Melbourne, Victoria
Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Tue 27 Jan 2015 08:22
We arrived in our site which was the closest to town. It is still surprising that you can get a decent sized campsite so close to major towns and cities. We had a 15 minute walk to the nearest tram station and then about 30-40 minute ride into town, depending on traffic, as the tram tracks are on the roads and are subject to the same traffic lights etc.
For our first evening, we just went for a wander round, and dinner in a waterfront restaurant, having already stopped off at the pop-up Aperol bar, a great find!
John, Mark and Dawn enjoying a spritzer or two!
The next day was Australia Day and, as expected, Melbourne was putting on a bit of a show. There was an address by the state governor followed by a parade in the morning and various other things on during the day. We were meeting up with Mark and Dawn again, as they were in town for the Australian Tennis Open. They had been there a few days and had worked out the best places to see what was going on. We met up outside the town hall in time for the address which was a bit dull, I have to say! By the time the parade was due to start, the rain had also started. It poured throughout the parade, just like a bank holiday in England! Did I also mention how chilly it was? About 15 degrees, which I know to you guys at home right now would be blissful, but we are not enjoying it. Apart from the fact at we are camping and it is colder still in the evening, we packed for what we thought was a typical Aussie summer. Let's face it, it is hot here all the time right? Australian winter is just like English summer, right? Wrong, on both accounts! Our warm clothing is limited to a small jacket or cardi for cooler evenings, not fleeces, jeans and shoes/boots! The parade was a bit strange. The address beforehand had concentrated wholly on how multicultural Victoria is and how well integrated all the different cultures are - very commendable, but I was under the impression that Australia Day was all about celebrating what it was to be Australian, and and everything good about Australia. Having seen all the groups in the parade go by, mostly small Asian communities with banners thanking the Australians for letting them live here, it got a bit dull after the first hour and a half so we went in search of a warming cup of coffee.
Getting ready for the parade to start
5 minutes later!
Chinese lion dancing, the local Star Wars appreciation society and military bands - an unusual mix!
In the afternoon the sun came out while we were wandering around the Governor's residence. As it was Australia Day, there were tours round the house with special areas open just for that day. It is open every day, but to a more limited degree. The queues were well over an hour and a half long, so we decided to give that a miss. We watched the local Red Arrows do their flyby and some aerial acrobatics and then left to go and see the war memorial next door.
This is quite a special place. It is a huge monument. It was built with a stone square set right in the middle and a shaft about half way up one side of the wall. Each year at 11am on 11 November the sun hits the shaft and light passes over the stone. They simulate it every half hour with a sounding of the last post so you can see how it works. Quite how they worked out where to put the shaft is a bit of a mystery to me, but it has worked regularly so far.
The war memorial
And a view of the city skyline form the steps
After a very dodgy Chinese meal, we went to watch the fireworks, thoughtfully done at 9.30pm so we could get the last tram home. They were spectacular, we all thought they were even better than the ones in Sydney at New Year!
We spent the next couple of days wandering round the streets and laneways of the city. A few years ago, the laneways were part of a huge regeneration project and are now the site of some fabulous street art displays.
Street art (graffiti to you and I!)
Melbourne is a very interesting city with a huge foodie vibe. On the last night we had booked a meal at a Greek restaurant in town and before that decided to go to the night market at Queen Victoria Market Hall. During the day this is a huge buzzy market selling anything and everything, but on a Wednesday night it is transformed in to a huge street food market with a festival atmosphere and stalls selling every kind of food and drink imaginable. The smells were amazing and each stall we went past was making our mouth water! Unfortunately, we will have to come back again and have an evening at the market - oh well, the things you have to do!
The pics from the food market
Sent from my iPad