Thursday, July 4th - A day in Melbourne

Yesterday was a travel day. Checked out of the Woolloomooloo Waters at about 10:00AM and then cabbed to the airport for our 1:10PM Tiger Air flight to Melbourne. An hour thirty on the plane was nothing compared to flying to Australia! Settled into our rooms, and enjoyed a dinner of fish & chips. We ate flake, chips, scallops, dim sum and potato cakes. All was delicious. 

Today was the day to head into the city to see the sights. First stop Melbourne Aquarium.

After some time at the Aquarium it was time for some lunch. Ian had done some reading and discovered that the oldest building in Melbourne was not too far. 













The Mitre Tavern was a great stop for lunch and a very popular one. We were lucky to get a table. Soon the place filled up and many had reservations.


Read more about this building: 

The Mitre Tavern 

  

Some more walking around the city. The Block Arcade is a very old building. Lots of small shops, but more impressive is the architechure and the detail within. The mosaic tile floor was stunning, to think that each piece would have been laid individually.

Some more walking, past the Parliament House and down Bourke Street for some browsing including Allen's Music store, Comics R Us and Rebel Sports. We were able to get our gear for the footy game tomorrow night. Collingwood vs Carlton...we will be supporting Collingwood. Should be lots of fun!! Also walked through the Royal Arcade, another old building with small shops, and although beautiful not as impressive as the Block Arcade.

A couple more stops before heading back on the train. St. Paul's Cathedral an Anglican church and a spectacular building..the craftmanship and detail at every turn is beyond anything that would be created today.

Across the street is Federation Square. A interesting contrast to the old buildings on the other street corners. 

 

There were some fun sculptures throughout the square. So...had some fun trying to recreate the pose. Didn't quite go as planned an we were drawing a crowd!

Then to Flinders Street Station to catch the train home. Another fantastic day!