Day 48: Melbourne

Today was another very hot and sunny day, but it didn’t slow us down (too much). We had considered a couple of different options today- taking an all day van tour along the Great Ocean Road, and taking an hour long ferry ride to the coastal town of Portarlington, but, in the end, there were still so many things we wanted to see in Melbourne that we decided to just stay in town. We started the day around 9am by walking all along Victoria Harbour toward the south (we walked along it to the north yesterday), and then crossed the Webb pedestrian bridge over the Yarra River. That bridge is shaped liked a Koori eel trap. Because of course it is. Melbourne architecture is either creative or crazy.  I’m not sure which. As visual proof, I offer a few photos. 

We saw these wooden structures from our apartment. We thought that they were freight containers that had fallen off of something. What rubes we are!  They’re art!

We thought this one was falling into the water when viewed from our apartment. 

Our building. It must have been too boxy, so slopes were added to the roof. 

I wasn’t kidding when I said they had scalloped buildings. 

And that solar panel on top the building on the

 left is a wild thing.  It raises and angles throughout the day to best capture the energy of the sun. 

Construction cranes everywhere. 

The Webb pedestrian bridge. Because straight is so boring. ;-)

After four hours of walking we boarded a tram to take us a few blocks to Chinatown. We always enjoy walking through Chinatown areas, and Melbourne’s was no exception. The grocery stores alone are fascinating. About 1pm we stopped for lunch (Chinese, natch), and then continued on to the Chinese Museum, which was fantastic. It is divided into three main exhibitions:  Finding Gold, which traces the arrival of the Chinese to Australia during the Good Rush in the 1850s, including a model of a ship on which they would have traveled from Canton ; Dragon Gallery (amazing, with three of the large dragons that are carried during the Chinese New Year celebrations); and Chinese Australian culture. A special exhibit is currently being displayed on the Han Dynasty. This reminded me a great deal of the Shanghai Museum in China, one of the best museums I’ve ever visited. The Chinese Museum is spread over several floors, and we were there until it closed for the day. Fascinating!

But it was nearly 5pm by then, and we were hot and tired. We walked back to Bourke Street and caught Tram 86 (standing room only at that time of day) back to the Docklands and our apartment. We stripped off clothes and threw them in the washer and showered and even washed our Teva sandals before we settled down to eat peanut butter on crackers for dinner. We have just cereal left for tomorrow morning; our food purchases are working out well. 

Unfortunately, it is supposed to be very rainy tomorrow.  I’ve seen a forecast of over 3 inches of rain. Luckily, we only have to go from here to the Golden Princess at Station Pier. Our plan was to take trams but Uber might be a better alternative. 

Also, I’ve added photos to the blog posts from October 26 through November 19 (Port Chalmers / Dunedin). The rest may have to wait until Hawaii; this WiFi, though free and unlimited, is not especially fast. But we have sure enjoyed using it!