Monday 21st September (cont'd)

We pulled off the motorway a few junctions before its Melbourne end to get some fuel and found some within a few yards of the junction. The motorway just seemed to end and turn into an ordinary urban road and we only had to negotiate a few junctions before we found the hotel - the Best Western Plus on Drummond Street. No trams to contend with so far. We managed to park right outside the hotel on a loading bay. The man on Reception was trying to find whether our room was ready but we decided not to wait and he said he’d put our luggage in store for us. The drive to the depot wasn’t too bad, even though we went down roads with trams. Many of the junctions have separate right turn phases and we were able to make our right turn with no trouble. The car return was a little hairy. Into a multi-storey car park and then down a ramp that seemed as steep as a roller coaster. However all seemed well and we were out in a couple of minutes.

We looked at the map and decided to walk to the nearby Queen Victoria Market. Unfortunately it doesn’t operate on a Monday. It is impressive however covering a very large area over two or three streets. We’ll come back if we get time.

We started to walk back to the hotel and realised we were going through the student district with various university buildings. We went into a cafe for a quick lunch. Got back to the hotel about 1.30pm and got into our room. Very smart with almost everything we could want except for a spare bed to lay the cases on. We remembered that we’d looked when we booked and decided that the cost of a larger room wasn’t worth it.

After unpacking we found the laundry and put the washing on and waited until we could put it into the dryer. By this time the rain, which had started just as we’d walked back to the hotel, had stopped so we went out for a quick look round and to find the dry cleaners that Les had identified on the internet. We’d read that Lygon Street, one block away, contained lots of restaurants. This is an understatement! Going north virtually every other unit was a restaurant. Most of these are Italian with a few Asian ones thrown in. Of course there are coffee shops and gelateria as well. On Lygon most of the cafes have pavement seating with overhead heaters.

Eventually we came to the end of the retail area without having found the cleaners. We went into a small newsagents and asked about Myki [travel] cards. We find the pricing etc extraordinarily complicated. We still can’t work out whether you pay on a time basis or per ride. However we took his advice, topped up the card that Don had given us, and bought a second one. We asked him about the dry cleaners and he said it was in the shopping mall opposite on the basement floor. We went in and found it and left our cleaning - very good value. The lady asked us if we’d seen Brunettis on our way in. We hadn’t so we went and looked on our way out, after visiting Woolworths and buying our usual breakfast bananas, biscuits and fruit. It’s difficult to describe Brunettis. Firstly it’s vast and it appeared to just sell a range of fantastic cakes etc. We then found that it also does snack food like pizza and at one end also has what is obviously a posh restaurant. On the way out we spotted that it also does a terrific range of ice creams and sorbets. The whole place is extremely smart and could only be Italian. Discovered that there’s a back way into the mall from our street.

Walked back to the hotel and retrieved the washing. Had a rest for a bit before setting off for dinner about 6.30pm. Decided that from Lygon/Grattan we would have a look to the south towards the city centre even though we’d seen loads of restaurants on our way north. We have never seen so many restaurants on one street. Again these are all either Italian or Asian. The choice of restaurant is bewildering. As before they all have pavement seating with overhead heaters. The problem with this is that as you walk down the street you’re between the restaurant door and the pavement seating and many places have people accosting you and urging you to eat there. We learned later that these are called spruikers.  We walked down until we reached what we think is the end and then crossed to a park on the west side so that we could stop and talk. We settled on a restaurant where Anne had seen flathead on the specials board. We got seated but found that the overhead heater wasn’t working so it needed another two changes of table before we were settled. The food was extremely nice. Anne had her flathead and Les had lamb chops on polenta.

Walked back via even more restaurants and found an area that was all coffee/chocolate shops. All still very busy with people sitting outside under the heaters. Also found a gelaterie that was packed with people queuing so we assume it must be the best or the cheapest. Anne noted it had a chocolate sorbet as well as 5 other flavours. Back to the hotel by about 8.30pm.

Tuesday 22nd

Up betimes and set off for the tram about 10. We inadvertently walked the wrong way (ie north out of town instead of west) but it worked out quite well. We got to the tram stop at Elgin St and in no time at all caught a tram straight down Swanston St to Federation Square, by Flinders St Station.

We went into the new (to us) underground visitor centre for a quick look and then decided to go to South Bank. Once again we got it slightly wrong and walked west along Flinders St instead of going straight down onto the river bank. By the time we realised our mistake it was simpler to continue and then cross the river on Queens Bridge. As the weather was still reasonable (rain was forecast) we decided to go straight to the Eureka Skydeck. This was only a short walk away and was a good choice because there were no queues. This time we got the senior concession. The famous lifts were quite impressive. 88 floors in 9 seconds. We took a slow walk round taking photos and stopped for a leisurely coffee before coming down again.

It was warmer than forecast but very windy. We thought we’d have a look at the Casino which was the only thing on this whole stretch of the river when we last visited and had only just opened. It seemed that the casino itself had grown as now the ground floor consists of a very large area with a mix of upmarket restaurants and very posh shops. We were glad to be inside walking through all this. Finally we came to a food court with a bewildering array of food although lots of it was Asian. We spotted a couple of places where we could each find stuff that we fancied but as it was a bit early we continued on.

