After the longest flight of my life on I think the largest plane I have ever been on, (747) I have finally reached Melbourne. Marie picked me up at the airport and we took the tram to her house. Not only does the toilet water not flow in the opposite direction, but the toilet is also in a seperate room from the shower. She also has possums living on her porch. It is hot as balls here today as well. We decided to hit the city as soon as I was unpacked to get some sights in.
First up was lunch and we ate at a quaint greek bistro on packed back ally next to various other tiny cafes and bistros. The food was pretty good but a little dry. (Interesting tidbit, Burger King is called Hungry Jacks here because some other franchise here had already licensed the name Burger King).
Marie showed me some of the more popular sights in downtown Melbourne, such as Federation Square which holds what is considered the ugliest building in the city, Flinders Street Station, the Yarra River, and her hotel, Intercontinental Melbourne: The Rialto. Flinders Street Station is the old train station in the city which was basically deserted when Southern Cross Station was built. The building itself was supposedly meant to have been built in Panama, but somehow the blueprints were switched around and the building was constructed here.
The Yarra River flows throughout most of Victoria and takes up a prominent path through the city with various pubs, bars, and elegant restaurants along its banks.
The Rialto where Marie works is one of the oldest building in the city and survived several
renovations. The building has been around since the early days of the Australian Gold Rush and used to be an important distribution center for goods such as wheat, wool, etc. Now it's a very posh hotel with much of the original brick work still in place. The photo below is of the Bluestone Bar inside the hotel which used to be open to the outside. This is where the horses and wagons would line up to be loaded up with products.
We wandered around a bit more and are now camped out in her living room watching Australian sports. Which I don't understand, but the guys are hot, so I'm okay with watching. Also Australian money looks like Monopoly money, so I'm headed out to buy Park Place.
First up was lunch and we ate at a quaint greek bistro on packed back ally next to various other tiny cafes and bistros. The food was pretty good but a little dry. (Interesting tidbit, Burger King is called Hungry Jacks here because some other franchise here had already licensed the name Burger King).
Marie showed me some of the more popular sights in downtown Melbourne, such as Federation Square which holds what is considered the ugliest building in the city, Flinders Street Station, the Yarra River, and her hotel, Intercontinental Melbourne: The Rialto. Flinders Street Station is the old train station in the city which was basically deserted when Southern Cross Station was built. The building itself was supposedly meant to have been built in Panama, but somehow the blueprints were switched around and the building was constructed here.
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| Flinders Street Station |
The Yarra River flows throughout most of Victoria and takes up a prominent path through the city with various pubs, bars, and elegant restaurants along its banks.
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| The Yarra River with the Eureka Skydeck towering to the left. |
The Rialto where Marie works is one of the oldest building in the city and survived several
We wandered around a bit more and are now camped out in her living room watching Australian sports. Which I don't understand, but the guys are hot, so I'm okay with watching. Also Australian money looks like Monopoly money, so I'm headed out to buy Park Place.
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