A Walkabout in Downtown Melbourne

One of the highlights of any visit to Melbourne is a visit to the Gardens - in this case the Fitzroy which is one of many which make this city a walker's delight.  And right in the middle of the Fitzroy is Captain Cook's house!  No, he wasn't an Australian but is responsible for much of the early cartography thanks to his numerous sea-faring adventures (they weren't called 'Cooks' Tours for nuthin!).  So Melbournians dismantled his house in merry olde England and brought it here and painstakingly reassembled it!

And look at the merry old Englanders we meet here!  Our very own Debbie and Paul!  No, this was not a serendipitous traveling encounter - we realized we'd all be in Melbourne at the same time and agreed to meet up, prior to meeting Sally and Richard for lunch later.  Can't believe how delighted we are to see them and we just left them in Fiji a little over a month ago.

They, however, have a bit more dignity than we do and decline the guide's offer to 'dress-up' in some period clothes.  Not us!  Do we look authentic or what?? 

We all love the house tour and gawp, speechless, at the map of Cook's travels.  I need to find a bio of this remarkable guy.

And then it's off to meet Sally and Richard for lunch followed by a tour of the 'alleys' which is Melbourne 'must see'.  First a quick look at the Model Tudor Village, a touching tribute to the efforts of Australians after WWII . . . 

And to lunch at a wonderful cafe right on the river.

And then off to the 'alleys'.  Sally could be a tour guide!  She shepherds us through a maze (at least it feels like that to us) of streets and then, voila!  This is the ultimate in tagging, street art, public art - you name it, it's absolutely wonderful and Melbourne has embraced it with enthusiasm.

 This was one of my favorites; look at the window to get a sense of the size of this.

 This reminded me of psychedelic (does anyone even use that term any more??) street art I saw in Venice Beach, CA 40+ years ago.  (no, I was not wearing my pink blouse!)

This is all done with spray paint!! I can barely manage to paint an old chair without getting it all over myself and the surroundings.  What talent and how wonderful that Melbourne celebrates it rather than criminalizes it.  What a city!!

Now we're on to Fed Square and another of Sally's favorite tour stops.  Cities need squares (Times Square, Trafalgar Square, Red Square) and Melbourne's has this lovely air of civility and energy.  We take a break:

One more wander through an arcade of shops, oh so lovely and historic at the same time.  These are not curio, tourist places; they're real shops (in fact, Sally stops at her hair salon to confirm an appointment).  My memory being what it is, the name of this arcade eludes me right now but it was marvelous.

This clock is the centerpiece of the - hold on folks, the name just came back to me - The Royal Arcade!

Did I mention that Melbournians know how to live?  Witness this lovely spirit bar, in the Royal Arcade, a welcome respite for all.   This is truly a delightful, most livable city.