We walked past the huge new Conference Centre and then next to a few bars/restaurants found the Polly Woodside. This was one of the last iron-hulled sailing ships to be built in 1885. She had a varied life hauling goods around the world and eventually ended up in Melbourne Harbour as a coal tender. She’s been saved and restored by the National Trust. We were really annoyed as we’d left our NT cards at home but we went in to see how much we could see and find out. When we said that we were NT members but hadn’t brought our cards the man said that it was ok, it happened a lot with UK visitors and he left us in for free anyway.

We spent a happy hour looking round the excellent displays and going round the ship. Diffiicult to think of people sailing this across the north Atlantic full of coal, or plying between Australia and South America.

Leaving the ship we continued along the waterfront. There was a long shed, presumably an old wharf or a recreation of one that was entirely bars and restaurants. We walked to the end and then into the building behind. This turned out to be a Factory Outlet on a grand scale. Walking back through it we came across the food court in the basement and grabbed a quick lunch. A misunderstanding for Les. Roast Pork Roll over here means a roasted rolled pork joint, not roast pork in a roll! You actually get slices of pork from the rolled joint with gravy - no roll involved.

After lunch we walked back along the river to the Arts Centre and the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Annoyingly it’s mainly closed on Tuesdays except for one gallery and the special Hemitage exhibition. We decided to go back to Federation Square and to another arm of the NGV, the Ian Potter Centre. This specialises in Australian Art. We walked around this until we were too tired to go on. We had a cup of tea in the cafe and then went back to Federation Square for a tram to the hotel. We only waited a few minutes, and we now seem to have cracked the use of the Myki cards.

We got off in Elgin St, intending to pick up our dry cleaning, but went the wrong way, and were almost at the hotel before we realised. Just had the strength to go back once again. Collected the cleaning and got some cash from an ATM, before getting back.

Downloaded photos and sent a couple of emails before writing this. Now intend to rest for a while before going out to eat.

Went to the restaurant just around the corner, which seemed a bit different from everywhere else - no pizza or pasta. It was their Steak Special night, which looked quite good, but in the end Anne went for the salmon and Les had duck. All very good.

Wednesday 23rd

Usual start, but out around 9.30. Caught the tram down to Southbank and booked on the 12.10pm downriver cruise. Walked back to the NGV and had a coffee and a brief look round before joining the 11.00 free guided tour with a volunteer. Very interesting learning about some of their ‘star’ exhibits and about the history of both the gallery as an institution and of the building.

Had to leave the tour before the end to go to the waterfront, but the boat was then 10mins late, so we probably could have stayed on. The boat trip was good, and we learnt lots of new things, and saw the continuation of the redevelopment of the south bank. When we got off we went back to food court in the Casino and grabbed a late lunch.

We were going to go back to the NGV, but the weather was still good, so we took a chance and got on a tram to St KIlda. It wasn’t the route we thought we were going to take, but it turned out well. It was the 12, which took us to the eastern side of West Beach, near the pier. We started to walk out along the pier, but the wind was so strong that we turned back, and instead walked westward along the front for a couple of kilometers. We went into a cafe for a drink, and talking to the staff found out that we could get back on the 12 by walking up the street opposite. We did this and got a tram immediately. We got off the 12 at Town Hall, and immediately got on a 1 up Swanston back to the hotel.

Went into the 7/11 for juice and water and asked him to check Les’s Myki card. Not much money left from the A$20, so Les must have been doing something wrong. Need to check Anne’s later and probably top them up before we go out tomorrow.

We had a text from Robyn while we were on the tram home, so Anne had a long chat when we got back to the hotel.

Went out to eat around 6.30. Walked north on Lygon. There were a couple of restaurants that were packed with locals. We went into the second. All seemed very nice, but in the end Les’s pizza never arrived. When we asked for the bill the pizza was there. When we talked them about it they said they’d definitely cooked it, so someone else must have eaten it. They took it off the bill, and a little more. Decided that it would do Les good not to eat for a night!

Thursday 24th

Up and about by about 8am. Les had been checking to see whether the cash withdrawal had come through on the Nationwide Flex account. When we did find it we were quite surprised at how little it had converted to in sterling. We checked the current rate and found that we’re getting about A$2.16 to the £1. Before the holiday we bought our currency at A$2.06 when we thought it had peaked!

Got the usual tram down to Federation Square and walked through to the Birrarung Marr. This is an open space and is an area where the aborigines used to meet alongside the river. We walked through it and over the ‘singing’ bridge (although it wasn’t singing) towards the MCG. Saw the installation of bells but they weren’t ringing. We walked back along the river front and into the Atrium for a quick coffee and cake (friand).

We then spent some time looking around ‘The Lanes’ - the narrow roads and arcades in the area immediately north of Flinders St and west of Swanston. There is an amazing mix of very posh shops and others and many of the narrow alleys are swamped with food outlets. We even found a crêperie amongst all the usual Italian and Asian. As it was just after 12 when we’d finished we thought we’d try the crêperie for an early lunch but there wasn’t a seat to be had.

