in Melbourne ...

Sun, blue sky and about 25 degrees – that was the forecast for this day. Off we went in light summer clothes and our good ol’ Tilley hats, sunglasses and sunscreen in the bag. Breakfast on the way to “Federation Square” where we found free wireless net access and e-mailed to our hearts’ content. Federation Square is a hyper modern building with an Art’s Gallery, shops, cafés and an open theatre similar to Robson Square in Vancouver. This is where the action in Melbourne takes place. Whether it’s conventions, performances or demonstrations of all kinds, it’s happening at Federation Square.

After our internet session we made our way to the historical red tram on Russell Street that operates every day for free and is called the “City Circle Tour”. On the way to the tram stop we got caught up in a huge crowd, police control, barriers, helicopters above and a steady line-up of fancily clad people moving towards the main entrance of St. Paul’s Cathedral. It hit us then – we had heard that very morning on the TV news that there would be a memorial service for Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, who had died at 103 a few days earlier. She was the mother of Rupert Murdoch, the infamous newspaper tycoon who got into big trouble in England last year. Needless to say we stayed put with the hordes of media filming, commenting live on air from across the cathedral, watching all the dignitaries arrive etc. The service was broadcast on huge screens outside. Apparently Dame Elisabeth (yes, with an “s” instead of a “z”!!) was a great Australian philanthropist who gave support to many charities in the country, most of all to the Murdoch Children’s Hospital Foundation. She was very revered and loved, therefore all the flags on official buildings were flown on half staff today.


We finally jostled ourselves away from the masses and took to the famous red tram that stops at intervals throughout the city. It went around to the city’s most famous places like the Immigration Museum, Aquarium, Botanical Garden, Harbour Esplanade and the Docklands with its new shopping mall. There we got off and wandered around the harbour to the marina and to the mall for lunch and a spot of shopping. Just as we came out of the mall area we spotted the red shuttle bus that also operates for free and takes you on a bigger tour around Melbourne. We hopped on and off we went, listening to most interesting historical facts and stories told by the lively female bus driver. We loved this tour as much as the tram ride in the morning.

By the time we arrived back downtown it was almost 5 pm. We went to the hotel for a bit of rest and uploading of our pictures. At about 8 pm we went for dinner around the corner and a nice evening stroll through the still busy neighbourhood with many shops and restaurants still open.
Melbourne is a great city with great vibes!! We love it and don’t know which is better, Sydney or Melbourne. It’s a real toss-up. One could easily live here or there, and we might have, were we younger and just starting out. The only disadvantage (?) is the far distance from the rest of the world …

Sigi told me that I might want to pare down my lyrics a bit, so the honourable reader’s attention is not stretched to the limit… I am trying to stick to the most important impressions! 

Wednesday was a day for taking it all in by way of absorbing the sights and sounds of Melbourne. We took the red free tourist shuttle bus around the bigger parameter of the city that went on for almost 2 hours. We got out at the National Victoria Art Gallery and went in to do our e-mails and posting of the blog. Had a spot of lunch at the gallery’s café and went on to Federation Square to do more computer work since the server at NVAG was way too slow. Afterwards we meandered through the city, sat on one of the many park benches and did some people watching, eating our obligatory afternoon icecream.