Well, we’ve done Melbourne. On to Sydney

That’s the problem with these tours: fly one day, tour the next and then on the plane to another. At least there’s no bus involved, both there’s the every other day chore of repacking the suitcases to include the trinkets we’ve bought to remember the latest city.

Today started with a 9:30 AM city tour by bus, led by a great driver/tour guide. He knew how to navigate the torn-up streets of Melbourne and give us the lowdown, interjecting humor every now and then. The place is under massive construction with a new subway line being built, new highways and new skyscraper projects as thick as Dunkin’ stores in Massachusetts.

Melbourne was founded around 1835, 47 years after the first wave of 11 ships carrying convicts set up camp in Sydney harbor. Melbourne never had a Transport colony; the territory that became Victoria State was convict free. Melbourne did have an influx of former convicts, coming from Sydney and Tasmania. Melbourne is second in size, after Sydney in terms of population but first in size if you look at contiguous urban areas. Take that, Sydney!

My feel about this place is that it retains a strong British connection. The streets carry names with British connections and the parks and gardens around town are filled with British flora. Cricket is a big deal, as is rugby. King Charles II is the ruling monarch of Australia. And, like London, it’s full of non-British residents. Among other nationalities, the Chinese community is strong, and Melbourne has the second largest Greek population in the world, trailing only Athens. Like many other places we’ve visited, the “old” is mixed with the new. No Old Town with quaint shops. It’s steel and glass mixed in with the occasional building preserved from the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

I mentioned to Judy that if I was forced to move to either New Zealand or Australia, I might choose Australia, a choice I wouldn’t have made before coming here. We both fell in love with New Zealand when we visited for 30 days in 2016. But Australia, a bit raw around the edges, maybe, has an exciting feel to it where New Zealand is more laid back. Both seem to be populated with a welcoming and pleasant bunch of natives.

Most of the bus tour involved viewing buildings of some import and listening to our guide’s history lesson. We did stop and tour the Fitzroy Gardens on foot. That’s where the “Cook Home” is located. It’s a loose connection to Captain James Cook, however. Cook never set foot in Melbourne. He never lived in the house now standing in the Fitzroy Gardens. It’s his parent’s house, which he maybe visited once or twice between voyages. It was disassembled and brought to Melbourne to further cement the ties back to the Mother Country. You have to pay extra to go inside. We didn’t.

We stopped to tour the largest church building in Australia, The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of Saint Patrick’s. OK. So Saint Mary’s in Sydney is a smidgen longer, ours is overall the biggest. Building started in 1851 but, as usual with big projects like this, it wasn’t officially completed until 1939. There were only two cathedrals in the world that were substantially constructed in the19^th century: this one and St. Patrick’s in New York City. Factoids are us.

We stopped at the Shrine of Remembrance. A war memorial originally designed to honor the fallen from WWI, it now is a memorial to all who have served in any war. An impressive memorial with great views of the city from its rooftop observation deck.

Across the street is an entrance to the extensive Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. We spent over an hour touring both the Shrine and Gardens. The gardens are indeed a botanical display of all sorts of flowers, trees, shrubs, you name it, many with ties back to the Mother Country. Lots of families enjoying the early summer air, although we’re in a cold snap. Temps didn’t get up to 70 I don’t believe, and the skies have been cloudy, albeit without any rain. There was a cute birthday party for a little girl under a lavender tree, complete with a birthday fairy.

Back to the hotel, Judy and I developed a touring plan of action for the afternoon. Our next and final Viking tour event is the 6 PM farewell cocktail half hour. What ever happened to the farewell dinner? We’re on our own and believe you me, I didn’t have any lunch today. Ok, three scoops, total, of ice cream (Coconut, Tim Tom and Golden Gaytime) but that doesn’t count. Judy had a sandwich at the Botanical Gardens.

Our hotel is located near the Yarra River, the main waterway in Melbourne. Ships used to sail up to near our hotel’s location back in the day. We decided to walk up the river on the south side, cross over to the northern bank to Fed Square and then back down the river to the Melbourne Skydeck for an aerial view of the city.

That all went pretty much to plan except for one detour: an open air display of arts and crafts being sold by the works’ creators. “Just looking, thanks, was our plan.” Right. We bought earrings and a necklaces form Diana, table napkins from Judith (that’s my name too!) and a Christmas Tree ornament from, you guessed it, Rebecca. Meant to be. Three nicer ladies you’d ever want to befriend.

Next, up the Skydeck with the predicted great views of the city but not the promised mountains in the distance – the clouds got in the way. Then back to the hotel for an hour’s nap before the farewell booze fest, which turned out to be Australian wine. Six of us decided to go into the attached Crown Casino for dinner. We found a pub-like place with cricket on the wide screen TV. Our friends from New Zealand tried to make sense of it for us but to little avail, I’m afraid. But it was fun to watch nevertheless. The fish and chips paired well with my ginger beer. Who needs a farewell dinner when you can watch football and eat fish and chips – beats the usual farewell dinner fare by a furlong.

Tomorrow is Sydney. Our ETA is 3 PM and we have dinner reservations at 5:30 and show tickets at the Opera House for 7. One day of sightseeing after that and we’re homeward bound. Can’t wait!