Grant and Rae's Oz Trip Feb/Mar 2014

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Up at 06.30 for coach pick-up at 07.15!

Interesting coach tour with a very entertaining driver/guide called Roger. Took us all over Melbourne.......CBD (Central Business District to eastern suburbs to Docklands to Port Philip Bay and beyond.........followed by a river cruise on the Yarra. Roger told us about the "dunny" (toilet) with the best view in Australia - on the 35th floor of the Sofitel hotel building where you can and enjoy the spectacular view at the same time. Would like to visit there before we leave!

Attached is a pic of the Eureka skydeck, the tallest building in Melbourne..........interesting for several reasons: apparently the miners of Ballarat etc. used to shout "eureka" when they discovered gold (obviously very intellectual miners, as they must have done some Greek history; the top of the building is finished in a gold colour, again relating to the mining of the precious metal; and there is a flash of red on it to represent "blood on the southern cross".

Got a lovely pic of begonias (the state flower of Victoria) in the conservatory at Fitzroy Gardens.

Some good pics of the Melbourne skyline from the river cruise.

After lunch we walked to Royal Botanic Gardens (the "tan" to ever abbreviating Aussies) and saw the Shrine of Remembrance to the Anzac fallen of the various conflicts........was nearly a very costly visit as Ileft the iPad in the presentation room, only for it to be handed in.

Another sauna and swim to relax us and get us ready for the evening....

We ate int he hotel because of the White Night festival (on from 7 pm till 7 am) which was absolutely manic........imagine half the crowd at Parkhead or Ibrox going one way and half going against the flow - quite scary especially for the youngsters among them. But some of the buildings were lit up in an amazing colours.

More sightseeing tomorrow........panoramic dunny here we come!

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