Instead we went over to the cathedral and looked around. Not very old by our standards, but built in the 1890s as a replica medieval cathedral. When we came out we went into the nearby Brunettis cafe for a quick snack. Les had a mini New York cheesecake to go with his savoury croissant - perfect cheesecake but about two inches square and cost about £1.

We weren’t quite sure what to do as there had been some threatening clouds but while it wasn’t raining we decided to jump on a tram and go along to Fitzroy Gardens. We had a brisk look round and were wondering whether to spend more time there when we noticed some really black clouds approaching. We decided that it would be best to get on a tram back to the centre.

We continued on along Flinders St and got off the tram and crossed the river and went back to the Crown Complex where we had sorbet/ice cream and a much needed sit down. Les’s left knee had started to ache a bit.

After a rest we walked back along the river bank and through the Southgate complex to get to the NGV. We hadn’t been through the Southgate centre before. Needless to say there were loads of food outlets in an extended food court.

We’ve come to the conclusion that this area around the centre of Melbourne must have more food outlets per square kilometre than anywhere else - certainly more than anywhere else we’ve seen.

We had time for a short look round the NGV, finding our way back to the early glass exhibits with some difficulty. By this time it was after 4pm so we went outside and caught the tram straight back to the hotel. We put the washing on for the last time before downloading photos etc.

Went back to Lygon St to eat. This time we got into Papa Ginos which had been full last night. Had a nice meal at a reasonable price. Restaurant really buzzing and lively. When we came out there were at least 10-15 people queuing to get in.

We’ve learnt since that all the restaurants along here used to be owned and run by the local mafia bosses. We assume that’s no longer the case.

Friday 25th

Were fully packed for the flight and checked our luggage by 10am.  Got a tram down Swanston to Franklin and walked across to the Queen Victoria Market. We’re told that it’s not nearly as good as it used to be (and there are some ‘sheds’ unused) but we still found it very impressive, especially the fresh fruit and veg. The meat and fish were very good and the deli area was pretty amazing. If we lived anywhere near then a weekly visit would be probably be compulsory.

From the market we caught a tram which took us across Queens Bridge. We decided to nip into the casino building to use the loos and were fascinated to see the Carlton Brewery dray horses and the dray on the embankment outside.

We walked back towards Southgate as we’d seen a tapas restaurant and decided that this would be nice for a last meal. On the whole this was a mistake. Firstly it wasn’t clear that the advertised tapas deal had a restricted list of dishes and so was no good. We should’ve given up at this point but we ordered our own choice of dishes of the menu. These were ok (especially the beetroot salad) but part way through the meal somebody arriving at the next table knocked over Anne’s apple juice and water with his backpack. Only the lightening reactions of the waitress stopped it going all over Anne’s lap and got it onto the table instead. The staff were very good about clearing up and brought Anne another drink but the culprit himself seemed completely unconcerned.

We fancied one more dish and so ordered it after everything had been cleared up. It took quite a long time to come but we still thought we had plenty of time in hand. We paid the bill, which in fact turned out to be one of the most expensive meals we’ve had and then set off for Federation Sq where we knew we could get a last sorbet and ice cream.

Again we ended up with quite a long wait but we still weren’t worried as we knew we could get back to the hotel on a tram in a very short time. Wrong. When we’d finished our ice cream we walked across to the tram stop. For the first time ever we had to wait ages for the right tram to come along. This was compounded by the fact that it was very busy and that there were loads of other trams on the line. Eventually we got on the tram, but again progress was very slow because of all the people and traffic. Part way through the journey we got a text from the taxi driver saying he was at the hotel. We responded by saying we were on the tram on our way back. Eventually with a very brisk walk after we got off the tram we got back to the hotel about 2 mins before the scheduled 2.30pm. The driver was very good and didn’t try to rush us at all.

It was actually quite a relaxing easy drive to the terminal so we started to feel less pressured. In fact we were able to check our luggage in with no queue and only a slight delay going through security. A particularly officious woman told Les that if he knew he was going to set off the alarm he should’ve taken his shoes off and put them through on a tray before coming through. In fact when he’s actually tried to do this in the past he’s been stopped and told it’s not necessary.

We sat and had coffee and cake and Anne finally managed to make contact with Caz. We decided to wander down to the gate with about 90 mins to go. It was a very long walk and when we finally got there we couldn’t understand why there were Singapore Airline boards. We suddenly realised that Les had confused the gate no with our row no and we were at the wrong gate. We then had a long walk back to get to the right gate which was immediately adjacent to where we’d sat down to put on our flight socks.

Boarding was very smooth. Not surprising as the plane was only about two thirds full. We had really good seats just two rows back from the first class section. We actually left the gate early. The first part of the flight, across Australia, was ok. We started to get a bit of turbulence once we were over water and the various small islands and the seat belt lights were on for quite a long time although it wasn’t really too bad. The plane was a 777-300 and seemed to be very new. It was very smart with the latest entertainment system. All in all an easy flight but of course we were quite tired by the time it landed.