Melbourne – Australia’s second largest city (about 3.2 million) is yet another glorious interpretation of the Australian way of life. Melbourne has beautiful and unique architecture, spanning the 19^th through the 21^st centuries, a lively vibe, too many food choices to enumerate, and nice people. I find that every time we visit a new location in Australia, I tend to run out of new adjectives and superlatives…

Our time in Melbourne is short – just one day. We were originally scheduled to dock about 8:00 AM and to stay until about 10:00 PM, but the weather from Sydney to Melbourne kicked up enough swell that we had to reduce speed and were not able to dock until almost 11:00 AM. Fortunately, we had scheduled a walking tour that did not begin until 1:00 PM, so we were in good shape. Because of the weather conditions, we are also leaving early, about 9:00 PM so no dinner in the city (so much for Plan A).

To get from the dock to the CBD, we had to take a tram and then walk a couple of blocks to the meeting place for our tour. The Melbourne trams are rather unique. Some of them are brand new, sleek, modern trams – very quiet and comfortable. However, some are relics from the 18^th century, just kidding, the 19^th century really – noisy with uncomfortable rattan seats, but oodles of character. Unfortunately, the tram from the pier to the CBD was one of the new ones, so we had to suffer the pangs of not getting our history fix – just fine with us…

One other issue with the trams is that they do not take any money! Actually, you have to buy a tram card and use the proximity readers on each tram car to register your fare. They are re-loadable so if we ever get back to Melbourne we will have tram cards already available. Within the city center, the trams are free, but to get from the dock to the CBD is outside of the free zone. No problem, it is a lot cheaper than a taxi.

Once in the city, we found a delightful little hole-in-the-wall restaurant with all of three stools that sold gyros, kebabs, mezze platters, and soft drinks. Great lunch beginning. We find that many times the holes-in-the-wall restaurants have reasonably good food at reasonable prices with tons of atmosphere – especially if you are the only non-local in the place…

We then joined our walking tour. There were five of us including Bonnie and me. One software engineer from San Jose, CA, one Melbournian, a recent relocation, and one knockout Swedish engineer doing field work for her Master’s in Environmental Engineering. A merry group. Our tour leader was “Dave”. Dave owns “Melbourne by Foot.” He leads half day tours and pub crawls for locals and travelers alike. He was very knowledgeable and we felt that our afternoon was well spent. We walked over three miles and included a short coffee break. Melbourne is a city fueled by coffee – there seems to be a coffee shop on every corner, in the middle of every block, and between every other type of store. In addition ,they have some of the most mouth-watering pastries I have ever seen.

We began our tour at federation Square, a reclaimed land project located above the city’s main railroad yard. Quite a striking piece of inner-city architecture with a large open area for concerts, “happenings,” and just hanging out.

Unique architectural style around Federation Square. Designed by a Brit to the everlasting chagrin of the Melbournians...

We then proceeded to find some rather spectacular graffiti! It seems that Melbourne, rather than discouraging “public street art,” actually encourages it. We found a number of buildings painted by some of Australia’s most renowned street artists. Many of these are replaced by new work every few months, but there are a number of them that are semi-permanent due to being up much higher up the sides of the buildings. Many of these true art works are actually commissioned pieces and are quite spectacular.

In addition to the street art, I learned about "knit bombing." Knit bombing is rather unique. As the photos show, the trees and pipes are covered with knitwear. After a time the knitting is carefully cut down, pieced together, and given to various charities for distribution to those who might find the fabric useful.

After our art lesson, we found our way to some of Melbourne’s “lanes.” In many cities you are cautioned to stay out of the narrow dark lanes that might harbor those who mean you no good; however, in Melbourne, many of the city’s finest little restaurants, boutiques, and coffee shops are located in the very narrow lanes separating the main blocks. Melbournians believe that Melbourne was the birthplace of the term “Café Culture.” Of course, after the office workers have fled to the suburbs, most of these shut down, but for an afternoon of great people-watching, to say nothing of getting wired on really strong coffee, these are happening places. However, Melbourne, like Sydney, has some very arresting architectural gems.

 We then proceeded to visit a few of the city’s financial giants, but as you might expect, this was very dry compared to the art and coffee of our earlier stops.

Finally, we would our way to the Sandridge Bridge. This bridge was originally a railroad bridge that was used up until about 2987. It was discontinued for a while and in 2007 was re-opened as a pedestrian thoroughfare to connect the south side of the city with the north side. It has a number of sculptures located along its path depicting the various stages of Australia’s growth and glass monoliths inscribed with the names and numbers of people from all over the world who have immigrated to Australia and settled.

Look closely and you will see the "Traveler" sculptures defining 200 years of Melbourne's growth.

 

Each sculpture represents a specific period of Melbourne's and Australia's history.

Finally, after a pleasant stroll along the riverbank (the Yarra River), we would up back at Federation Square where we sat for a moment to catch our breath, say our goodbyes, and head back to the ship.

Can you find the Engineer? Dave, our guide, is on the top row with the cap and red T-shirt. Notice how I have cleverly posed the participants...

Melbourne is quite different from Sydney, but it is easy to understand how and why the rivalry between the two cities developed and remains one of Australia’s most endearing spectator sports.

We returned to the ship via tram, exhausted and fulfilled. Tonight we leave for Adelaide and a wine tour.

Stay tuned…