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Published: September 10th 2010
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The City CircleTram Service
A free tram will take you around the city allowing as many on and off stops as you wish. With some careful planning Kevin and I were able to manage a trip to Melbourne for two days to coincide with his birthday and don our walking shoes and guide map in hand visit the top sights in the city.
Due to technical problems our flight was cancelled and we could not get a flight till 9.30pm which meant we arrived at our hotel very late in the evening. Unperturbed we got up early and enjoyed a hearty cooked breakfast and lots of coffee and planned our route to see as much of the city as possible, especially as the sun was shining and the weather was promising not to rain atleast not in the morning. As we soon discovered the weather changes very quickly in Melbourne and one minute the sun is shining and the next the rain falls. Well it did most of this the whole day and we found our selves dodging showers and heavy rain most of the time, but in true British fashion we braved the elements and sought shelter when necessary.
We headed for Flinders Street Station an imposing bronze domed building a great meeting place under the clocks. opposite the station is the
Flinders Street Station
A huge brick building on the corner of Flinders Street and St Kilda Road. Anglican Church of St Pauls with its beautiful stainglass windows in the main entrance. The building features three spires and vaulted ceilings with beautiful tiled flooring throughout.
Looking across Flinders Street Station from the old to the new, Federation Square is the heart of the cultural centre of Melbourne where you can find shops, restaurants, entertainment, galleries and exhibition halls. The Ian Potter Centre dedicated to Australian Art and in particular Aboriginal Art can found in the centre of the complex, surrounded by a paved public space where you can view an open air screen showing sporting and cultural events. The walls of the centre reflect the city buildings around it and at night appears transparent in places offering changes in light and perspective it is a very popular place to meet and watch the world go by.
A walk along Collins Street takes you through the main city area where old buildings portraying their former wealth and posterity following the gold rush, where buildings were built with marble columns and flooring and gold leaf was used like wallpaper on the walls. The ANZ Gothic Bank and Melbourne Stock Exchange were some of the finest buildings featuring detailed
St Pauls Cathedral Melbourne
Flanking Flinders Street its three spires tower above the buildings that surround it. facades and stained glass windows.Further along Collins Street was the Block Arcade with beautiful mosaic floors, domed ceiling and wonderful cafes and expensive shops offering endless window shopping. We found a wonderful coffee and patisserie shop where we enjoyed a delicious cream tea. We could have been in England in Bath or Brighton!
We wandered along Bourke Street which was the main shopping district offering designer shops and the more usual retail companies. Interspersed with a network of arcades and lanes some dating back to the 19th century. The Royal Arcade housed a huge clock that chimed on the hour, with two large painted figures, fondly named Gog and Magogbut but was rather underwhelming when the hour arrived and acknowledged.
We did discover a free ride on the circuit tram that took us around the main attractions in the centre of the city and was a welcome, dry place out of the rain, a far better way of seeing the city when your feet are tired. A timely reminder to return to our hotel and dry off before finding somewhere to eat that evening. There are certainly no shortages of places to eat, you just have to remember
Stained Glass Window
Large glass doors allowed coloured light to shine through into the cathedral. that everyone eats earlier in Australia and it is not uncommon to find restauranats closing at 10.00 and 10.30pm.
The next day looked more promising weather wise so we headed north of the city to Brunswick street in search of some alternative shops and cafes and a slightly more bohemian experience, The shabby chic cafe culture, art galleries, book shops and recycled clothing shops specialising in hats and jewellery were all fascinating, The roads that also lead off from the main street also offered a completely different architectural dimension to the area with small brick buildings with New Orleans style balustrades and porches, many have been bought and rennovated turning it into a popular up and coming area to live in.
The walk through Fitzroy Gardens could have taken us back to walking through St James Park in London, with its landscaped gardens, historic buildings and sculpture. Cooks Cottage, alledged parents home, can be found nestling amidst the trees, a stone cottage that was dismantled and shipped brick by brick from England as a gift from the people of North Yorkshire to resemble the style of buildings that were around in the mid-18th century during Captain cooks journey
Federation Square
A popular meeting place. across the seas to Australia. Not far from this we found a carved tree dating back to 1931 where the artist Ola Cohn carved fairies, dwarfs and gnomes into its trunk for all would be fairies?!?!? Whatever next?
The walk along the river lead us over Prince Bridge and along the waterfront to the Rialto Towers, the tallest office building in the southern hemisphere which offers an observation deck with stunning 360' views of the city. What was even more amazing was we arrived to look out into thick rainclouds travelling across the suburbs towards the city, to almost 20% visability to beautiful sunshine and all within half an hour! It is certainly worth the visit as the views are amazing.
Melbourne certainly stood upto its reputation about having four different seasons in a day, well almost, we did not have snow, thank goodness. We look forward to a return visit where we can explore further a field and have time to enjoy the galleries and theatres more.
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