Melbourne

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In April, while Kate was working with colleagues in Perth, Western Australia, she was invited and presented at a Club Health conference in Melbourne, Victoria. We stayed in the city for a week.

Melbourne is a very large city (only Sydney is bigger and the two cities debate which is the better). It's on the Yarra River which dumps out in to Port Phillip Bay which then drains into the Tasmanian Sea (or the Southern Ocean). I guess it's the Tasmanian Sea because Tasmania is pretty much due south from here.

We stayed in the city centre at the historic Duxton Hotel overlooking the Yarra. We were very near Flinders Station and Federation Square. Kate's conference was a short walk away at the Crowne Plaza Hotel across from Batman Park (isn't that a silly name) and very near the Southern Cross Railway Station.

There's lots to explore along the river bank -- there's a huge casino complex, lots of shopping restaurants and bars along the Southbank. Just a little further south past the Southbank is the National Gallery of Victoria which I really enjoyed. Just north of the river, in the old city, there's ton of interesting covered laneways and arcades (and some alley ways) to explore. Shops, restaurants and lots of people. A great way to explore the city on a rainy day. One day we went to the highest building in the city on the north side of the river to get a bird's eye view of things. You could see across the river that they were building yet another, even taller, high rise near the Southbank.

It's autumn in April that side of the equator and trees were turning color. We did bike along the river a bit with our folding bikes that we had brought with us. But also, because it's autumn, it's time for the grape harvest and there are several important regions within easy striking distance, e.g. the Yarra Valley is well known. We rented a car and explored the Mornington Peninsula on the south east side of Port Phillip Bay. The area is famous for "cool climate" wines like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It's not a "cool climate" like back home in Ontario but they do get cool breezes from the Southern Ocean/Tasmanian Sea. It's a "cool climate" by Australian standards.

We liked Melbourne a lot and have been back several times since this our first visit. There's lots to see and explore, it's a modern, hip city well worth a visit.

If your are interested here's a photo album of our adventures.