Friday, March 21, 2014

So long, farewell

Our last full day in Melbourne.

Not so good weather forecasted so we got out to the ‘London Eye’ aka the Melbourne Star first.  Having been told that this was the biggest observation wheel in the Southern Hemisphere, we now know that it is the only one in the Southern Hemisphere and there are only two others in the world.
Had a nice ride – great views as you would expect and pleasant way to while away a half hour.
From there we returned to St Kilda for a date with Allan’s book shop and a cake shop. After that we chilled out on the beach boardwalk.  The sea was gunmetal grey and very choppy, but it wasn’t cold so it was nice to blow the cobwebs away.  I do love to be beside the seaside!

We always try and catch a show in Melbourne but there wasn’t much on this time because the Grand Prix, the Fashion Festival, a food and wine festival and then a comedy festival are all on around this time.  We did discover that my all time favourite show, Blood Brothers, was on at a suburban theatre, so I jumped at the chance to see it for a third time.  It was a very minimalist production with a small cast and very simple setting, but it was very, very well done and I loved it again.  The funniest thing was that there was a table by the door selling programs for $2 and tissues for $1.  If you hadn’t seen it before, that would give you a clue as to what to expect.  Fortunately I had the foresight to pocket a serviette from the restaurant where we had dinner, so I was ok.
A fitting end to a great week.
We leave for the airport late tomorrow morning – our first (and probably last!) experience of flying business class.  Flying via Sydney, so it will be a longish day I guess.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Shopping update

Allan was out early to his conference so today was my big chance!

So now we are even (see earlier post), but one of us is more even than the other!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

…Castlemaine and Maldon

We have had a lovely day out today.  We got ourselves out the door in time for a train at 9.11 am - after yesterday’s pathetic effort.   Our destination was the town of Castlemaine, which is an hour and 45 minute train ride from Melbourne. We had read about the Victoria Goldfields Steam Train that departed from there to the town of Maldon, another 45 minutes away.
The countryside, once you get away from the city, is extremely dry, and we saw areas that had been burnt.  I must confess that we both dozed a bit on the journey.  We had had a broken night with calls from Allan’s customers and enquiries regarding bach hire, so needed to catch up on a bit of sleep.

The weather today was crystal clear and 23 degrees – our first day with no showers or promises of showers.

So we climb aboard our first class carriage on the steam train – so elegant and refined and lots of fun.  We had coffees and cake, but there was also wine, beer and other stuff on offer. It was like a trip back in time and well worth the long journey.
Both towns were very quaint, with buildings dating back to the mid 1800s.  The businesses all seemed very retro and I must admit I found it hard to tell what were 2nd hand and what were new goods.  Lovely to amble around in the sunshine.
A whole different world to the hustle and bustle of the city and a thoroughly enjoyable outing.
Allan’s off to his conference tomorrow – I have some shopping planned, and maybe a return to St Kilda since we are expecting 30 degrees.  Bring it on!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Day trip to...?

So...today's day trip has become tomorrow's day trip.  We formed a plan, but didn't do quite enough research, and so our timing was a little out.  It's funny, because we have been to Melbourne so many times, that we just assume we know our way around, but in this case, we didn't.
It didn't matter though - we went down to Docklands to explore.  It has certainly developed since we were last there.  It has the largest 'London Eye' in the southern hemisphere.  We are hoping for a sunset ride when the weather obliges.  There's a fun park and dodgems, as well as lots of outlet shops and cafes.

Allan bought: two t-shirts, a sweatshirt, 2 pairs of jeans and a pair of shorts.
I bought: 1 t-shirt and 2 tops.  So who is the shopper in the family?  Just saying!

We have just come back from a lovely evening at a Lygon St Italian restaurant.  Good company, great food, a nice wine, and some lovely Italian waiters (oops, did I say that out loud?!)

Monday, March 17, 2014

Searching for the Aztecs...

Our new hotel includes a Continental Breakfast. Had our first laugh of the day when a young man appeared and helped himself to three glasses of juice - all different flavours and three serves of cereal. We assumed he was waiting for his mates, but no, out came his camera for photos of the feast. He was last seen working his way through his breakfast. Mystery shopper maybe?

We trammed on out to St Kilda and wandered up and down Ackland St. We spent maybe an hour at Allan's favourite book store and then overindulged at one of the gorgeous St Kilda cake shops. Just as well we're walking lots!
The plan for the afternoon was to visit an Aztec Exhibition at the Melbourne Museum, but we had obviously got our wires crossed as there was no sign of any such thing. We had even gone back to the Information Centre to check the location but we couldn't find the brochure again...weird! Maybe it will turn up later? [Allan: since discovered that exhibition starts 9 April - oops!]

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Orientation Day

Spent the day refamiliarising ourselves with Melbourne. It really is a beautiful city - gorgeous buildings, lots of green spaces and street art, and a much higher standard of buskers!
We ran into a massive protest march - apparently 30,000 people took part, protesting about lots of different things for which they all blamed the government. All the trams had to stop for about half an hour as they came down Swanston St, and then up Bourke St to Parliament. We've collected a heap of brochures from the information centre, looking for new places to visit that we haven't seen on previous trips. We have a bit of an agenda now for the rest of our week.

We moved into our new accommodation - another great location, handy to transport and Bourke St Mall.

Despite trying not to, we ended up in our old favourite haunt, Hardware Lane, for dinner. Had a superb meal, cheap(ish) and cheerful and very well cooked, but it is the vibe of the Lane that entertains most.  We were seated beside a party of four Americans who were on a tour who had just come from NZ, which they loved. They had us translating the menu for them, and the wait staff were hilarious with them too.

After taking photos for them (as requested) on their own cameras, they commandeered them and took silly selfies of themselves and their co-workers - you had to be there!

Well ready for sleep by the time we got home.
[Allan: I always enjoy looking at the building design here in Melbourne]

Saturday, March 15, 2014

No cyclones, just a Phoenix and some thunder

We’re here!  Missed the storms but it was still pretty bumpy at both ends of our journey.

The Phoenix Football team were on our plane – they’re playing Melbourne Heart tomorrow.  We’re slightly tempted to go and get tickets to support the local lads.

We have just tonight in this hotel.  Because the Grand Prix is on this weekend, the town is almost booked out and prices have escalated.  We had to pay more than we were happy with to get a bed, so it was quite satisfying to be upgraded to a ‘room with a view’ – just in time for the thunder storm!

Nice to be out of our cattle class seats and stretching the creaking joints.  Early night tonight I think!

Cyclones permitting

On our way again - cyclones permitting!

Flying to Melbourne at 3.40 pm this afternoon....