Melbourne – A Very Livable City

Our two days in Melbourne were fabulous!  We are so glad we got to stay overnight to see more of this wonderful City.  Fortunately we have cruising friends who live here and another friend from Church in San Diego who lives here part of the year….but no one was in Melbourne at the time of our stop.   However, they left excellent instructions and ideas for our stay.

On Day One – we took the Express Bus to the City Center from the Port.  This was part of the incredible transportation system in Melbourne.  They use a smart card similar to the Navigo in Paris – it works on all forms of transportation – bus, tram, and metro.  We walked a few blocks from the drop off of the bus to the Metro/Rail Station for the suburbs.  From here, it was an hour to the city of Belgrave and a short walk to the station of Puffing Billy – a steam train ride through beautiful hills to Lakeside.  Like New Zealand, the forests are a mixed variety of flora – pines, eucalyptus, tree ferns, semi-tropical plants, and deciduous trees.  The latter were turning various shades of red, gold, green, and yellow since it is the beginning of autumn “Down Under.” 

Puffing Billy spewed soot into the air and onto our skin – we felt pretty gritty by the end!  Most of the cars are open-sided and many passengers sit on the side railing with their legs hanging outside. The train chugs through the countryside near houses and fields.  It crosses small roads with clanging railroad warning bells. Several wooden trestles are used to cross gullies.  There were several stops at small stations.  

The day started out cloudy but soon we had sun, blue sky, and white clouds – a beautiful day in the hills outside Melbourne.  The trip was one hour each way.  When we returned to Belgrave, we had an Aussie “pie” for lunch – one chicken and the other ground beef, bacon, and cheese.  Not bad! 

After our return to the City, we toured St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral – yes another one!  It is a beautiful church.  This time we took the tram back to the port – a slow and crowded journey since we were returning at rush-hour. 

The next morning we started our regular tour of the City using instructions from our friends.  We started in Federation Square with its modern buildings on the banks of the Yarra River.  The Ian Potter Center was the first stop, a museum of Australian and Aboriginal art.  We only made it to two floors before deciding we needed to move on if we were going to see anything else!  Excellent museum – free – well-displayed art. 

Transportation in the city center is free – they also have a circular tram especially for tourists with stops near the most important sites.  American cities could learn something from the Melbourne example.  If you want people out of their cars, this is a good way to start.  

Our next stop was the Queen Victoria Markets.  What an experience!  We love markets and seek them out in many cities we visit – it gives you a good sense of the lives of the residents.  This market is huge – with everything from meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, cheese, olives, Italian Deli items, clothing, and suitcases…to boomerangs!  It is also one of the cleanest markets we have ever visited.  We had lunch here also. 

Next was a trip to the Block Center on Collins Street – one of the main shopping streets.  The Center was built to be a smaller version of the Arcade Shopping Center in Milan.  Beautiful place.  By now, it had started to rain so we made our way back to the Port bus.  Melbourne deserves more time and we hope to come back.

Today was a “sea day” with many of the passengers disembarking in Sydney in the morning.