Melbourne CBD is right in the heart of the city and as its name suggests, the central business district area, where all the action takes place.


Food Inc is a true Melbourne cafe; serving a wide selection of coffee to go, or to be savored in the premises, along with juices, soft drinks, bottled drinks and tea.

There are also the quickies for those who are on the run; mainly sandwiches, wraps salads, muffins, baguettes and sweet cake treats available on the display cabinet at the side/entrance of the cafe and at the counter itself.

If you have a little bit more time to enjoy breakfast, then you can choose from a selection of soups, salads and breakfast mains on the menu.
A simple and straightforward menu that helps to streamline the choices, so you won't have a hard time to choose, at all.

These people sure make it easier for their customers.
They know their business.

The cafe itself is pleasant to the eye, at a glance, with its neat fuss-free contemporary style centered on the use of a combination of mainly white, black and red in its theme to exude that clean formality in their environment.

Large and long tables are exempted; with only one at the center of the cafe, while the rest of the tables are standardized in the form of square tables which are mobile to be combined at any time, at the request of their patrons.



It saves space and is hassle-free, and saves their customers the embarrassment from hogging the large tables when they are alone, and if we are talking about the typical office worker, it is not unusual that most of them do dine alone.
Dining alone is a norm, and there is nothing wrong about it, at all.




Our table, at the corner of the cafe which is flanked by many exit points in the form of lanky tall glass push through doors.





My friend has lived in Melbourne long enough; well, she practically lives on coffee anyway.

A cup of coffee is crucial and is not an option for her.
Cappucino to start the day, always.


Thick coffee scent fills the air when this arrived and the dense flavor along with that froth edging on the cup, this is one good brew, I must say.
It almost made me want to convert to coffee.
Well, almost, I said.

I am pret-tea happy with a good cup of tea for breakfast, and occasionally I will go for a dose of peppermint.



A slightly disporportionate Apple Cinnamon muffin, but who cares, it was really good.


Initially it arrived a little cold, and I requested for another round of re-heating and the staff just did it obligingly, "Yeah sure" and with a smile.
That's real service.




Their signature is the Melbourne's Best Big Breakfast (A$15.0) which comes with two eggs poached (or you can opt for scrambled) served with crisp slices of bacon, grilled tomato, hash brown and chipolato sausage on your choice of toast with a complimentary cup of tea of coffee.



That meant the earlier cappucino was free.
Yes, that came with the Big Breakfast set.


The best Big Breakfast in the city, as it says.

The view of our lovely breakfast that morning.



Food Inc is not just offering breakfast but brunch as well, and even after work drinks on Fridays.
This is one happening food joint, all right in the city centre, fashionably located at Melbourne Central.

You just can't miss it.
Unless you don't take the train, or get off at Melbourne Central.

If you really don't, well, locate Melbourne Central if you want to try this place out for breakfast.

The place is busy in the morning, expectedly since it's the time when people get to work and hop in for a bite or just takeaways.
Be prepared to wait, but don't worry, the friendly staffs are always ready to welcome you.

They will be a little busy, but wave your hand and they will drop by shortly.

I am not a breakfast reviewer or anything, nor am I an entrepreneur, but I just think that this place is advantageous for its location and thankfully, that was not the only thing they were depending on.

The food quality, environment and service just enhanced and made them stand out from the crowd; adding to that advantage of their location.

That's business and that's what priorities are all about.
If you are just interested to grab the crowd and skimp on the quality; food, service and cleanliness, you won't survive, trust me.

The fact that Food Inc continues to draw its crowds say something.

I have experienced it and I don't work for them.

I am just a tourist, who had my breakfast there, one fine morning.
It's my personal experience.

I had a lovely breakfast and I enjoyed it~




The view of Food Inc from the street

This has got to be one of the best salads I have ever tried, and definitely one of the best things I have had on this trip.

I was on my way to Queen Victoria Market, while strolling down the Swanston Street, taking in all the beautiful scenery of the city, surrounded by all the multi storey office complexes, commercial and heritage buildings.

I don't go to the market.

If you ask me, my favorite place would always be the library.
Or the bookstore.

Simply just where the books are, that's where I would love to be.

If you know me, you would know the craze and obsession I have with books.
I just love books and I even call them my soulmates when I was growing up.
I am not going to explain that.
Go figure.

If I had a choice, I could just stay in the library.
All day long.
The itinerary will include the library, the library and the library.
What did I miss?

It was with a heavy heart that I walk past this grand building; dressed in its magnificent design of the historical traits and another of the 19th-century style in the heart of the city.




