I slept in till 8 this morning. That's 16 hours after I went to bed; but I was up for a couple of hours during the night.
It's Saturday, but I missed Thursday completely. Poof, it's gone.
Today was a beautiful day, high of 20, nothing but sunshine.
There is a train station at the mall near us. The train into downtown, or the CBD (central business district), as they call it here, takes 35 minutes, and costs 4 dollars for the day, and that includes all forms of transportation. It stops at Flinders Station, which is a beautiful old building, like Union Station in Toronto, only nicer.
There is also a Circle tram that loops around the CBD, and gives a commentary as you travel. And it's free!
The tourist bureau is the best I have seen, anywhere. Very efficient and friendly. There are even tourist guides at some of the tram stops, offering assistance. Very impressive!
We spent some time at the Victoria Market, which has a great selection of sea food, meats, veggies, and fruit. Prices for veggies are high here. Half a pint of blueberries cost 4.50 dollars, one bunch of green onions 1.50, a head of ice berg lettuce, 2.00.
The meat selection is great; if I only had recipes for fresh goat or kangaroo.
Some of the stalls have staff yelling out their daily specials. It can get pretty noisy. One stall had a sign "We sell, not yell"
Food prices are generally high. A foot-long sub, at Mr. Submarine is 10 dollars. The one that really got me was the price of ONE donut at Crispy Cream was 2.50 dollars...for ONE donut. But you save if you buy a dozen for 19.95.
The cappuccino for 3.60 felt like a real bargain...and it was good.
We also visited the David Jones department store. It's like a real department store, think of an upscale Eatons. The first floor was nothing but perfumes, just like in Paris. Beautiful stuff, but I resisted the temptation of the 500 dollar sweater. It was interesting seeing the Christmas decorations. It's hard to think of Christmas in the middle of summer. Santa in red shorts.
My first impression of Melbourne was as a lovely cosmopolitan city. There is quite an Oriental presence, but few what we would call Afro-Americans. Lots of people on the streets, street performers, and lovely architecture.
It's Saturday, but I missed Thursday completely. Poof, it's gone.
Today was a beautiful day, high of 20, nothing but sunshine.
There is a train station at the mall near us. The train into downtown, or the CBD (central business district), as they call it here, takes 35 minutes, and costs 4 dollars for the day, and that includes all forms of transportation. It stops at Flinders Station, which is a beautiful old building, like Union Station in Toronto, only nicer.
There is also a Circle tram that loops around the CBD, and gives a commentary as you travel. And it's free!
The tourist bureau is the best I have seen, anywhere. Very efficient and friendly. There are even tourist guides at some of the tram stops, offering assistance. Very impressive!
We spent some time at the Victoria Market, which has a great selection of sea food, meats, veggies, and fruit. Prices for veggies are high here. Half a pint of blueberries cost 4.50 dollars, one bunch of green onions 1.50, a head of ice berg lettuce, 2.00.
The meat selection is great; if I only had recipes for fresh goat or kangaroo.
Some of the stalls have staff yelling out their daily specials. It can get pretty noisy. One stall had a sign "We sell, not yell"
Food prices are generally high. A foot-long sub, at Mr. Submarine is 10 dollars. The one that really got me was the price of ONE donut at Crispy Cream was 2.50 dollars...for ONE donut. But you save if you buy a dozen for 19.95.
The cappuccino for 3.60 felt like a real bargain...and it was good.
We also visited the David Jones department store. It's like a real department store, think of an upscale Eatons. The first floor was nothing but perfumes, just like in Paris. Beautiful stuff, but I resisted the temptation of the 500 dollar sweater. It was interesting seeing the Christmas decorations. It's hard to think of Christmas in the middle of summer. Santa in red shorts.
My first impression of Melbourne was as a lovely cosmopolitan city. There is quite an Oriental presence, but few what we would call Afro-Americans. Lots of people on the streets, street performers, and lovely architecture.
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