There are nearly 4 million people from all over the world in Melbourne. There are more Italians and Greeks here than anywhere else outside of Italy and Greece. There is also a China town in Melbourne.
We drove around much of the city in 4 hours.
This is an old building which has had many exhibitions over the years.
Nearby was the beautiful and historic St. Patrick's Cathedral - Roman Catholic
Just an interesting House we drove by....
At one point we whizzed by Fitzroy Gardens. In the park was the home of Captain Cook's parents. They dismantled their home in England and rebuilt it in Melbourne! Captain Cook visited but never lived there.
The sports buildings are all down by the river - all white and very different. I only caught a picture of the soccer center as we drove by. Interesting that there is very little parking by the arenas - tennis, rugby, lacrosse, and even football Australian rules. Everyone comes by public transportation. Amazing. The MCG stadium seats 100,000 and is considered an Icon.
The week we were there the Australian FORMULA Grand Prix was happening. Gordon took some time to go check it out and thought it was pretty cool. Over 400,000 were there with him!
Also learned that Melbourne has been chosen as the 'most livable city in the world' for six years running!
Our tour guide said the only downside is that the price of homes is very high.
Next stop was Luna Park by the beach in St. Kilda. It has a long history along with Coney Island in New York.
The roller coaster is the oldest in the world...
This street art/graffiti is very popular in Melbourne. Artists come from around the world to add their touch to the collection. Some is fun, some is beautiful, some is dark.
We ended up at Queen Victoria Market. Had quiche for lunch and looked around for about 45 minutes - meat, fruits, and vegetables were interesting but the rest seemed to be souvenirs and stuff from China. I didn't see any handmade crafts. Not my cup of tea.
Which reminds me...our tour guide used two fun idioms I might start using.
Let's get cracking! Chalk and Cheese!
Others we heard - No one gives a toss! G'day mate!
There are 80,000 total in their Army, Navy and Air Force...active duty.
Greeks are the 2nd largest group in the country and Italians are close behind. Many of the immigrated after the war. Asians are plentiful but he didn't mention how they rank in the population.
This next one should have been by the graffiti...
The tour bus left us at the Market. Some of the group had to get to their excursion for the afternoon/evening, so they had to get back to the hotel.
We made our way back to the Yarra River on the free Tram. Did I mention that most all of the museums, gardens and exhibits are free? The Aussies pay very high taxes. With our income we figured we would pay between 40 and 50 percent! No deductions...yikes!
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