"Sunday at the beach with Jim"

To arrive in St. Kilda's I took Tram #96. Which incidentally was just listed at one of the Top 10 tram rides in the world by National Geographic's Explorer magazine. I was planning to take it anyway but read about it in the paper over breakfast, so all the more exciting. St. Kilda's is a neighborhood of Melbourne. The main drag is Ecland Street. The street is packed to capacity with funky little boutiques, cafes and all kinds of people. Oddly, it also has a concentration of bakeries. There were about six in one block and the windows were piled high with every type of confectionary imaginable. Nearby is a large public beach, the old Palace Theatre and Luna Park. (see picts)

Palace Theatre at St. Kilda's Beach

The beach fronts the bay, not the open ocean so the water is much more tranquil than the ocean beaches of Sydney. There is a traditional boardwalk fronting the beach with the old Royal Yacht Club at one end and the St. Kilda Bathing Club complex at the other. I got an iced coffee mocha (made with ice cream - YUM!) and parked myself on the boardwalk and watched life go by. There were nice pleasure yachts close by and much farther out you could see the tankers coming and going into the port complex. They love their sport. There were pick up games of cricket, soccer and Australian Rules football. The vibe was very relaxed and friendly. I read a couple of magazines and before you know it the day was getting short but the sun was still blazing strong. I was delightfully relaxed. I turned back and took the #96 tram back to the hotel, easy as pie. Lovely day.

Luna Park at St. Kilda's Beach