Lovemyclogs: Melbourne (2b) - in which Melbourne gets serious points for being very cool.

You thought I'd forgotten, didn't you? Don't worry, I won't leave our intrepid explorers stranded in faux Egyptian poses outside the museum...

For those of you who have been to the Melbourne Museum, you may know that behind it there is a very cool playground. If there is one thing my children can't resist, it's a playground.

Never mind that it is 5.30pm on a winter evening when you have already been up the tower, to the zoo and into King Tut's tomb - you can't go past a playground. So in the gathering dusk and increasing chill, they played.

To add to the magic of the moment, a young man stood playing his trombone under a tree. I must admit, it was a pretty cool playground.

We dragged them away and headed back to Lygon St to find some dinner. (Saw a cool Vespa parked on the street - this one is for you Edward.)

You have to run the gamut of spruikers outside the restaurants now. We soon developed a criteria - anyone with a 'kids menu' (nuggets and chips?) we walked past. There needed to be calamari and good looking pizza.

Eventually, we came across a restaurant that seemed to meet the criteria. One of the waitresses vouched for the calamari - she'd had it for lunch - so in we went. She was right, the calamari was grilled and beautifully tender. The pizza chef gave the kids a ball of dough each which they manipulated while waiting for their spaghetti.

We had a pizza I will replicate at home one day - artichoke hearts, olives and fresh prosciutto, very yummy indeed. We made the ultimate tribute to our day - a pizza dough Tutankhamun head.

Walking down the street we passed one of the best shop windows I have seen. Deli, plus bicycle. Great looking French cheese and wine...

And then, the jackpot. Not something you would ever find in Canberra and indeed, something that is getting progressively harder to find these days. A bookshop. A bookshop open on a Saturday night. Who could resist?

In we went, and then found the ultimate prize. A bookshop, open on a Saturday night, with a table of trains in the kids section. It was an hour before we could peel them away.