Random Thoughts

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
- Outside In by Maria V. Snyder
- 99 Days by Katie Catugno
- Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
- Rebel Springs by Morgan Rhodes
- A Little Bit Wicked by Robyn Dehart
- Currently Reading: Three Wishes by Kristen Ashley ♥
- Currently Reading: Flawed by Cecelia Ahern

What movies and/or TV shows did I watch this month?
- Daddy's Home
- Black Mirror Series

What special days did I celebrate and how?
- Our Anniversary ♥

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
- Thank you dear God for keeping us healthy this month!

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
- Weekend Getaway with the Hubby at Villa Escudero

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
- Villa Escudero
- Batanes ♥

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
- No shopping this month! WOOT!

What have you learned this month?
-

Happiness is...

1. Weekend Getaway at Villa Escudero
2. Wedding Anniversary
3. Relaxing Lunch by the Falss ♥♥♥
4. Family Bonding over a Movie
5. Kids' Hugs and Kisses
6. Good grades
7. Responsible Kids
8. New eBooks Downloaded ♥
9. Romance Novels
10. Freshly Brewed Coffee

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Happiness is...

1. Long Weekend coming up! Woot!
2. Quick dinner date with the kids
3. Soccer Game!
4. Conversations with the Hubby
5. Unexpected Financial Blessing from Tita ♥♥♥
6. New eBooks waiting for me Read
7. Bible Study soon
8. New Fantasy series
9. Pizza ♥
10. Food Trip last Weekend

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This is by far the highlight of our trip to Melbourne. An open range zoo located 30 minutes southwest of the city, it is all about the safari experience which takes you all around the zoo to get up close and personal with the amazing wildlife in a different perspective.

Wow!

That's what we thought about this zoo. We all love it to bits! What an experience! I definitely recommend that you check this out!

Why travel thousands of kilometres when a taste of African adventure is available just 30 minutes from Melbourne's city centre, at Werribee Open Range Zoo? You will find an amazing array of animals living on 225 hectares of wide, open savannah.
SOURCE.

On the Pula Reserve Walking Trail, come face-to-face with amazing gorillas, a pride of lions, see monkeys and cheetahs at play and feel the sand between your toes at the new Hippo Beach.
SOURCE.

No trip to the Zoo is complete without heading out on safari across grassy plains where you will find rhinoceros, giraffes, zebras and antelopes grazing together on the picturesque savannah. SOURCE.

All of the above, including the 40-minute safari tour, is included in the Zoo admission price. For those looking for even more adventure, why not try one of the behind-the-scenes Wild Encounters? Feed a giraffe, stroke a serval, see amazing animals on the savannah from an open vehicle, and, in the new Gorilla Behind the Scenes encounter, get up close and personal with three gorilla bachelors. SOURCE.

Werribee Open Range Zoo is located 30 minutes from Melbourne’s City Centre and is accessible by public transport (Werribee Line Train to Werribee and Bus 439 to the Zoo). Admission includes a free safari tour.

Happiness is...

1. Just finished reading a YA book ♥
2. Hot Coffee
3. Reminiscing thru Blogging
4. Kids' Awards
5. New Adventures soon
6. The Hubby
7. Highschool Friends
8. New eBooks
9. Netflix
10. Popcorn

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As soon as we arrived Flinders Street, we immediately saw this beautiful Cathedral called St. Paul's Cathedral.

Opposite Federation Square, on Melbourne's busiest intersection, the neo-Gothic St Paul’s Cathedral is a Melbourne landmark, built between 1880 and 1931.

Constructed in sandstone, the current building replaced an earlier bluestone church, built on the site where the first public Christian services in Melbourne were led by Dr Alexander Thomson in 1836. SOURCE.

Designed by William Butterfield, the cathedral’s architecture is described as Gothic transitional, combining Early English and Decorative Gothic styles. Highlights include the fine polychromatic brickwork, beautifully patterned floor tiles and mosaics, banded stonework, fine timbered roof and tiled dado walls. SOURCE.

I love that the bells were rang while we were roaming around the Cathedral. It was so relaxing! Too bad it was closed when we got there.

Here is the schedule in case you are interested in visiting St. Paul's Cathedral.

Location

198-206 Flinders Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

Contact details

Phone: 9653 4333
welcome@stpaulscathedral.org.au
www.stpaulscathedral.org.au

Opening hours

Mon: 8am – 6pm
Tue: 8am – 6pm
Wed: 8am – 6pm
Thu: 8am – 6pm
Fri: 8am – 6pm
Sat: 9am – 4pm
Sun: 7.30am – 7.30pm

* Check the website for times of services. The cathedral shop is open daily from 10am to 3.30pm.

Our next stop in Melbourne was checking out the beautiful and colorful Brighton Bathing Boxes.

And boy, these house were really colorful! ♥♥♥

For many years in the late nineteenth century, Brighton was Melbourne's favourite seaside destination. Brighton is located in the City of Bayside, which has 17 km of foreshore to Port Phillip Bay. Nestled on Dendy Street Beach, the Brighton bathing boxes are a popular Bayside icon and cultural asset. SOURCE.

Bathing boxes and boatsheds are intrinsic to Port Phillip Bay and Western Port. Much has been written about Victorian morality and its impact on how people went about bathing and enjoying the seashore. As a result of this morality bathing boxes had their origins not only in Australia but concurrently on the beaches of England, France and Italy. European bathing boxes exist to this day. SOURCE.

The 82 Brighton bathing boxes are unique because of their uniform scale and proportion, building materials, sentry order alignment and a Planning Scheme Heritage Overlay on a beach owned by Bayside City Council. As simple structures, all retain classic Victorian architectural features with timber framing, weatherboards and corrugated iron roofs. They remain as they did over one hundred years ago, as licensed bathing boxes. No service amenities such as electricity or water are connected. SOURCE.

Although approximately 1,860 bathing boxes, boatsheds and similar structures are located around Port Phillip Bay and Western Port, the Brighton bathing boxes are the only remaining structures of their kind close to the Melbourne central business district. As a functional remnant of a bygone era, they provide a cultural and historical resource that is constantly being photographed, painted or drawn.

Licensees choose to differentiate their bathing boxes with minor structural, artistic and colour variations. When viewed together they turn the beachscape into a collective work of art that can change by the hour according to season, light and colours. SOURCE.

DO check these beauties out! Here is how to get to this beautiful place...

Dendy Street Beach, Brighton is the home of the Brighton bathing boxes, a popular Bayside icon and cultural asset. It is approximately 13 km south of the City of Melbourne and is accessible by road, rail, bus and sea.

The nearest road intersection is Dendy Street and the Esplanade, Brighton (Melway Greater Melbourne map reference 67 C12/76 C1). Bayside City Council provide a user pay car park.

If undertaking a scenic 500 m walk via Green Point from Brighton Beach Railway Station, which is the end of Zone 1 (from City) on the Sandringham line or user pay car park, visitors may view part of the Bayside Coastal Art Trail where sign boards compare actual with notable Australian artists' paintings, the Brighton bathing boxes, Brighton dunes and the Melbourne skyline. SOURCE.