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……….

Winter magic in St Petersburg

Every day I discover another magical feature about St Petersberg in winter, and I am going to share this one with you.

Outside our window on the 9th Floor of Novotel, we look down on to a park area, which we understand is part of a school. It is always covered with white snow, and is lit up with round lights (Balls) on top of posts in neat lines. There are also black trees covered with white snow. Not matter what time of day of night I look out, there are always black figures there, sometimes with children, sometimes alone, sometimes with dogs.

Last evening at about 10pm. after dining at a local Russian Restaurant,I decided to check the park out. On the slightly crunchy, but powdery white snow, there were several foot prints, many of which led to the middle of the park.

In the middle of the park stood about 15 people, in a large circle, each with a dog. Each dog was different - an alsation, a small dark terrier with black pointy ears, oblong face with moustache to describe a couple. Two of the larger dogs appeared to be playing soccer, under the instructions of their owners. A couple of other dogs spotted me and rushed over in the snow, but were quickly called over by their owners. It looked to me, to be dog school!

The night was black, the smally white snowflakes had stopped swirling, and the surrealness of this winter scene made me want to pinch myself, was this winter magic in St Petersburg acutally real?

Wait til I find out how to post photos......

Our Holiday - the Hong Kong Visit

As I sit in a warm hotel in Helsinki, Finland waiting for a flight to take us to St Petersburg I wonder if I an really prepared for the cold.

Hong Kong was warm, not hot. Ideal for staying there - December, that is.

As soon as we arrived at our hotel, Chris' dancing partner phoned to take him out. But he does not dance! Rae waited and waited for someone to take her out, but, no phone call. But she did find a place where ladies are welcome to dance on the bar....


What an interesting city HK is! Shopping, walking, street signs, busy, bustlng. We stayed at Novotel, in the middle of 'bathroom alley' where every second shop sold baths, baisins, plumbing. toilets, fittings. Other shops were small factories of various types, and people used trolleys along the footpaths for deliveries.

Interesting smells, too, off dust, spices, occasional tobacco and occasional sewerage. Also iteresting to note was the number of parks, smoke free, with designated places for smokers. Some gardens were made up of pot plant. I cant remember the name - a common one which has red leaves on the top.

While HongKong is squashed and crowded building wise Kowloon is more open with wide streets and more spaced out tall and smaller buildings. The Ladies Market is worth a visit for copies of handbags, watches etc, and the 'golden mile' is great for duty free shopping, And the sales are on in December, too!

On one day we travelled to Macau, and hour away by fast ferry. Many casinos, all sumptuous in decor. The newly opened casino just this month, is shaped like a huge lily. In Macaw there is a skytower, built by the New Zealander who built Auckland's sky tower. Yes A J Hackett offers bunjy jumping there too

It is after 5pm and it has been dark for ages. I have been to the gym as we had a 10 hour flight today, repacked my suitcase, done my nails - what else does one do at an airport hotel??? Hit the hotel bar I suppose...