This is yet another of Joseph Reed's designs; the man behind the architecture of the Melbourne Town Hall in my previous post.
See if you spot the similarity in the design style and the take on the overall architecture.

There is that unmistakable distinctive fashion seen identical in both buildings, don't you think?

Well, Melbourne Town Hall took after the library, opened in the year 1856, and was among the first of Reed's designs among his other buildings which include the Royal Exhibition Building and the Ormond College.

Located in the heart of the Central business district (CBD) of Melbourne city, this is the State Library of Victoria and it is all of splendor and grandeur in its appearance.

Beautiful as it is historic, there is just that mysterious charm about that building which could draw one towards it like magnet, even if you are not a book lover.
It is simply monumental in all its glory.

I would have loved to drop by for a visit, or just a peek of the inside of the library
(though I doubt that would be the case, I could probably end up exploring the entire complex and then landed with some books which I would die to borrow and probably end up with a library membership. That would be my entire day).


The conception of the idea of the library was in the year 1853, by Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe and Mr Justice Redmond Barry, QC (formally known as Sir Redmond from 1860 onwards).




The statues of both behind the building of the library are also ordered for erection; with Sir Redmond's statue being the first to be sculpted by Percival Ball, based on the design by James Gilbert to its formal position unveiled in the year 1887, while the statue of Charles La Trobe was sculpted by local artist Peter Corlett and was only installed in 2006.
These bronze statues are among the many that grace the front lawn of the library; such as St George and the dragon and also a replica of the French heroine, Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc).





The mossy lawn fronting the library is the favorite lunch spot among students, particularly from the nearby RMIT University and also the city's working population.

I could also imagine sitting under a nice tree, or just finding that spot on the soft grassy lawn, with a good book, a cup of tea and probably a sandwich or a muffin.

That would be an ideal picture, and the weather is just perfect for such setting.
(Okay, well, maybe not in the fall or winter, it would be too cold)

I could see the crowd at the library as I walk past them, enviously.
Well, preferably, I would prefer to be right inside the domestic halls of the library itself which boasts of a total of seven reading rooms!
(The Dome, Chess Reading Room, Redmond Barry Reading Room, Heritage Collections Reading Room, Arts Collection Reading Room, Genealogy Reading Room, and finally the Newspaper Reading Room - in the order based on the sequence as found in Wikipedia).


The State Library of Victoria also housed more than a staggering amount 2 million books.
That would be so much to take in, and that includes the diaries of the city's founders; John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner and even the portfolio of Captain James Cook.


2 Million books~
That's an incredible amount of books and it is almost music to a book lover's ears, though after that awe-inspiring moment, the reality sinks in and dread follows as I ponder on the amount of books I have read in my own lifetime to date, in the past years.

As Rory Gilmore moaned, "I've only read like 300 books and I'm already 16. I sleep too much"

Yeah, I am not 16, but I don't think I have reached that amount of books too.

I am lamenting the number of books I have yet to read and the fact that I did not go into this library.

While I am sulking and moping over it, you can find out more information about the State Library of Victoria on their official website here.
For more general information on their history and well, generally about the building, head over to Wikipedia.





I will be back, and this time, the State Library of Victoria is definitely on the itinerary.
Make that one day, or two, maybe.


I need my alone time with the books, and the library.

Enough said.

Walking down the stretch from or towards St Paul's Cathedral, you will definitely pass by this huge building complex located slightly right before the church if you were coming directly from the CBD, from the Swanston Street direction.

This is the central municipal building of the city of Melbourne; also known as the Melbourne Town Hall.





Located between Swanston street and Collins Street on the northeastern corner, the Melbourne Town Hall is the seat of the local government area of the City of Melbourne.
(A formal reference to the town hall would be that of the City of Melbourne, in the State of Victoria, Australia).






Like most town halls, it is in name for the city which also makes it for the multi purpose uses for the city residents.
The Melbourne Town Hall is often the venue for major functions hosting a large crowds; ranging from exhibitions, concerts and plays.

Inspired by the Second Empire design (an era often referred to the Second French Empire period; between the years 1865-1880), the architecture of the Melbourne Town Hall was the combined masterpiece of a prominent local born architect, Joseph Reed and Barnes.
(Joseph Reed also led the designs of a few notable landmarks in the city; the State Library of Victoria, Royal Exhibition Building and the Melbourne Trades Hall).





The first mayor of Melbourne was Henry Condell; in the year 1842, when Melbourne was officially declared as a town by itself.
There was no town hall back then, at least not immediately after the incorporation of the town and it was only a decade later; in 1854, that the first town hall for Melbourne was completed, though it was not without disruption, following the commencement of the ground works in the year 1851.

