had similar issues with ride share services that British Columbia did with the taxi drivers not wanting the “extra” competition. All is well now, which I think is the same in Vancouver based on what I see at YVR airport. Andrew, the driver, got Andrew and I nice and safely to the street right outside of the Queen Victoria Market.
We met Lenny, the tour guide from Drinking History Tours, for the “Creepy Tales, Bars & Laneways Of Melbourne Walking Tour” at the Queen Victoria Market. Lenny is a professor of computer programming at the Melbourne University which is located in the downtown of Melbourne and he does this “tour” job on the side so he can drink while being paid!
There were 12 people, including Andrew and I on the tour – 6 women who were on a “girls weekend” from north of Melbourne, a couple from Sydney and 2 friends from Melbourne and us. We were the “foreigners”. After a short walk, we arrived at the Work Shop bar which used to be a motorcycle bike repair shop – which was upstairs! A fairly hidden bar which you would miss if you were not paying attention when you walked by when heading towards the Queen Victoria Markets. If you were heading the other direction, you would miss it!
We arrived at Work Shop and the rest of the tour went upstairs while I waited while Lenny went and got the bar manager to send the lift down to get me. Funny enough, the lift was also their storage facility for beer kegs and other things so we had to squeeze into a narrow passageway between some shelving and up we went! Upstairs was lovely! We sat next to an outside roof top bar area and talked to one another and Andrew enjoyed a pint along with the others. All the others on the tour had bought the all inclusive drinking package for the tour – which they got to try some pretty interesting types of drinks – I opted for the non-inclusive package as I do not drink and that would be a waste of money! I also found out when looking at the prices on the different bar menus that the prices for drinks in Melbourne are quite expensive! While my Coke Zero is normally about 5 AUD, drinks range 15-20 AUD! We stayed and chatted and Lenny told us some history of the area and then we moved on and walked to the next bar, this time passing by a historical area of Melbourne where there is a swing set art piece to commemorate some Australian aboriginals who were hanged for something that they did not do. The display was actually quite profound – the swing set below is supposed to be holding up the two coffins and allowing them to “swing free” in the wind. However they are concrete so they do not do that. The empty news boxes behind the swing set display different articles about the two men who were hanged and the controversy around that event. Funny enough, this swing set is facing the old Melbourne Gaol – which is pictured in the next few photos. No longer a jail, it is now a museum and historical place. Onwards we then walked!
During the walk I talked to one of the 2 ladies who live in Melbourne but only takes transit and she was talking to Lenny about the “hook turn” and how strange and unique they were to Melbourne downtown. I thought I would ask what this was and I sure was glad I did! First you have to remember we are driving on the left side of the street. If you want to go right which is across traffic like a left hand turn in Canada, in some intersections in Melbourne, you actually go into the LEFT lane (not right which would be logical) and sit there in a box with a right turn sign painted on the ground until the lights change and THEN you make your right turn. So if you think of two lanes of traffic driving down the left lane going straight they get to flow unimpeded with no one stopping the traffic to make the right hand turn. Instead, the car that wants to make the right turn lines up on the left hand side of the 2 lanes of traffic and then turns across both lanes once the light has stopped, just in front of the traffic that was to head straight from the other direction. Confused? Stay tuned! We will do one of these hook turns SUCCESSFULLY tomorrow! I was SO GLAD I asked her the question today!
We then arrived at the bar called Arcane Fairies – which was the replacement bar (which the others in the group did not know) that had the 4 inch lip to get into it which was no an issue. Very interesting bar with flying angels in the ceiling! Yet another beer decision for Andrew and another Coke Zero for me! We stayed a little while and Lenny described the bar that they normally go to which is the 2nd and 3rd story above this bar called Storyville – it is basically an old library filled with books with a bar and tables. The only way you know that this bar exists is the painting on the wall and the door that you see below.
We then left the Arcane Fairies bar and walked down the lane next to Storyville to see the entrance to that bar. We then wound for about 8 blocks through the business district where Lenny told us stories of various things that happened over the years in Melbourne – the ghosts and mysteries part of this tour was not as exciting as I thought it was going to be – not sure if the lack of my alcohol consumption had anything to do with that! We passed many beautiful Art Deco buildings on our walk – however the most important one that I saw was the “Ministry of Crab” one which had actual bronze crabs on the outside of the building! They are blurry due to the printing below. Not sure what the Ministry of Crab is all about however it sounded pretty mysterious to me!
Eventually Lenny walked us down a lane and we entered a door – no sign for what bar this was – the only hint that it might be a bar was that there were stanchions outside to manage a crowd. The entrance was nice and bright however once we got inside – WOW it was DARK! I know that I hit many people with my walker wheels and frame but I could not see where I was going or what was in my way at one point in time! They had reserved seating for us and we did get situated and then we all pulled out our cell phones and turned on our flashlights to read the various menus! At this point I was hungry and my low blood sugar alarm was going off so I had some brie and GF crackers as a snack. There was some confusion though as to what I ordered as when I originally asked the waitress what was gluten free she told me that they could substitute the bread for crisps. When I ordered I then said I wanted the brie cheese with the GF chips like she suggested (I substituted chips for crisps) and that was a mistake! I ended up with a cheese plate with GF crackers and a bowl of french fries that I could not eat! Oh well. Stupid terminology – I should know better not to use the word chips! The bar was lovely and crowded and after a while of being outside in the sunlight our eyes did adjust! Some of the ladies in the group had some very interesting sounding drinks – they had some really fancy names like Mint Julip! Andrew had a local Ale that Lenny suggested to him and I had a vintage Coke Zero – aged to perfection! After chatting for a while, that was the end of the tour, so we parted ways.
