More Melbourne

Aug 22nd:  Skipped brekky and headed back to the Queen Victoria Market to collect some items we'd hemmed and hawed over yesterday.  James shared his sadly thumbs-down review of WEST SIDE STORY, likening it to a high school production with a very fey Tony.

The day was warmer and, after our souvenir collecting, we hiked around the city.

Melbourne has quickly become my favorite stop in Australia.  I could imagine a life in this metropolis on the water, with its mix of American and European.  It seems to offer everything in food, entertainment, shopping and sport.  In politics, Julia Gillard's tight race for Prime Minister with Tony Abbott plays out with all the mud-slinging worthy of American campaigns.  Yep, I could feel at home here.

We explored the harbor, with it's outdoor mall and walk of fame ...

... back into the center, by the State Library of Victoria ...

... and, eventually, Goran, James and I went to the Melbourne Central to see SALT.  The cinema is inside of the shopping center that also houses the Coops Shot Tower underneath its glass coned ceiling.

The tower has stood since 1890 and is 9 stories tall.  It produced 6 tons of shot daily until the early 1960's.

 

The mall itself is a Dr Seuss-ian menagerie of shops and food stands/cafes on multiple levels, accessible from crossing escalators and stairs.

We all loved the movie.  Goran was tired, though, and headed back to the hotel, while James and I enjoyed catching up and rehashing the good old days with Indian cuisine at a simple restaurant off of Flinders, a drink at a quiet bar and donuts at an all night corner stop.

Melbourne

Aug 20th:  On the mid-morning flight to Melbourne, I sat next to a government worker headed home to Canberra, the capital of Australia, who'd just finished a 6 month assignment in the desert, working with the local aboriginals.  Her experience was fascinating and she helped to make the 3+ hours flight whiz by.

Upon arriving at the airport, we were greeted by Boots (aka James), my friend from LA!  He had been to New Zealand, then visited his brother in Sydney and now, since he knew we were going to be 'down under', he flew to Melbourne to meet us.

We all stayed in Melbourne's City Centre, at the Batman Hill Hotel and true to form, Goran was not happy with the first room we were given.  It was an ice box with hardly room to move around once our suitcases were opened.  He headed straight back to the front desk and insisted we be moved.  We were given something slightly larger that was obviously designed for wheelchair access.  The entire bathroom (a good size) was a shower stall, with nothing to keep the water from getting everywhere.  You could practically sit on the toilet and shower.  It was roomier, though, and we tossed our luggage by the beds and headed out.

We re-grouped in the lobby and decided to catch the free City Circle tram to get a general idea of how the Centre area was laid out.  It was a pleasant ride, but we couldn't see enough at night to determine a plan of action for our first full day in town tomorrow.  So, we had dinner and headed back to the hotel to crash.

About 4:30 a.m., I woke to a conversation right in the middle of our room!  Goran and one of the hotel desk clerks were trying to get the air conditioner to turn off and their volume suggested they'd forgotten I was also in the room - AND that it was 4:30 in the morning and I'd been SLEEPING!

*****

Aug 21st:  We had breakfast in the hotel, where I finally tried Vegemite.  NASTY!   I do prefer savory to sweet, and I 'd probably put too much on my buttered toast, but it was so salty it was stroke inducing.  How can anyone enjoy that taste?  Ugh. ... Of course, by now we had over 60 packets to share with our friends in Germany.  I'll keep my opinion in my sleeve until they try it.

We decided to check out the Queen Victoria Market, which we'd passed in the shuttle on the way to the hotel.  We'd been avoiding buying any gifts, so as not to have to drag them around on our vacation; but, we didn't have much time left to shop for souvenirs and the market seemed like it would make a great one stop shop-for-all.  And it was ...

 Delicious corn!

Colorful dolls!

Retro T-shirts!

Chickens!

Clever signs!

It was too much for one day, so we hopped on a train and headed to an outlying neighborhood, the colorful, bohemian Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.  It's crammed with shops and cafes, an indoor farmer's market, a bookstore (with cat, of course) and eclectic architecture.



The things to see went on and on.  We took a break, had a light lunch, explored some more as the light faded, finally dodging the rain to the train station and back into town. 

James had an evening planned to see the new production of WEST SIDE STORY, while Goran and I stayed in to watch TV and play triominoes.