March 10-11, 2012 [Republished to combine text with pictures]
Melbourne was a surprise to me, I expected a smaller town. It is huge, vibrant and reminds me a bit of San Diego with a harbor, and high rise buildings together. But Melbourne also has a river. I was there on a holiday weekend so the town was alive every where. It had a great mix of historical buildings, museums, and modern buildings including a new 88 story high rise tower.
I visited the well preserved Royal Exposition Building, built in 1880 for a world exposition in Melbourne. The building was selected to be listed as a World Heritage Site. All these sites never disappoint the visitor.
Melbourne's downtown was fun, they have a series of "lane ways" which are old narrow street alleys in between the major streets. They have been converted into busy, pedestrian walkways filled with restaurants and shops.
I enjoyed the city for a couple of days. Now on to the city of Cairnes, in north Queensland. This is a tropical zone, hope to see the rain forests.
- Bill