Works on the establishment were halted due to the Victorian Gold Rush back then which led to a total of five years to erect the very first town hall which was then demolished, to make way for the second improvised town hall, with its first foundation stone laid in 1867 by the then Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Alfred, on one of his visits.

The tower on top of the Town Hall's building is known as the Prince Alfred's Tower, which included a clock, built and imported from London and is named in honor of the Duke.

The current town hall is the third one which was officiated in the year 1870; three years after its predecessor, and was grandly opened with a ball thrown by then Lord Mayor Samuel Amess, on his own personal account.




The present Town Hall has been redesigned to include larger spaces in its extensions and the refurbishment had excluded some of the original designs from Joseph Reed; one of such is the distinguished and elaborate mansard roof.
The renovation was needed after the fire destroyed majority of the original town hall; taking with it the pipe organ and most of the parts of the main auditorium in 1925.

The Main Auditorium today proudly houses a grand concert organ; an original piece by Londoners Hill, Norman & Beard in 1929 and has recently gone through a remodeling process by an American company; Schantz Organ Company.




Melbourne Town Hall adds to the list of the beautiful history and the charming brood of heritage 19th century buildings populating the city of Melbourne, which just adds to the allure of the city (as if it is not captivating enough already).

It is said that even the Beatles have been here for a civic reception back in the 1964.


This is certainly a star-studded icon of a landmark; with lavish balls, celebrities and royalty stepping into its hallowed halls.


A view of the Melbourne Town Hall with St Paul's Cathedral in the background



Melbourne Town Hall just seems to take it all in proud stride, and is definitely not shy to show it in its majestic demeanor on its grounds and there even seems to be a beaming smile appearing on its brick walls.
Or was that a smirk?




No?

Maybe I imagined it all.

I stared at the ceiling with my eyes wide open, awake from my sleep.

It was 4.00am.

Not that it was unusual, since four to five in the mornings are usually my kind of time, but this was not the usual wake up.
I had not slept well.

It was just that feeling of dread that woke me up.

It is that feeling that usually made me feel uneasy and it possibly had something to do with the news that I have read yesterday; articles on the recent refugee crisis plaguing Europe and that call for help from the United Nations.

It is not something new; we have had issues like these for years and people continue to flee their war-torn countries to somewhere which they hoped for a better life, or at least for the future of their young children.
It is something which have been happening since the beginning when the nations are enveloped with the conquering, colonization and that much dreaded word; War.

We have read about them, we have seen movies on war, we have heard stories from our grandparents about their experiences (or possibly from some very very old war veterans interviewed on television and radio) and we may have even stumbled upon the old photographs of these war heroes and civilians who had perished in the bloody battles back then.
Remnants of the war are displayed at the museums and history, non-fiction books and autobiographies all tell stories about the war and the aftermath of it all.

We were not there in person, but we have been brought up, equipped with the knowledge and facts about war and the effects of it all, through education, entertainment, upbringing and through the various sources available everywhere, made even more accessible and available with our era; an era flanked by the arms of technology.

We know how it's like in war, through the realistic depictions of the fighter jets swooping down, dropping explosives everywhere, missiles speed through the air as they are fired, and houses or any form of shelter are blown up like they were just made of paper and cardboards.

Amidst the loud and deafening sounds of the explosions are the terrifying screams and cries in the air, as human beings; live human beings in flesh and blood, flee their homes by force, and running in scattered directions.
It is a fear that we can see, and made to understand through education.
But it is not easily understandable, because it is not the same as the experience in reality, which I believe is just way more terrifying.

We all know this.
We know the effects of war.
We know the pain and suffering these people go through, but we can never say we understand.
Because we DON'T.

Think of how it's like to be watching television on your couch and you hear sirens and then loud deafening crashes.
You rush out and you find your neighbor's houses are already on fire.
Everywhere is a chaos and you see dead bodies everywhere.
Fires continue to rage and you look up in the air, and objects resembling birds are circling the air, dropping bombs everywhere.

Can you go back to your television?
Are you going to walk back into your house, head to your room calmly and pack your clothes, belongings and valuables as though you are about to go for a vacation?

No, you don't have time for that.

You will only feel fear, and anxiety will be clouding your trembling self.
You will not stroll into your house, you will rush into your house and grab your loved ones; especially if you have children and then run to find a hiding place.

The house is no longer safe.

You have seen that bloody scene outside, just a moment ago.
You know that none of your neighbors survived for you have seen how their houses have blown up and the remains on the ground are nothing but a big pile of mess, resembling nothing of a sturdy building which once stood there or a place one called home.

