We were excited this morning to drive out to Frankston to
meet up with Charlie whom we first met on our South American trip in 2007. A
lot has happened in the intervening years. Charlie married Kris whom she met
while we travelled; and Charlie and Kris now have two adorable children, Harley
and Holly!! They are full of spunk, friendly and chatty, and polite!! It was a great visit!
After our visit, we ate lunch in Mornington, a busy little beach suburb of
Melbourne with eclectic shops and masses of people and action. Then we drove
into Melbourne, parked the car, and set off on a “city walking tour”. Between
the walk we did and the “free” tram ride around the City Centre, we saw a
number of the beautiful older buildings including Parliament House, the
Princess Theatre, a lovely statue of Pastor Sir Douglas and Lady Gladys
Nicholls, and a mural commissioned by the Fire Brigades Board on the “Legend of
Fire” among many other enchanting buildings.
After the tram ride we walked down Elizabeth Street to
Bourke Street and dodged in and out of some of the many “lanes” that Melbourne
is renowned for. These are streets not even wide enough to drive a car down,
filled with shops, restaurants, wine bars, etc. Very quaint….and very busy!! We
flirted with Chinatown, had a love affair with the Flinders Railway Station,
and then realized that all the streets were being closed to traffic, and at the
same time were filling up with people. Then we remembered. Our friends last
night had talked about “White Night”, and then we noticed the signs. So, we
decided we had better leave the downtown area. This was around 6:30/6:45. White
Night starts at 7:00 p.m. So we dodged the road closures, avoided the heavy
traffic heading into the downtown area, and headed out to the suburbs and our
hotel.
Our visit to Melbourne was fleeting, but our feelings are
that it seemed much more like Toronto than Sydney. It was easy to get around,
lots of big highways, a good mix of original 1850s/1860s buildings and new
highrise buildings, had a great mix of peoples and races, and all in all seemed
a really nice city.
When we made it back to the hotel, we tried to check in to
our flight to Hobart tomorrow. The JetStar site told Ray that our tickets were
on hold because we owed them 90 cents. Anyway, he paid that, and then a box
popped up that this would be confirmed in 48 hours!!! There were a few tense
moments, but in the end we were able to check in successfully.
Pictures to come
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