Jun 08

There's not a whole lot I can add to what I've already said about Melbourne. I loved it instantly. On my first morning there, by the time I had walked just a few blocks from my hostel, I felt at home. It reminded me of Portland, though busier and with people speaking in a funny accent. It was what I expected, whatever that was, I just know I wasn't disappointed. And I fell in love with it more the longer I was there.

One of my favorite places in the city was Federation Square. The square is relatively new and everything I had read about it talked about its controversial architecture and whether it fit in with the rest of the city. So before I went there I had the feeling that Melburnians hated the square. Once I was actually there, I didn't have that feeling at all. It felt like the cultural center of the city and so much went on there. The square has a few cafes with outdoor tables, a permanent stage, a huge TV screen, and a lot of space for events, activites, or, on quiet days, just hanging out. There were many times I popped over to Fed Square to see what might be up over there, because there usually was something. It seemed like every weekend there was an ethnic celebration: one week Indian, the next Turkish, one evening a Chinese children's celebration with lanterns and traditional dances. And if nothing happened to be going on, it was enough to pass some time sitting on the warm tiles, reading or people-watching. I thought it was a brilliant place, and I spent my last evening in Melbourne there, watching the final of the Australian Open on the big screen with hundreds of other people who had stuffed into the square to watch as well, while the sun set in front of us next to the city skyline. Talk about making it hard to leave...

I posted some photos before, while I was in Melbourne, but of course I took many more. You can go to my Melbourne album to see the new, and the old, photos I have put online. I ws going to keep them separate, but then you don't get the whole story. I was going to take advantage of Flickr now allowing videos to be uploaded, but all I get when I try to upload a video is a frozen browser. So the videos are included below instead (I hope they work! If not, try again later...).

I tried to take some everyday scene types of photos, especially of some of the beautiful buildings in Melbourne and some of the places I visited most. One day I also walked around part of Ascot Vale, not the area around where I lived, but the area my bus passed through before stopping at the train station, and I took photos of some houses, many of which are typical of Melbourne, or maybe of Australia in general. Some though wouldn't look out of place in Portland. They are in this separate album.

Koalas at the Melbourne Zoo:

Little penguins at the zoo:

Mollydog on the porch (She wasn't being very exciting, though I was trying to get her to run around. She can be a jumpy, excited dog, but it just wasn't happening):