I mentioned a few months ago, in my post on Laurent’s 1st Birthday Party, that I wanted to plan our first trip overseas as a family.

After MONTHS of procrastination and being indecisive about our destination, we finally decided on going to Melbourne!

 We were actually considering a few other countries but we got busy with work, external commitments and Wayne’s reservist in between and as we drew closer and closer to the end of the year, we were pretty much limited to places down under since we were not too comfortable for Laurent to experience winter on his first overseas trip.

It’s not out first time visiting Aussie but my visit to Gold Coast was more than 15 years ago and the last time we were in Sydney was back in our uni days so none of us were very familiar with Melbourne. We didn’t know which area to stay at, what is the area known for, what activities to plan.

Thankfully, a number of mommy bloggers shared with me their itineraries (I’ll provide links to their posts below), and we have a few friends who are studying there or have been visiting that area pretty often so we managed to get some great tips from them. As we learnt more about Melbourne, the more we thought it sounded like somewhere we would be able to enjoy with Laurent. We definitely hope that will be the case!

 We just completed filling in our itinerary, confirmed all our accommodation and rented our car last weekend and as we looked at the excel sheet completed with all our plans and information, I was quite amazed at how we went from having no clue about a place (you know, the feeling when you look at the map to decide on your accommodation and none of the street names made sense) to feeling like we have already been there – CBD, St Kilda’s, South Bank, Yarra Valley, Philip Island, Great Ocean Road, Port Campbell, 12 Apostles…

I didn’t think I will be so excited about the trip, in fact I thought I’ll be quite anxious because it’s the first time we’re travelling with Laurent (and to somewhere we have never been before) so I’m not too sure what to expect. But as the departure date draws closer, I find myself really looking forward to the new experiences (and to finally walk through the departure gates at the airport after more than a year!).

I’m looking forward for Laurent to experience nature and to come into close contact with the animals at Yarra Valley and Philip Island. I’m looking forward to the road trip along the scenic GOR and staying the night at Port Campbell. I’m looking forward to exploring the laneways and rich cafe culture in Melbourne city (and so some shopping along the way).

But most importantly, I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with the 2 precious people in my life. It’s crazy how we are always physically together but our minds and attention are very often on things like work, TV, household chores, etc. I hope that we can take this week-long break to reconnect, be there for one another and experience this amazing adventure TOGETHER.

And thank you Olympus Imaging Singapore for sending over the perfect travel companion to join us on our trip so that we can capture the beautiful memories along the way and share them with you guys!

The new OM-D E-M10 Mark II

The new OM-D E-M10 Mark II

I’ll likely be sharing some photos from our trip on Instagram and Facebook so do link up to get updated on what we are up to in Melbourne and perhaps you guys can drop us some tips and directions if you know of some amazing places we should not miss!

In the mean time, please pray for us to have a safe, enjoyable and memorable trip 😀

As promised, here are the links to blogposts on Melbourne trips suitable for the family from some of the lovely mommy bloggers!

Growing with the Tans – Melbourne trip in Jan 2014

Mother’s Avenue – Melbourne trip in Mar 2014

The Little Mom – Melbourne trip in Mar/ Apr 2014

Raising Faith – Melbourne trip in Jun 2014

 Evespiration – Melbourne trip in Sep 2014

Ingspirations – Melbourne trip in Nov/ Dec 2014

Blessed Family – Melbourne trip in Dec 2014

MadPsychMum – Melbourne trip on 1-9 May 2015

If you have more blog posts on travelling around Melbourne to share with us, please feel free to drop the link in the comment box below!

For updated posts on our Melbourne trip, check out the following:

[Travel] Melbourne 2015 – Travelling with a Toddler

[Travel] Melbourne 2015 – Shopping for Kids