RTW Day 45 - Melbourne

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I wake to find the clocks went back in the night - a day after our arrival in Australia and a week after they went forward in the UK. In the past week, compared to the UK, we have been plus 13, 12, 10 and 9. By the time I get my head round this, we’ll be in Adelaide and plus 8.5.

Once I have finished worrying about the time, and set off the fire alarm making some toast, we commence part 2 of our Melbourne sightseeing extravaganza.

We start where we finished yesterday and walk in a huge zigzagging circle along the river, up Hosier street (famous for its street art), over the freaky William Barak bridge which talks and sings to you as you cross to the Olympic Park (home to various sports venues including the MCG and the Rod Laver Arena) and through the Botanic Gardens. Here, a radio station are handing out chocolate bilbies (imagine a genetic mutation half rabbit half wallaby).

Next we go to the Shrine of Remembrance. It’s a huge shrine originally built to honour the dead of WW1. The area underneath houses the Galleries of Remembrance, a moving and informative museum detailing the role of Australians in conflicts around the world.

We return via Victoria Market for dinner. We need to refuel, we’ve covered a lot of miles today and only eaten a chocolate marsupial.

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