An Impromptu Trip to Melbourne

The Australian Open officially went underway on the 16th of January. As I was sitting here, knowing it was going on, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I would kick myself for eternity if I knew I was this close to the action and didn’t go. So, we booked flights to leave on the 17th and headed to Melbourne for a few days! This wasn’t a place that was originally on the list of must-see places, but I am very happy to have made the decision to go because, in addition to seeing some tennis, the city was clean, diverse and a bit funky.

Australian Open

We arrived in Melbourne on Tuesday night and the temperature was in the 90s. They had had to suspend many of the matches at the Open because of the extreme heat. Our tickets were general admission tickets for Wednesday and the weather had done a complete 180. Instead of heat, we got rain and 60 degrees. All outdoor activity was delayed for much of the day. Fortunately, our ticket did give us access to one of the arenas where the roof could be closed so we were still able to watch some good matches. One grand slam down, three to go!

Street Art

Melbourne is known for its street art. There are streets and lanes tucked throughout the central business district that are full of murals that change frequently. Here are some shots of what the current art looks like.

Shrine of Remembrance and Royal Botanical Garden

The Shrine of Remembrance was originally built as a memorial to Australians who were killed in World War One. It has now extended to be a place of remembrance for Australians who served in all wars. The shrine housed a very well done museum (which I didn’t take many pictures of) in the basement, a sanctuary in the main floor and a balcony with a great view at the top of the building. We happened to be there at the right time to be able to witness a short service that is performed once a month where they say a few words and give everyone poppies to offer to those they want to remember. It was a very special experience.

The last four pictures are from the Royal Botanical Gardens which was a beautiful oasis in the middle of the city.

Other Randoms

Enjoying some outdoor tennis in Federation Square

Stopped at Queen Victoria market to get a quick feeling of being back in Asia…The prices were definitely not reminiscent of Asia though!

Luna Park was built in 1912, modeled off the amusement park on Coney Island. It wasn’t terribly expensive to get in, but we decided to pinch our pennies a bit and passed on going inside.

Near Luna Park is the St Kilda Pier where you can see rock hopper penguins as they make their way back in for the night. Supposedly, they come back in around sunset, so we found a spot on the dock to watch (with a bunch of other people) and waited…and waited…and waited. In total we saw maybe three penguins and they were so far away, all you could see was the white of their bellies. It was a bit disappointing. It did allow for the opportunity to take a nice night skyline view photo though!

Who goes to visit a library when they are on a trip?? I do! This was the State Library Victoria, which was better than any library I have ever seen. Almost made me wish I was back in college so I had reason to go hang out there!