Friday, October 16, 2015

MELBOURNE AND THINGS I NOTICED

On our arrival in St. Kilda – it was clear that we were very close to the ocean.  It is a lovely spot to settle for a few days.  There is a street half a block away that offers walking, dining, coffee and all the baked good you could possible want to eat or even see in your lifetime.  They are practically on top of one another in the short block.  I don’t know how that all manage to stay in business.  They all sell the same goods and using grandma’s 100 year old recipe for cheesecake…didn’t even know that cheesecake was 100 years old. 
Today, Laureen and I went downtown on the tram (electric street car) and wandered around for about 5 hours.  Of course today was a day that I forgot to take my fitbit, so it looks as though I have been sitting around for the day. DRAT.  There is quite a large city area in Melbourne that has free transit.  We were able to take advantage of a couple of routes and found it so very easy to get around.  There are a lot of tram routes.  Each major street and cross street has a tram that travels the line.  Evidently Sydney used to have this system years ago and took it out and now are spending huge dollars to install and run the lines once again.
This part is for you, Kit.  Everywhere we have travelled we see quilt patterns.  The counter in a bar, pavers on the street, a restaurant wall and the floor tile in front of the elevator in our hotel.  There are many.  After some of the recognizable patterns practically hit me in the eyes while walking, I now find myself looking for them everywhere and am not disappointed very often.  It has made the adventure that much more interesting. 
Both in Sydney and Melbourne – they have strict laws to do with the heritage buildings.  The facades must be as they were when they were built.  They can have new construction in behind, but they must leave the frontage in its original state.  It makes for a very interesting contrast of old and new. 
We are still very lucky to be enjoying many sunny days.  It is a bit cooler just now in Melbourne, but if you keep in the sunshine it is comfortable to be wearing just a t-shirt.  On the shady side of the street, a jacket is more preferable.
 
 
 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for the "quilt" pictures! Glad that Melbourne, as many cities in Australia, is staying "original". I remember St Kilda very well! Those tiles are like the Moroccan tiles other quilters and stained class find inspiration from.
Love you!

Brother Brian said...

I think I had a slice of 100 year old cheesecake once. Definitely not a first choice. Go for fresh every time you get a chance. Interesting about the Quilt patterns. Joan is busy with her new find - Funky Squares - and is going great guns on them. She is winding up for the quilt show next year and wanted to do a new one.

Weather is changing here and cool is the new pattern with misty rain at the moment. Terrible rains down in California where highway I 5 has been buried in mud well up to the windows of the trapped cars. I don't know how they will get it all cleared away as more rain is scheduled. It seems their rain dance finally worked! Lots of love,