Our visuals affect us more than our other senses, because we humans are simply visual creatures and there is no way that a picture like that outside your house which you have just seen with your very own eyes will not affect you.

You fear for your safety but it seems there is no where safe to hide.
You see a crowd of people and you make your way towards them, while at the same time watching some of the bombs fall on them and explode.
You know better and you changed your directions.
You run and you run, dodging the air bombs which seem to be falling like a heavy downpour and you wished you had an umbrella to shelter you and your loved ones.
You didn't care that you looked silly scuttling everywhere like a chicken as seen from the jets, you only want to live.

Tears roll down your cheeks uncontrollably as you are at a loss.
What happened to the beautiful day yesterday?
What happened to that last conversation you had with your neighbor, and you were supposed to have them over for dinner tonight?
What happened?
Question after question plague your mind, and yet you keep running, looking for that shelter.
You have nothing left, you have left your home behind and you do not dare to go back because it is a massacre site and you fear for your own life and your loved ones who are with you.
They are your only belongings, and what is left of you is your strong will to just live.

You just want to live.
You pray that this is just a bad dream and that you will wake up and everything will be fine.
You have no answer to anything.
You only know, you have to live.
Your family has to live.
You want to protect them, you want that safe place.
Wherever that is.

This is exactly what those refugees are facing at this very moment.
As I write this article, my mind is filled with horrifying and heart-breaking images of how these people are running around and even stranded on the boats at sea, cold, hungry and just weeping at their own fates.

It is something we cannot imagine.
It is this very picture that kept me awake.

They are not asking for anything, except for a place of shelter.
It is that big imaginary umbrella that they want to have, to protect them from the torrents of fire from the sky.
They are tired.
They are hungry.
They are scared.
They are homeless.

We can feel tired and hungry and look forward to go home where we can just snuggle into our beds, cook or order ourselves a good meal.
They can't.
They don't have that luxury.

The United Nations and many other non profit organizations have been working hard on this issue for decades, offering temporary shelters to these people fleeing their countries.
They run on a non-profit basis, relying on only donations in forms of food, clothing, medical supplies, water, monetary, and many more.
Even the people helping out at the shelters, or the refugee camps are on a voluntary basis.
One can only imagine how they have survived.
They are stretched thin.

We are not talking about one person or two; nor a few families.
We are talking about hundreds of thousands of people, and the numbers are increasing steadily over the years.

If you think that we have moved beyond the days of civil wars and bloody battles, you have been living under a nutshell all this time.

The fires have not ceased and the bloodshed continues in other regions of the world; for many reasons and sometimes we do not even want to know the reasons.

The world wants peace.
We all pray for peace.
We all pray for the wars to stop.
We hope that it will someday come true.

Today, the aftermath of war is still as gruesome as it was depicted in history.
People are still dying and killed for no reason; because they were simply in the way of war.
We have no idea of the exact count of the war casualties and only rely on those which were reported; already at a staggering and alarming count.
Heaven knows how many more have perished, unreported and unfound in the locations that no one could ever find.

Looking at the images of the refugees just tear at one's heart.
It is one that is hard to take in without stirring the emotion.

One such moving image is that taken by Daniel Etter, a freelance photographer for the renowned New York Times, which has been circulating around Twitter and Facebook.



If a picture tells a thousand words, this would be it.
It is a depiction of the hundreds of thousands out there.

This picture was featured in a beautifully brief article on The Independent UK

Originally titled in The Independent's article, "Whenever you think of the migrants arriving in Europe, think of this image"

I see this apt to refer to all the refugees around the world.

When you think of the refugees, think of this photo.


Tears of relief and the expression on this Syrian man, who held his son and daughter close upon arrival at the island of Kos in Greece on the 15th of August this year.


If this does not move you, I don't know what else would.


While we are all bothered by our every day issues, take some time to think of those who are still out there, praying for hope and for someone to take them in.

These are the families who are relieved as they have found their place.
How about those who are still fleeing in terror, or out there in the sea?

Earlier this year, we have had the issue of the Rohingyas in our region as well.


It just goes to show that this is an ongoing issue everywhere in the world.


We are not here to judge who helps and who doesn't.
It is not about that, at all.


It is a call for humanity, for compassion.


It is about hope.



Everyone deserves to live.



If this kept you awake at night, like how it did to me, then do refer to the following to see how we could do something.


You don't need to be a superhero to save the world, but with that will and heart, even a tiny bit goes a very long way.


The many ways we could help or reach out to support the networks working hard on the issue:-
How You can Help
 29 Ways to Help the Refugees


You can also help to tweet, or spread the word by including the hashtag #MigrantsContribute