Sunday, October 4th, was our last full day in Melbourne. The first thing we did was eat lunch at a Mexican restaurant called Los Amates in the suburb of Fitzroy. Fitzroy is Melbourne's oldest and smallest suburb and has a mixture of all kinds of ethnicities. Several of the buildings in the area are protected for heritage and historical significance.

Sofia told us before we went that the food at Los Amates tasted exactly like Mexican food tasted in Mexico when she used to live there. So now Troy and I can say we've had real Mexican food, and we had it in Australia of all places! A Mexican guy owns and operates the place and everyone speaks Spanish there. Sofia said that the owner is very nice and treats all the Mexicans he meets in Melbourne like family. The waiter was very nice and Sofia got along with her well, and she was able to get us free chips and guacamole to start with. I had authentic Mexican enchiladas, one with salsa verde and one with salsa roja, and Troy had chilaquiles verdes con pollo. The food was really good!

After lunch, we continued walking around the Fitzroy area, including Brunswick Street, which has a lot of little stores and cafes. It was a pretty cool area and I wish we could have spent more time there.

The next stop was St Kilda beach in southern Melbourne. We sat near the beach for a while and then walked out onto a nearby pier. It was a little hazy and the sun was washing everything out, so we weren't able to see the Melbourne skyline that well. There is also a small amusement park right next to the beach called Luna Park. It's easy to recognize because the entrance is the mouth of a giant scary face. We didn't go inside, but it looked like it would be fun. This Luna Park is the oldest one still in existence and also has the oldest continually-operating roller coaster in the world called the Scenic Railway, which was built in 1912.

Luna Park near St Kilda Beach on Vimeo.

Then we rode the tram back into the CBD and stopped briefly at the library to see the architecture inside. We were all a little hungry, so we stopped to have dessert at Max Brenner. This time Troy and I had the banana crepes with chocolate drizzled on it and it was alright, but we didn't like it as much as the chocolate souffle that we had before.

The main reason for going back to the CBD was so that we could buy some suitcases we had seen a few days ago at a place called Strandbags. I'd been wanting a new set of suitcases recently since the only one we have is pretty beat up and doesn't roll very easily because it tips over all the time. I don't like using the duffel bags we have either because they just don't carry much and aren't protected much at all. But all the suitcases we'd seen in the US were like $300 or more for a set of two. So when we saw two purple suitcases with wheels and expandable handles for about $150 total in Melbourne, we decided to buy them. These will be a big improvement over our duffel bags and small black suitcase that always tipped over. Plus we'll always remember that we bought them in Melbourne, Australia!

The only problem with buying them Sunday afternoon was that we had to carry them with us the rest of the day until we went back to the house. But it was most convenient for us to carry them this day. It helped that they were different sizes and the small one fit inside the big one. So, Adam and Sofia helped us carry them at our next stop, Dendy Street Beach in Brighton. I really liked this beach because of all the bathing boxes along the shore that are painted different colors and designs. People actually own them and use them to store surfing and boating equipment. They are currently selling for AU$200,000 each, which sounds crazy. It was really nice walking along the beach with the sun setting over the water.

Dendy Street Beach on Vimeo.

Sunset and bathing boxes on Vimeo.

We took the train back to the CBD so we could catch the other train to go back to Clayton. In between train rides, Troy and I wanted to sit one last time at Federation Square for a while and take in the awesome city aura. It had just turned pretty dark outside, so all the buildings were lit up, it was really cool. Remembering it makes me wish I was still there.

Federation Square at night on Vimeo.

But I guess we couldn't stay there forever, so we took the next train back to the house where we ordered pizza for delivery. It was pretty late by the time we got back and we had to finish packing and do our two loads of laundry. In fact, we stayed up until probably 2 AM waiting for our laundry to wash, which took about 30 minutes, and dry, which took about 90 minutes.

But Adam had to go to work the next morning really early, so we had to say goodbye before he went to bed. We both gave him big hugs and thanked him for letting us invade his and Sofia's room for a full week. It was so sad saying goodbye, I didn't want it to be over! We both miss you Adam, but we had an awesome time with you and are glad we were able to see you and hang out so much in such a cool place.