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| Melbourne Skyline |
We've been told Melbourne is the place to go to experience a real Australian City. So, we went! The downtown has amazing skyscrapers (each with its unique architecture), and lots of reclaimed alleyways- some historic with period retail/restaurants, others lined with cafes filled at lunchtime with office workers........
And still other alleyways exhibiting works by graffiti artists. I particularly loved this one!
Melbourne is filled with beautiful green gardens everywhere, and a dense transportation system consisting of older trolley lines as well as modern light rail vehicles. Within the Central City, all mass transportation is FREE! What a concept.....
Our first day there we were picked up by Robyn’s friend, Jane, who graciously gave up her Sunday to take us out to the Yarra Valley, about an hour-drive outside of Melbourne to explore some of Australia’s best wineries.
We had an amazing lunch with wine at
the Coombe Yarra Valley Estate, formerly the estate of the famous opera singer Dame Nellie Melba and no, I never heard of her... Then on to the Domaine Chandon Estate (as in Moët and Chandon, don't know what happened to Moët), and a final stop at another winery of which I can't remember the name. In between visits, we drove through lush fruit orchards, vineyards, and even a temperate rainforest. Thank you Jane for a wonderful day!!!
To balance out all this nature, we went on a three-hour walking tour the following day in downtown Melbourne, where we first learned about the alleyways, the city history, recent development, and hidden parks and gardens.
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| Twelve Apostles on Great Ocean Road |
Not to be missed, we had booked a small group tour for the following morning to go out to the Great Ocean Road and see the Twelve Apostles. It was a long drive out, with a picnic breakfast stop on the beach and a walk around a lush tropical rainforest. The entire the ride out had amazing scenery and of course we spent time at the Twelve Apostles; limestone pillars off the coast which are no longer twelve as some have collapsed into the ocean, but still an amazing sight.
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| court side... |
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| Australian Open!! |
Again, balancing nature and city, the next day we headed back downtown to further explore those alleyways and check out the activities at the Australian Open, which had commenced just a few days prior. What luck when a gentleman approached us with a free entrance ticket as he was done attending the events. Nathan went in and slipped into one of the matches while I took off for the nearest mani-pedi, then a river cruise along the Yarra River as it winded through the downtown and out towards the shipping terminals and open sea. Met up several hours later, both enjoying our time apart.
We've been told Melbourne is the place to go to experience a real Australian City. So, we went! The downtown has amazing skyscrapers (each with its unique architecture), and lots of reclaimed alleyways- some historic with period retail/restaurants, others lined with cafes filled at lunchtime with office workers........
OK, so it wan't Sydney, it was Melbourne. Looks like a great city - I've heard it was!
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