Afternoon in St Kilda

So after the cricket finished early I headed for St Kilda by tram. This brought back memories of when the cricket finished early in Adelaide and I headed to another coastal location, Glenelg, by the same mode of transport. So at least England’s failure to bat for long period’s does have its upsides!

A number of friends had mentioned St Kilda as somewhere I should visit. Indeed it had been suggested as a possible location where I could stay. It didn’t disappoint!

One thing I love about Melbourne is the trams. Indeed Melbourne has the largest urban tram network in the world. To use the trams you need to buy a MYKI card (cost 6 dollars) and then top it up to use when you travel. You “touch on” and “touch off” using the card when you get on and off the tram. So having got my head around this and bought and got some credit on the MYKI card, I took the no. 96 tram from close to my hotel on Spencer Street. St Kilda is 7km south from the centre of Melbourne and takes around 30-45 minutes in a tram. On arrival on Acland Street I headed straight away in the direction of the sea. It was a sunny afternoon but was quite cool due to a southerly breeze.

I checked out the marina and the beach but didn’t linger for long due to the cool breeze. The beach was pretty quiet.

The beach at St Kilda

The real vibrant part of St Kilda was Acland Street with bars, restaurants, ice cream parlours and trendy shops. There is a bohemian type feel to the place. I bought a magnificent strawberry cream pastry at a cake shop with one of the most inviting shop windows you could imagine.

Acland Street, St Kilda

Acland Street, St Kilda

Yum!

After checking out Acland Street I headed for Luna Park. This delightful old amusement park was built in 1912. It was designed by Americans based on the first Luna Park built in Coney Island, New York in 1903. Melbourne’s Luna Park contains the most elaborate carousel in the southern hemisphere and the original rollercoaster which was restored in 1999 but didn’t appear to be in operation when I visited.

The entrance of Luna Park

The Luna Park carousel

St Kilda is a place you must visit when in Melbourne.