Around the World With Uncle Moose: Melbourne

Our flight left Adelaide at 10:30 AM and arrived in Melbourne at about 1:00 PM. Adelaide is one of those places that is 30 minutes behind (or ahead of) the next time zone, so I didn't even try and figure out how long the flight would be--it was about an hour.

Aerial view of part of Adelaide

A beach and part of the Adelaide area

Our flight landed just before the 13:55 flight from Wagga Wagga

The airports in Perth and Adelaide were about 20 minutes from downtown, close enough to make a taxi affordable. No such luck in Melbourne. We had to take an airport bus to a train station near the center of town, and then take a shuttle to our hotel. Technically, we weren't staying in a hotel--it was a one-bedroom apartment, right in the center of town.

The blue dot is where we stayed

Punthill Suites, our home in Melbourne

After settling in, we went out for a walk around central Melbourne. Even though Melbourne has about 6 million people, it was very easy to get around, with most attractions within walking distance or via a free tram or bus.

Flinders Street Station, about a block from our lodging.

Across from Flinders Station is Federation Square, which was finished in 2002 and is the main gathering place in Melbourne (at least for tourists).

Federation Square

Sunbathing in Federation Square

From Federation Square, we walked to the Fitzroy Gardens.

The guy who founded Melbourne was actually named Batman :-)

Conservatory in Fitzroy Gardens

Inside the Conservatory

After walking around the gardens, we got on a free tram that circled the central business district. The next few shots are from the tram ride.

One of the stadiums in Melbourne, but not the biggest

Melbourne, not San Francisco

How they decorate their buildings

After the tram ride, we walked across the Yarra River, which separates Central Melbourne from the southern part of the city.

Yarra River, with Melbourne Cricket Ground in the distance

View of part of central Melbourne from the rowing club on the south shore.

Bridge (built in 1890) across the Yarra River

Pedestrian bridge across the Yarra

Eventually we made it to Chinatown for dinner and ate at a restaurant called the Post-Deng Cafe, which is (as far as I know) the only restaurant in the world dedicated to the former Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping.

At the Post-Deng Cafe

Chinatown

Remember the Australian group Men at Work? After the band broke up, they apparently got jobs in Melbourne....

In case you ever wondered what became of Men at Work.

After dinner, we walked back to Federation Square for some night shots.

Federation Square

Flinders Street Station

The next morning we did more walking around central Melbourne. The center of the city has lots of narrow lanes between the major streets, and most of them have small restaurants with tables out in the middle of the lane.

A lane near our hotel

Eating in the street.

Our first stop was St. Paul's Cathedral, across from Federation Square.

St. Paul's Cathedral

Inside St. Paul's Cathedral

Entrance to St. Pauls

After visiting the church, we got on a free bus that circled most of the major tourist spots in central Melbourne. The first stop was the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which holds about 100,000 people. There was actually a cricket match going on, and I sneaked in a side entrance for a peek.

Melbourne Cricket Ground

Not much of a crowd at 10:00 AM for an all-day match.

View of south (left) and north (right) shores of the Yarra River.

Part of the University of Melbourne

We got off the bus at Victoria Market, which is a large open-air market, near downtown.

Victoria Market

After stopping at the market, we got back on the bus. The next stop was the Docklands area, which is a redevelopment of (not surprisingly) the old docks.

Docklands

Eventually, we got off the bus on the south shore of the Yarra River, which used to be an industrial area, but has been redeveloped with office buildings, shopping malls, and arts venues.