Melbourne, Australia

December 25, 2023

It’s MELbuhn to all who pronounce it correctly, and this second-largest city on the continent is
modern, exciting, popular and in total competition with Sydney in every imaginable sport and topic and
population. We were here on Sunday and Monday, it’s already summer break for schools AND the
holidays, so the streets, trams, and popular spots to view Christmas window decorations were bustling
or had long lines of excited young families. Oh, and it is repeatedly voted one of the top 10 Most Live-
able Cities in the World. We can now see why.
Sunday, we had a tour, so our bus took us into the fray. After driving through the restored financial
district, the sporting complexes, and art communities, after gawking at the wide streets that are
manicured and tree-lined, after enjoying a snarky guide, we visited their main historical museum. I told
a nearby docent that it’s the BEST museum I’ve seen in any around the world. She had tears. We had
time only to visit the First People exhibit and to begin to see artifacts and listen to videotaped personal
histories. The docent, upon learning we were American asked, “How near to Montana are you?” then
sent us to the upscale dinosaur exhibit where a Triceratops is displayed, dug from a pit in Montana and
somehow purchased by this museum.

WWII Memorial

View from the Memorial to Downtown

WWI Memorial meant to look like trenches

History buffs will recognize the Battle of Gallipoli in WWI, a sadly heroic amphibious landing in the
wrong place at the wrong time. Winston Churchill was much more successful in WWII than in WWI.
Read about it if you have some moments. Keep a tissue handy. Heroism and courage still wins. Anyway, a large memorial to this battle is part of the war memorial in Melbourne. Poignant and sobering and informative. Across the street was the mammoth Botanical Gardens. Soothing and lush.
Then we changed emotional gears and rode an elevator 88 floors to view the metropolis from above.
Luckily it was a clear day and the photos may give you a nice view.

Entrance to Botanical Garden

Springtime!

Our second day in Melbourne (overnighted in the port) allowed us to go out on our own. Purchasing a
tram ticket was perplexing, but a local young woman with cappuccino in hand noticed our line and came to help. What an angel!!! “My husband will wonder where I am; I just stepped out for a coffee. We should make this easier for tourists to figure out.”

We rode to downtown (“CBD” in Aussie standing for Central Business District) to walk, to gawk, and to enjoy. First we found Myers department store, famous for its Christmas windows. The lines were huge so we wimped out and kept walking. The 3 motorized reindeer singing barbershop (four parts) attracted a large contingent of fans. A free tram makes an hour-long circle of the interior of the city (CBD), so we rode it and watched people. The #35 line of trams have been refurbished from the 30’s and are obvious. It was supposed to have narration, which it did, but the noise through the open windows, particularly its own brakes made the narration almost impossible to hear. It was pretty spotty anyway. We had a relatively cool day, but wondered what this older tram is like when it is hot as there does not appear to be air conditioning. A last bottle of wine for our last three dinners was purchased before heading back to the ship for naps.