Melbourne, Australia

We spent two very busy days in Melbourne. The first day we struck out on our own navigating the public transportation and free shuttle buses and trams. We met with limited success but did manage to ride around the city at least twice! Melbourne is all ado and bustling with the Australian Open. We did not get to the Rod Laver Arena to see a match but spoke with people who said it was very exciting, even given the 95 degree heat. The second day we took a walking tour of the city and this was very interesting. Our guide was so knowledgeable about Melbourne's history and architecture. The City's buildings are a "piggly wiggly" (I think that is Aussie speak for a mishmash) of styles, ranging from French Renaissance to ultra modern. Here is a picture of Victoria Parliament.


And this is Goody and me in front of Flinders Train Station.




The next one is of Federation Square, a relatively new public area in Melbourne.
It is all angles and sandstone and was built to be a public meeting place. You can see the Australian open being televised on the large screen. In the background is Melbourne's tallest building, Eureka Tower. It is 92 stories high. You can see that a bit of the facade of the building is gold with a strip of red. The gold symbolizes the gold rush in the mid 1850's that was instrumental in the development of Melbourne and the red symbolizes the blood of the miners shed in the confrontation with the government. Melbourne's history is relatively young by our standards. We did not get a chance to go to any galleries or explore anything in too much detail. Although disappointing, it is only a reason to return. Next stop Sydney...