Back out on the street now, it was about 7pm and still very light out. I had seen a Thai restaurant that we had walked past on the way to the bar so I thought we could go there for dinner. Basically as I was rolling by I saw a big menu and gluten free in close proximity to each other. We got back to that restaurant and the Thai restaurant was NEXT to a restaurant that was completely gluten free but only open for Breakfast and Lunch! Oh well! Lets check out my friend Google! On Google I saw a wheelchair accessible restaurant that served gluten free food with really good reviews about 1/2 a kilometre away – so we decided to walk there instead – it was on the same street so we could not get lost! Its name was Tazio and was a modern Italian restaurant and the risotto that someone had about 2 months ago was OUTSTANDING! Right up my line of thinking!
It was a nice walk, albeit a bit up hill to Tazio – it was interesting to pass by some of the lanes in Melbourne like the one below that have lots of tagging (spray paint artwork) and mystery doors! Now with our experience with the mystery bars I started to wonder what was behind some of those places! Eventually we ran into Tazio and at the front door, there was a sign blocking the entrance and then a bell, which is not accessible for someone to ring, to get access to the restaurant. Instead we followed the instructions and went around the corner and down the lane to the door where your are “supposed” to enter which of course has stairs! Andrew went up and asked about having dinner and that I could not get into the restaurant and could they open the front door please. He was told we needed a reservation! By this time I was waiting at the front door as I could see tables vacant in the restaurant and did not think they would not seat us. But no, you needed a reservation Andrew told me again. I quickly popped onto the internet and made a reservation for 20 minutes later at 8:30 pm! What to do in the meantime? Go shopping! I needed some more Coke Zero for tomorrow as the downside of Marriott Hotels is they serve Pepsi! Across the street was a convenience store so we patronized it and then hung out on the street corner for about 10 minutes until it was reservation time.
Back at Tazio, remember this place advertised that it was wheelchair accessible, Andrew rang the door bell. No one answered. We were both hungry. We rang it again and again no answer. Andrew went down the lane to the entrance to ask them to let me in. At the same time I phoned them and left a message about accessibility and how I had a reservation and mentioned that on the reservation it was noted that I needed an accessible table and why do they not answer the door or the phone? Then the Asian guests sitting inside the door saw my predicament and they started calling for the waitress and finally the door was opened and they sat Andrew and I in the window, just inside the door from the street. You might say I was a bit peeved at this point and Andrew was not a happy camper either. I think the waitress who brought us water noticed this and the manage then came by and listened to how hard it was to get into the restaurant despite being indicated as wheelchair accessible on Google and she offered to buy us a beverage! I thought that was very nice so I ordered a Coke Zero and she asked me if I wanted something alcoholic and I said that I did not drink but Andrew I am sure would like something! Andrew then ordered a glass of red wine and she brought the bottle!
The waitress then came back and I asked about gluten free options for a Celiac and she suggested some things however my mind was already set when I found that risotto was not on the menu – I was having the GF Prawn and Motza cheese pizza! The waitress recommended to Andrew that the lamb pasta is the specialty of the restaurant so he went ahead and ordered that. Oh my goodness – I have had GF pizza in Italy (home to pizza), Spain, New Zealand, other places of Australia and Canada and this was the BEST pizza crust I have ever eaten! It was so light and fluffy but thin at the same time – I ate the WHOLE 10 inch pizza as for once the dough was not that filling! Andrew totally enjoyed his lamb pasta too – the pasta noodles looked like narrow lasagna noodles with the undulations in them but in a string! Never seen that type before! As it was getting late, we then decided to get the bill and the manager came back to the table again and apologized again for the trouble we had this evening, had listened to my phone message and said that they were short staffed and that the manager (who was not on duty) had received the phone message and told her to provide dinner on the house! I was SHOCKED! We thanked her profusely! I am going to write a good review of the restaurant despite what happened from an accessibility standpoint.
After that lovely dinner and surprise, we then used Didi to get back to the hotel in Richmond, outside of Melbourne. It only took us about 12 minutes to get back as we used the tollways this time instead of surface streets. I did not know that this is an option in Didi but it was nice despite the $7 AUD add on for the tolls!
At this point, as we had such a fun afternoon and evening, we decided we were not going to get up early the next morning to visit the 12 Apostles which is the other thing that I wanted to do when visiting Melbourne. It is a drive of about 400 km round trip without any extra stops on the Ocean Road which runs along the south side of the state of Victoria back towards Adelaide and about 2 hours along, there are now about 7 “stacks” of limestone off the shore which are quite remarkable to see. They have been caused due to the erosion of the shore. There actually are not 12 of them – as I mentioned there are about 7 right now however as they fall down the number decreases and as more are eroded from the cliffs, more might occur. Here are some pictures of them! The drive that I wanted to take and had planned out looks like it will take us about 7 hours minimum!
Due to how I am feeling we decided instead to just go downtown tomorrow, as it is a Sunday and check out the Queen Victoria Market and then take a drive to St. Kilda and Brighton Beaches instead! Join us tomorrow as we explore some sandy venues!