Travel day -- Sydney to Melbourne, February 9, 2019

Got up!  Sleep – not so good, but we made the plane, after packing and hustling and drinking coffee and having a bit of breakfast that was not nearly as good as the dinner last night – but was considerably healthier.  Whew.  Oh, what a night.

No trouble getting to the airport except that a “regular” size taxi came instead of a larger one.  The four of us, along with suitcase piled in, just barely making it.

Airplane ride fine, and we are now in Melbourne.  We have heard that Sydney is like an American city and Melbourne is like a European city.  Julie is a fan of the latter.  Civilized drivers – no speeding or hopping back and forth from lane to lane, art sculptures everywhere, as well as promenades and beautiful buildings.

We have also heard that if you don’t like the weather in Sydney, wait around for about 10 minutes, and such was the case this afternoon.  It was chilly and windy when we arrived.  We got to our AirBnB and went out for a walk; then it was sunny and warm. :-)

Speaking of our AirBnB, we thought we had a great location and place in Sydney, but this one in Melbourne could not be improved upon.  We are right on the south side of the promenade and river in a complex including a million restaurants, stores, walkways, the symphony hall, a theater complex – you name it, it’s right here.  We are now sitting on our balcony overlooking the promenade and the River Yarra.  We are also listening to a rowdy wedding crew taking pictures on the promenade below.  The tram – which is free all around the center of Melbourne – is about a half a block.    We have a couple of pedestrian bridges close by, and the new city cultural center called Federation Square, is within our patio view.


If you want to know about a perfect location/apartment in Melbourne, let us know!

After we got a bit settled, we walked around soaking in the sights and sounds of Melbourne.  We had a late lunch (like 3 to 4 pm) at a Greek place, and we all stuffed ourselves.  It felt good to walk around and absorb the beauty around us, and we think we have our geographical bearings for our stay here, although since Gil has maps in his brain, we don't have to worry too much about geography.

 I could live here!  Here are some pics of the area where we live this week.

both above and below pics are from our condo patios

And one more.  Remember reading that people/groups are requested to pay home to the aborigines who lived in this area in times gone by?  Here is the sign in the Visitors' Center in downtown Melbourne.