On my last weekend in Melbourne I got to catch up with a friend. I’d travelled with her during the summer in Europe. Then I was her guide and now the roles were reversed. I let her plan the whole day and it turned out to be a fantastic way to end my time in Melbourne.
We started our day with brunch in Elsternwick, at Penta. Wooow! The food was so pretty and colorful, standing out against the grey interior. I saw the some works of art coming from the kitchen and couldn’t choose what to eat. My friend Michelle pointed out the most famous dishes and we decided to share the nutella panna cotta and the waffles with beef cheek and eggs benedict. It was sooo good!
Satisfied and with a full tummy we drove towards the Mornington peninsula. We stopped for a coffee along the way and strolled over the perfect beach. The water felt a bit chilly, but the sun was warming our skin and the wind blew all the worries away. After a stroll we continued towards Mornington. We drove all the way to the Peninsula Hot Springs. It was already crazy busy when we arrived and we drove around for a bit trying to find a parking space.
I was a bit wary seeing so many cars and wondered what it would be like inside. Once we got in though, it turned out to be a massive complex with hidden hot pools everywhere. Sure, it was busy and some pools were completely occupied, but it didn’t feel overly crowded because of the layout. We seemed to have picked the hottest pool first. It was way too hot to stay longer than a couple of minutes.
Then we made our way up to the hightest point of the complex. There was one pool with incredible views over the surrounding land and towards the sea. The surroundings were covered with trees so that even from this point you couldn’t see just how many pools there were. We took our time enjoying the views in the 38-40 degree pool. Afterwards we made our way to some hammocks, before jumping into the cool pool.
I think I’ve never spent so much time in a pool complex. At least not since I was a kid. We relaxed and talked and tried almost all the baths. Some had massage jets, some had bubbles. There was a sauna and a Turkish bath. We tried them all until we were hungry again. That’s when we started driving towards Melbourne again. We stopped in Rosebud, where we found a restaurant that did amazing skewers with grilled chicken. It seemed like we’d ordered a feast, with way too much food on our plates already and two more side dishes to share. And yet we also had gelato at the end of the day. Great food, beautiful scenery and relaxing hot pools… what more could you wish for!?
