Journal no. 3

less photos here ~

i started the day with a pork roll ($3.5) from the nearby Vietnamese deli. comes with meat-like starchy products!
had coffee at Quint Cafe (323 Victoria Street)
my latte and R's chai latte. i would say it was "gentle" coffee.
eat at Quint for yummy looking big portions at low prices!!
got lost trying to find the Ian Potter Museum of Art because i didn't consult google maps.
we wandered around Melbourne University for a while - this is one of their cute dept buildings.
finally found the museum. small, housing modern contemporary art (read: difficult to appreciate).
went to Brunetti at Lygon Street. holy smoke - fancy cake central! o.0
aisles among aisles of whole cakes, pastries, tarts, mousse desserts, savories, ice cream.... :9
i only got a escargot (pastry roll) $4.10.
for R's advance b-day treat, i decided on Cantina Napoletana at 183 Elgin Street.
we found it by wandering around the Carlton area.
why?
it served Italian.
it was closed before 5pm, which means they are focused on food.
there was a nice old man at the door who was friendly.
it had a whooping 92% rating on urban spoon!


simple interior. with Italian cooks and servers. adds to the authenticity, ya know
Mr Nice Old Man introduced the specials to us, and told us they received Japanese crabs.
so R went for the crab pasta. oh my~ it was glorious.
al dente, brimming with crabby fragrance and umami :9
my lamb pasta. oh my~ it was delicous as hell too.
tender chunks of meat and al dente pasta in magical light but flavorful sauce.
was not disappointed :9 instead, was very very happy with the food and the nice service.
but!
the whole time we were there, no other customers came in. that made me a little sad, because eateries on the famous Lygon Street had so many customers!
come on, people! eat at Cantina Napoletana!

back to Flinders Street and the sun was in our face.
i stayed at Nomads All Nations Backpackers for my final night alone - it was less than 10 minutes walk from Southern Cross Station.
not sure why they chose murky brown as wall paint... adding to the slight spook factor because the place used to be a very old hotel, then a institute for the destitute.
but the service was very friendly. and it was full of young backpackers.
R and i took a night stroll. found a candy house at a hotel lobby.
some nice street art
these pictures were taken with flash
after seeing R off, i went back... it was about $28 to stay in this 4 bed female dorm.
not a quiet place to rest one's head, but it was spacious.
the coat hanging off the bed gave me a few scares, because the other occupants didn't come in until after midnight.
tram noises, cars noises, train noises... nice.
i read my book and fell asleep with the lights on.