A Weekend Adventure in Melbourne, Australia

How can one describe a weekend  Melbourne?

The 5pm rush hour on a Friday night – when it takes a Shuttle bus an hour to get from Southern Cross Station to Novotel in Collins St – a 20 minute walk,  we later discovered.

The late nite cafes in the Block and Royal Arcades – friendly people, variety of delicious food and live music on Friday and Saturday eves.

All the Laneways – the shopping, businesses, cafes – always crowded, the architecture, the Chocolate shops!

The David Shepherd Shoe Shop in Collins St – a Huge Array of  fantastic footwear  - which I had forgotten about til the last hour before we had to come home.

The Lindi Chocolate Café next door – ideal to recover and reenergize for more shopping.

And the Gazi Greek Restaurant – so popular that you have to book – any time you want to come along – and interesting décor in the toilets.

And then there is the eclectic Curtin House in Swanston St – known as one of Melbourne’s  ‘Vertical Laneways’ – full of Thai Restaurants, art spaces, bars and a roof top bar which shows films from time to time – we love the ambience and food of “Cookie,’ which if busy, has a cosy champagne bar tucked around the corner.

Not to mention Chinatown and the Greek Quarters…..which we did not have time to explore this visit….

Federation Square with its street theatre and interactive art and technology exhibitions, the aboriginal art, is always on our list to check out and over the bridge, the National Gallery of Victoria which currently has an exhibition by the famous portrait photographer Edward Steichen.

Then there is the walk along Southbank, Skydeck  for panoramic views over the city, the Aquarium, DFO shopping centre……

We did not get to the beautiful  St Kilda Beach, the Restaurants in Lygon St, the shops in Chapel or Richmond Streets!  Or Victoria Market. Or to the James Bond Exhibition….   Sigh….  I guess that is all the more reason to return to this exciting city of Melbourne with all its history, architecture, shops, walkways, nooks and crannies and……….

London in the Spring (?!?) 2013

The London winter, reported our daughter, had been ‘Interminable’ and there appeared to be no end in sight. Accordingly we had packed for winter weather, being thankful for the lovley fine merino garments available these days. Sure enough, it was cold - but not wet and by brisk walking to a local turkish cafe for a very nice meal without feeling too much, the effects of the cold. Our only full day in London was spent visiting Rays Jazz Music Shop inside the well-worth-a-visit Foyles bookshop in the Charing Cross Area. Then it was off t to the Kiwi owned ‘Ozone’ - the best place in London for a great cup of coffee “but don’t go on Sundays” we were warned “unless you like an hour long wait to get in.” Our caffiene levels topped up, we then travelled underground to

 the Shard glass building. Opened in 2012, The Shard is London’s tallest building - and newest attraction and well worth a visit. Rising like a huge shard or glass pinching into London’s clouds, the Shard comprises of office space below the famous Shangrila Hotel, topped by several stories of apartments - some still available, and then on the 72nd floor a 360 degree viewing platform. It was cruisey, riding up in a new (and warm) elevator, trotting up new smelling wide wooden stairs instead of narrow ones in church towers, and walking into a spacious viewing room full of glass. The whole experience, enhanced by some modern sci-fi music playing in the background felt rather surreal and there was no feeling of being so high up,unless one looked down out of the windows! The views were fantastic!

 Not like the following day when the cloud descended..... But we noted that judging from the ‘cloud’ displays it appeared that visitors were in for a different experience on days of poor visibility.

Our NZ to London adventure April 2013

Most travelers who fly to London or simlar distances expect to have a stopover somewhere along the way. As Quantas and Emrites now share similar fiights, ours was to be Dubai. What does Dubai really look like? An oasis in the desert - a feast to the parched eye? I was not to receive an answer this trip, becuase not only was it to be dark when we touched down, but the question was, would we land there at all? Apparently there had been a significant rain and sand storm over the city for quite some time and we were only made aware if this when we were asked to prepare for landing, two hours out. Rather strange..... Soon after we were infomed that we would not be landing at Dubai becuase of the storm but would be travellng on to Bahrain to refuel and weather permitting, go back to Dubai. So here we sat, at the end of a long row or refueling aircraft, waiting, waiting waiting... Finally we departed to Dubai, touched down, swapped passengers, boarded and took off in a yellowish foggy dawn and arrived in London around 5 hours late - a total of 29 hours on aircrafts, plus airport time - yikes! no wonder I was so tired......