MELBOURNE, South Australia

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<strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Melbourne– Victoria - Saturday 8 Feb. 2014 – 39 °



Melbourne's roots can be traced back to the 1850s, when gold was found in the surrounding hills. British settlers took up residence and prided themselves on coming freely to their city, rather than having been forced here in convict chains. More Greeks live here than in any other city outside Athens and a third of Melbournians were born outside Australia making for an interesting melting pot of races and interests. We watched Chinese practising Tai Chi in the park, ate great seafood tapas and heard a great variety of languages.



Melbourne (pronounced Mel bun) is beautifully laid out and a lovely city all together. The elegant tree lined boulevards give it a very European feel. The green spaces are enormous with ginormous trees everywhere. We enjoyed the green Fitzroy Gardens where Captain Cook’s house was transported brick by brick by his descendants, The amazing war memorial Shrine from where there is a fantastic view of the city and appreciated (in this heat) a short cruise on the Yarra River.



The heat haze was enormous and all my photos look far from perfect. We seem to be following the “exceptional” weather pattern and I was a little worse for wear last night after taking my hat off on the river. As I write this bush fires are raging all over Victoria, no less than 14 in the Melbourne area and looking out of the window the air is thick with smoke and the television is advising residents on which areas to move to etc.

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