Will start this as soon as I have had my dinner!!! Dinner is over so here we go!
Alison took me to the airport on Tues. morning to catch the 1145 am plane with Virgin Blue. they are the equivalent to Ryanair but a lot better. You can book your seat, order food before you depart and have fast-track check-in. Not quite up to Business class but then it only cost me 160 dollars return - no complaints there. When I got to Melbourne my friend, who I have not seen for 20 years, was there with her husband to meet me. They emigrated to Aus in 1967 and have live in Melbourne since 1969 and love it there. It was great to catch up on both our families as I knew her since I was about 14 years of age! I also knew her husband and some of his family - he comes from the same part of Ireland as my husband so we knew quite a few people. We had a nice chilled out evening and made a plan for the rest of the week to enable me to get as much out of the week as possible.
General Info on Melbourne
Like Sydney, there is a very reasonable transport system - train, tram or bus - all at A$3 per day for unlimited travel. There is also a free City Circle tram, with commentary, which takes in all the city's main attractions and places of interest. You can hop on and off this tram as you wish - a great way to get orientated with the city. The weather here is not as hot or humid as Sydney and there is a pleasant breeze all the time - great for sightseeing. The restaurants or food are not as expensive as Sydney and it is a more manageable city to get around. It is also on a river - the Yarra winds through the city - there is a great walk from Flinders Station along the river for 4 km which is highly recommended.
Wed. 11th Jan Intro to Melbourne...
Shirley came with me into the city and she gave me a guided overview of some of the places of interest. We then went to the Information Centre where we collected some more literature and info. The National Gallery of Victoria is divided into two buildings - one of them is ultra modern and is housed in Federation Square where there is a section on the aboriginal people and the history of Aus. There was also an exhibition of the work of Stanley Kubrick - 2001 a Space Odessey and all that... The other one is on St Kilda St and houses portraits etc. Melbourne is a city made up of a grid of streets in a square mile with many very interesting arcades between the street. Collins St. is a tree-lined street like Paris. Melbourne has lots of Victorian lanes which connect the main streets - the most well-know of these arcades are Block Arcade and Royal Arcade - they are very ornate and beautiful. We also visited a beautiful old Catholic church called St. Francis of Assisi which John Betjeman describes as "the most beautiful Gothic structure on earth". That evening we had dinner in a local Chinese restaurant - it was not as good as Shirley and John had expected. Melbourne is a very easy city to get around.
During the rest of the week I had a guided day-tour of the city from one of the volunteer guides - he was very knowledgeable and was very keen for me to see the best of Melbourne. This entailed the ANZ Gothic Bank, many more magnificent banks and opulent buildings with money from the Gold Rush and a view of Melbourne from the top of the Rialto Tower - 55 floors up or 1254 steps if you were feeling energetic enough to walk up!! We had lunch at the equivalent to the RAC Club in London - very good. I went to St. Kilda's - this is the beach area of the city - quite an interesting mix of people aka Asda's in Brighton - with lots of pattiserie shops and coffee houses and a red light area. I also managed to get some walking sandals - badly needed - with all the walking I am doing I need comfortable sandals!
John and Shirley took me for a day to Ballarat and Sovereign Hill - The region's history is re-created at this outdoor museum at Ballarat. You can walk the main streets of 1851, watch the craftspeople at work, go down a mine and pan for gold. There is a Gold Museum next door which is very interesting. The town of Ballarat has many wonderful civic buildings built with the gold mined in the 1850's - no expense spared. This was a long day and we did not get home until 8 pm so we decided to eat out as it was so late.
We then had a day doing the gardens..... The Fitzroy Gardens, Kings Domain, Royal Botanical Gardens and I was given a lesson in how gardens should look!! I think it was lost on me! Cook's Cottage holds pride of place in Fitzroy Gardens - dating from 1755 - it contains an exhibition of his travels - very interesting to see the maps and charts of his voyage. The Shrine of Remembrance is a fantastic monument commemorating the dead from WWI and WWII - it would put our Cenotaph to shame.
On Saturday night we took a picnic for supper to watch a jazz concert in the park - it was most enjoyable - from 7.30 to 9.30 pm - everyone brought their supper and wine - it reminded me a bit of Glyndebourne but more laid-back!
On Sunday we went to Church in that lovely church St Francis of Assisi and then had brunch in Fitzroy Gardens - there was a show put on for the children who were all dressed as fairies - all these concerts and shows are put on free by Melbourne council during the summer holidays. After brunch we went to Victoria Park where we had a long hike around the lake - these friends of mine love walking and are used to route marches - my knee is standing up well to all this abuse! After our walk we went back home and sat in the garden, read the Sunday papers and had a nice G'n'T before supper. That was my first real chill-out since I arrived here - it has been non-stop sight-seeing - not that I am complaining!
Monday and it must be the Australian Tennis Open...
One of the bonuses of doing holidays with sudden decisions is this.... getting tickets for the Aus Open - the first of the Grand Slam events - and spending the day in the Rod Laver Arena. Shirley, John and myself went - Shirley having armed us with a great packed lunch - she has this down to a fine art!! After doing some research, we decided to watch the matches in the Vodaphone Arena (Court No. 1 to you and me). The most enthralling being the match between Venus Williams and a little-known Bulgarian girl, who went on to trounce Venus - it was fantastic to watch the game unfolding to the advantage of the new kid on the block. The other great match was between James Blake (US) and Jose Acasuso of Argentina - it was a pity either of them had to lose but, in the end Blake came through. We finally left the arena at 7.30 pm to go home to a TV supper and watch Serena Williams win her match after a nerve-racking game. And so to bed - tired out.
I had to be up at 6 am on Tues because in my "wisdom" I had booked an early flight back to Sydney - what was I thinking of?? I arrived back to pouring rain in Sydney much to the delight of the locals - they have a water ban in Sydney for some time so are glad to see the rain - it has not stopped since and today is Wed. Never mind, it has given me time to catch up on my diary.
A big thank you to Shirley, my well-informed planner/guide - picnic maker, food and wine provider and to John, my chauffeur and quick-witted rose between two thorns - he had a lot of abuse to put up with - but I will be back!! Please do not move house or change your phone number or I will know why!!
What next?? I still have to go back to the Blue Mountains, play golf again at NSW, do some more walks and go to Canberra - all that before I depart for NZ at the beginning of Feb.
What have I got to come back for? Well, I have to see Perth and Western Australia, Adelaide, the Ocean road, The Barossa Valley and Tasmania to name but a few - so you see, I have to return again even though I may have exhausted my friends in more ways than one!
I will get back to my diary before I leave Aus with a few deep and thoughtful comments on what it was like for me. In the meantime, you all have a rest from my ramblings!!
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