Melbourne baby!

We made it! Arrived on Saturday afternoon, having successfully negotiated 1500km of coastal loveliness and a bit of city toll road! My brother Geoff met us at my Mum and Dad's place where we'll be based until we fly out.

It's a nice apartment full of Art Deco furniture, pictures and ornaments, just a short stroll away from the tram or train into the city and very close to the bustling Glenferrie Road, full of shops, cafes and restaurants. Including many that are just a bit quirky...

 

Not that we would have had much success finding the shops without Geoff's help! Malvern is just that little bit too far from the centre to be on the guidebook maps! Geoff had also bought us some fresh bread and a bouquet of lilies and made up the beds for us! Thanks little brother (not that you have time to read my blog!), you made it so easy for us! We made the most of our last night with a hire car by popping to the nearby supermarket and took Crack out for a burger.

Sunday and I kicked off the mountain of laundry, then we dropped off the hire car.....right in the centre of town! Pie was not feeling too well, suffering badly with my cold which settled on his chest. So I braved the streets shared with trams feeling a bit nervous, luckily though it was a straightforward trip.

 

As we were in the city centre, we decided to do some sightseeing before heading home. We walked past Parliament Square, which was hosting a huge rally of Harley Davison bikers and the garden just beyond. A nice view back to the city through the giant "shower" which Crack heard long before we could see it.

 

Eventually we got to Fitzroy Gardens, a park very near the Central Business District, which I remember fondly from childhood visits to Melbourne. First stop...the model Tudor village, a thank you gift (albeit a rather odd one) from the UK for all the food that Australia sent during WWII.

 

Then on to the famous Fairy Tree, a carved stump, full of Australian animals and fairies. It was originally carved by the author Ola Cohn, who wrote The Fairies' Tree, in 1931, although it is spruced up a bit from time to time. I've always loved this place, it still feels a little bit magic to me (cue Pie snorting in derisory fashion ;-p ).

I think you get an even better impression of the tree by watching this short clip.

Of course Crack was far more interested in the helicopters overhead than he was the tree!

 

So we moved on to see Captain Cook's cottage, or rather his parents cottage! Shipped to Australia in 1934 from Great Ayton, Yorkshire in 253 packing cases, it was rebuilt in the gardens as a monument to Australia's discoverer.

Afterwards we took the train home and shared a lovely lunch at a Lebanese restaurant. Unfortunately, all the traipsing around left Pie rather exhausted and he retired to his sick bed. After his nap, Crack and I took the tram to Geoff and Ashleigh's place just down the road for a BBQ.

 

Although we had to leave pretty early to get Crack home for bed, it was great fun. Good food expertly chargrilled by Geoff, and fantastic to see Ashleigh and meet some of the hilarious housemates. Wish I could have stayed longer!

 

Monday morning was hot and sunny but Pie was both ill and inundated with work, made worse by tight deadlines, time differences and no wifi at home! Crack and I took the easy option and hopped on a tram to the centre to explore some of Melbourne's famous laneways.

First up was Hosier Lane, famous for its street art! Banksy would struggle to get noticed here!

Post no bulls?

And some art with a nature conservation theme:

Crack's favourite - the 'lady'

 

A very striking lane considering there is all this and more in less than 100 yards! We moved onto some of the others, mainly shops and cafes, stopping for coffee before stumbling on this one!

Nothing down this dead end lane, just a lot of stars on the pavement!

We stumbled upon Myer, a famous department store, who have marvellous moving Christmas windows, so we joined the queue. Unfortunately the pics haven't come out well as it was too a bright day to take pictures through glass, but I've included a couple just to give you a feel for it.

It told the story of Gingerbread Friends. Basically a gingerbread man with no friends going out to try and make some but everyone wants to eat him!

Crack mainly liked the choo choo trains!

You might just be able to make out the massive cat, top right, and the very scared gingerbread man, bottom left!

 

They were pretty impressive windows, and everywhere we went he Christmas decorations were up! Here's the town hall

And here is Flinders Street Station. I couldn't get the whole word in without standing in the middle of many lanes of cars and trams! Apologies!

 

From there, Crack and I went to Geoff's office, on the 29th floor and he showed us the view before we went for lunch together.

 

Looking east, with the Yarra River peeking through and the Dandenong Mountains on the horizon.

Looking north-west, through the edge of the CBD.

Looking south west over the Yarra River to Port Philip Bay. Not a bad view from the office!! And a lovely and different perspective on Melbourne which Crack and I enjoyed!

 

Tuesday morning brought welcome news, Pie was feeling better and the urgent work had been dealt with! I had the go ahead to plan the next road trip! So a lot of the day was spent in the library, putting the free wifi yo good use whilst Crack ran a bit wild....he certainly wasn't quiet and there was hardly a kids book left on the shelf by the time he'd finished, but I got the trip booked! Afterwards we took a tram into town to shop for obligatory t-shirts!

Next stop....Great Ocean Road, the 12 Apostles and Mornington Peninsula....last road trip.....