Austrailia - Mar 9 thru Mar 10

Mar 9 - Melbourne Austrailia

POL:
Melbourne is a very cosmopolitan city.  The downtown area boasted many large and tall buildings, each of which displayed their own unique architecture.  Like other cities in New Zealand and Austrailia there were old as well as new buildings.  Some of the older buildings dated back to the late 1800's or early 1900's.  Melbourne also boasts an extensive mass transit system of busses, trains, and trams (street cars).
Everyone in the group went their separate ways to have their own adventures.  While Ginny, Bob, Wilma, and Leonard went to tour a wildlife area and wineries Robin and I decided to take an e-bike tour of Melbourne.  After a relatively short city bus ride we found our bike outfitters, donned helmets, and took off on our adventure.

We went through a number of neighborhoods.  One area was adjacent to the botanical gardens.  Unfortunately we did not get to go through as we were limited on time.  Melbourne has a magnificent park area just beyond the downtown area.  There were flowers, trees, and a large expanse of simple green space.
Before leaving the park area we stopped at the Rememberance Memorial.  This memorial was built after World War One to remember those that served and sacrificed their lives in the war.  The building was designed that on Rememberance Day (our Veteran's Day), at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month (November 11th) the sun would shine through an opening in the roof and shine on the word 'Love' that was engraved in the floor.  Unfortunately Austrailia has also adopted daylight savings time so this no longer works.  They have, however, installed a mirror to reflect the light onto the correct location at the correct time.

We stopped for lunch at a neighborhood bar and grill called 'Naked for Satan'.  The food was suprisingly good, particularly the french fries, or chips as they are called here.  The walls in this establishment were covered with centerfolds and pages from girly magazines and body building magazines from perhaps the 1950's or 1960's.  It was interesting to go into a place of business and see that many pictures of half naked bodies.  I did take one photo of the wallpaper, but decorum prevents me from sharing that photo in this blog.  Besides, I may want to keep it for myself.
After lunch we made our way through the Melbourne Exhibition Hall, which was built for the 1890 World's Fair.
Then a short ride through Chinatown and downdown (while competing for space on the street with trams and cars) and back to the outfitter.  Once our ride was complete we wandered around for a short time then made our way back to the designated bus stop where we boarded the city bus again and went back to the ship.  This gave us an opportunity for some quiet time.  And of course then there was dinner, a show, and time to call it a day.



Mar 10 - another at sea day.

This will be our last day on board the MS Noodam as tomorrow we arrive in Sydney.  Tomorrow we part ways with Ginny and Bob and make our way to Cairns where we hope to see the Great Barrier Reef.  We will have a bus ride to the airport and then a three or more hour flight to Cairns.  Tomorrow is another travel day.  So it will be time to put on the compression socks, turn on the noise cancelling headphones, and enjoy the middle seat.

Fun times!

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