"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 39 Melbourne, Australia February 8, 2016 Monday Partly cloudy & 69 degrees Part #1 of 3 80 Pictures

Sent: Monday, February 8, 2016 5:14:05 PM
Subject: Report # 39 Melbourne, Australia February 8, 2016 Monday Partly cloudy & 69 degrees Part #1 of 3 80 Pictures

Report # 39 Melbourne, Australia February 8, 2016 Monday Partly cloudy & 69 degrees Part # 1 of 3

Melbourne is a big city in the state of Victoria. Over 4 million folks live here. Originally populated with expats from Sydney, Melbourne grew rapidly after the mid 1800's gold rush. The city's character evolved with their architecture, parks, green spaces, and cultural institutions. At one point, both Melbourne and Sydney vied for the capital of the country. However, Canberra won out as the midpoint city. However, Melbourne did have the county seat until the newer city of Canberra was completed.

Melbourne was the sight of the 1956 Summer Olympic Games, showcasing this city to the world.

What is there to see? There is the Arts Center, the Eureka Skydeck 88, the Southern Hemisphere's highest viewing platform, and The Shrine of Remembrance, a war memorial dedicated in 1934. Flinders Street Station, the colonial style railway station, the Parliament House , the first seat of the Australian federal government, and the Melbourne Museum, the largest museum in the Southern Hemisphere. And one of our most favorite places, the Royal Botanic Gardens, where we would spend most of the day.

What about going out of town? On past visits, we have gone to the Mount Dandenong Observatory, 2000 feet in elevation with impressive views of the mountain ranges. The Puffing Billy Steam Train is fun, where you ride the narrow-gauge steam train over the woods and through the farmlands. Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary is a complex where you can see over 200 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles native to Australia. The wineries in the Yarra Valley are marvelous to tour and sample some of the finest vintages you can find.

Since this is the first port in Australia that we stopped, it was mandatory that we have a face-to-passport with the local officials. Yesterday, we got a letter requesting us to disembark the ship by 10:30am. Group numbers started with # 5, beginning at 8:00am. Our number was actually the letter S, where we could go off any time we wished. This was a "zero count" process, where every person had to be cleared before anyone would be allowed back on the ship.

So we went to breakfast as usual, gathered our things, including the passports and letter, and went through the Australian Immigrations check quite quickly. Sometimes, the staff will ask for your letter, but today they did not. We always carry it with us, because sometimes people get grumpy and think some folks are jumping the line, like # 20 going ahead of # 7, for instance. We have seen line fights, believe it or not. Once past the officials, our passports were gathered to take back onboard.

Free to go, we took off through the terminal building. We were joined by another group of passengers from the Europa, a small 5 plus star luxury vessel, that holds from 400 to 450 guests. She is 28,890 gross tons and was christened in 1999. Owned by Hapag-Lloyd, the Europa is a German/English speaking ship with 280 crew, 14 zodiac boats, and 20 bicycles to use for free. It is also all-inclusive, and very, very pricey.

The last time we were here, which was last year, we had bought public transport tickets called myki. It's a transit card that works by tapping it on the trains and buses. We still had half of the money we had originally paid for ($14 Australia $), and only needed to add a little more to get to the city center and back to the pier. Easy.

So we got on the bus, that drove us to the center of town. It was from that point, the Arts Center, that we began our hike to the Royal Botanic Gardens, a 94 acre park, an inner city oasis. Started in 1846, the gardens are full of plants and trees, some 50,000 of them. There are 9000 species from around the world in this park. We have always taken the same walk, but never took the time to really get to the main park grounds by going through the Lych Gate. This time, we entered the park and followed the pathways and signage to access all of the sites. It was a wonderful discovery for us to see the amount of trees that we recognized that we also have growing in northern California. Right on our own property. The best part were the bird sightings. So many of them are only here in Australia. We could have spent double the hours exploring this massive park, but we had limited time.

