Melbourne 4 seasons in 1 day

Street art in Hosier Lane

Dave in ACDC Lane

Blue skies!!! The last couple of days have contained everything from grey cloud covered skies, wind, rain and finally sunshine, typical Melbourne weather apparently. The free tram system and walking are going to be our choice of transport for exploring the city. First stop Federation Square and Flinders Street station for photos by day in the sunshine, next stop Hosier Lane - the centre of activity for street art. The walls are covered in amazingly colourful pictures but no artists in sight today. After this ACDC Lane, Dave just has to find this one for a picture opportunity. Finally, for the end of the morning section of the tour a meander through Fitzroy Gardens enjoying the peaceful surroundings - until we get to the conservatory where lots of Chinese tourists suddenly emerge from the undergrowth all obsessed with taking selfies. The begonias inside are stunning, some as big as my hand and in so many colours, in fact all the flowers through out the gardens are stunning, I have to be dragged away as other sights await us. The walk continues past Captain Cook's cottage which was shipped here from the UK but I'm not sure he ever lived in it as (it was built for him but only erected here in 1934), and on to the Treasury building and Parliament House. It's definitely time for some refreshment and of course a good old fashioned British pub is the venue...



The Lion Dance

The afternoon is filled with more tram rides - we're beginning to get the hang of how to read the maps and which side of the tramway to stand. But I'm still panicked by the urgent sound of the pedestrian crossing at road junctions, they seem to be saying hurry, hurry, hurry or you'll get run over. As we make our way to the tram stop we heard the sound of drums, following it we find a big crowd watching the traditional lion dance. Queen Victoria Market is a huge area opened in 1878 it sells everything from clothes, leather goods, souvenirs to fabulous fresh fruit and veg. I can't resist all the veg but restrict myself to just a few tomatoes and chillies (only 500g's worth) we may not need chillies for a while now! The city tour is rounded off with a visit to the Waterfront Docklands where we gaze enviously at all the large boats.

Tonight, a night in with the packing and the meal may contain tomatoes and chillies at least...





Boats at the Dockside - wish one was ours!