Wonderful Melbourne
Melbourne is an alive urban center located on the coast with miles of white sand beaches. It is vibrant, walkable, and a great blend of new and old. It is loaded with world class museums, performing arts centers, enormous parks and green space. They have a cricket stadium that holds over 90,000 people and a tennis facility that hosts one of four Grand Slams, The Australian Open. They have a food scene that rivals the best in the US. The only regret I have is that we had just two days to take it all in. Two weeks would have been better.
Our first excursion took us on a tour of the Melbourne Arboretum. Like much of Melbourne, it is green, lush and expansive. Plenty of green space gives Melbourne an expansive feel.
Below see some great example of several larger trees unique to this part of the world. you can see a giant Paul Bunyon Pine, a walking stick palm, and a favorite with very thick bark that I can’f find the name for. Anyone???
Next we visited a Memorial to those Aussies who lost their lives in WWl and WWll. As was the case in New Zealand, the deep appreciation and gratitude shown by these countries to those who fell in those wars is very moving. This Memorial is located in the center of Melbourne with major roads leading to it. This building was originally built after WW1 and reflects the architecture of the time.
The Armistice was declared on November 11, at 11am. The photo above left marks the center of a great rotunda. The plaque is lowered like a grave. On the 11th month, 11th day and the 11th hour each year the sun shines directly on this gravestone from the ceiling above.
The Food Tour
On our second day in Melbourne we signed up for a “Foodie Walking Tour of Melbourne”. Eating! Hiking! Two favorite activies. It was a marvelous tour and, thankfully involved as much walking as it did dining.
Our Tour Guide and Business Owner, Martina. She is a 7th generation Melburnian (no kidding, I looked that up) and is very proud of her cities culture, history and gourmet eating scene.
Coffee and Chocolate
Melbourne is known for its love of coffee, our first stop was to this amazing Coffee and Pastry shop, Barnett’s. The coffee was delicious and the treats a feast for the eyes. Next we visited Koko Black, a renowned chocolatier. (final picture)
As we progressed through the city, Martina regailed us with history of the area. The impressive building above is the GPO (General Post Office). It was built in 1861. If you can detect Indian influence in the architecture, you are not mistaken. It seems the architect who created the design sent the wrong set of prints to Melbourne. These were destined for New Delhi. It was built anyway…Ooops.
It is possible to walk throughout Melbourne via alleyways and halls. Here is a spectacular building that originally housed a bank. Could pass for a church.
Many alley’s are designed to be covered with grafiti. The pieces range from heavy metal to fine art. There is very little, if any, graffiti in other parts pof the city.
Below is our favorite restaurant. Located in a spot that we’d never find and, if we did, would probably not enter. The hallway looks like a red light district special, not a gourmet eatery. Once inside, pure elegance. The food was spectacular, both in presentation and flavor. If you ever get this way, its Lucy Liu’s.
Look at what we missed!!! As we boarded our van back to the ship we felt a couple of drops. By the time we got back, there was a full-fledged deluge. This picture of the storm front was taken by a fellow passenger aboard our ship.
An hour later, leaving Melbourne, the skies have cleared and we were in full Sun. It is said that Melbourne has four seasons and you can capture them all in one day.
Our next stop is Sydney and a night at the opera.