So we ended back and walked along the Yarra River, that flows right through the city. Besides being scenic, this river is where boaters race, and have done so for many years. Great place to see the black swans, that love basking in the sun by the river's edge.

Since it was getting close to lunchtime, we crossed the river on St. Kilda Road, and walked to the corner of Federation Square, Flinder's Street Station, and St. Paul's Cathedral. Even on a Monday, this area was crowded with locals and tourists alike. Turning right, we walked to Fitzroy Gardens, past the Old Treasury Building, the Parliament House, and on to Carlton Gardens. The Royal Exhibition Building as well as the Melbourne Museum are in this beautiful setting.

If it had been opened, we would have gone to the Queen Victoria Market, a huge complex where you can buy fresh produce and a ton of souvenirs. At least we saved some money by it being closed. With our excellent maps we had picked up in the cruise terminal, we had no problem finding the Metropolitan Hotel, a cozy place that serves wood-fired pizza. Located on the corner of William Street and Lt. Lonsdale, we found the majority of the crowd was gone, and we had no trouble finding a table by the window.

Guess you all can figure out what we ordered….a margherita pizza, naturally, and two Carlton beers. After the long hike up and down the hilly streets, it was more than wonderful to sit and relax with those ice cold brews. Since we had missed the Superbowl, we got to listen to the last 60 seconds of it in the restaurant. We are happy for our Colorado friends, since Denver won. We do remember the thrill when the San Francisco 49ers won the Superbowl more than once……..many years back now. Those were the days……………

It was time to head back to Collins Street and the 109 tram back to Melbourne Pier. All aboard was 4pm, because we all were required to attend a muster drill by 4:15pm. We had left a little extra time for when we got back to the pier, we could find the gelato shop, and get some ice cream. By now, the skies had cleared completely, and the sun was warm if you stayed out of the wind. We sat on the waterfront watching a fellow trying to get some altitude by one of those water pressure lifts in the harbor. He was doing a whole lot of flips and belly flops in the surf. Looks easy, but it obviously wasn't.

Well, the muster drill was unusual to say the least. We gathered on the lower promenade deck, and stood in the chilly wind. Once the boat commanders got the roll call done, the Captain never followed up with his normal safety talk. The boat drill crew did not demonstrate the life jackets either. After 20 minutes of standing there shivering, we were dismissed. At least, we should not have to repeat this drill again in Sydney. Maybe only the newly embarked guests will have to attend.

This particular drill reminded us of last year's, when our friend Ellen W, failed to show up for the exercise. She had been caught up in traffic and missed the ship. In all of her years of sailing, perhaps 50 years, she was never ever late. Well, this time there had been traffic jams, and she literally watched from her private car with relatives as the Amsterdam left the port. Lucky for her, and $400 in the hole, she was able to fly to Adelaide and join us there. So, therefore, we dedicate this lovely day in Melbourne to her. She is not here this year, but we bet she is thinking of all of us today.

Barb had stayed near the ship, and went to the Superbowl activities in the Queens Lounge at 10:30am. She loves sports, and never misses the games. We asked her how many folks were at that game time, and she jokingly said 8. Not really, but most of the peole chose to go see Melbourne instead. They did repeat the game at 5pm, and included the special drink packages again.. We are sure they attracted another group, who chose to make it their dinnertime, snacking on their specially prepared "football" fare.

We all showed up for dinner, and the two of us ordered meatballs and spaghetti. We know it doesn't sound like gourmet cuisine, but it is good old comfort food that one of us loves. It is the first time we have seen it on the dinner menu. Comes with garlic bread too. Because of the football show in the Queens Lounge, there was no entertainment tonight. But there is always the Piano Bar, where Debby Bacon always keeps the folks happy with her sing-a-longs and singo-bingo, or name that tune events. Always fun, we hear.

Looking forward to a lazy day at sea tomorrow, Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras Day.

Bill & Mary Ann

The Europa was in port with us