A local, relaxed weekend

It has beeb a relatively laid-back weekend, but we still managed to add a bit to our knowledge base.  Wesley arrived Sat on the same flight from Auckland as we were on eight days earlier.  We saw a bit more of suburban Melbourne due to a highway closure and detours getting to the airport but the pick-up went smoothly.  In order to acclimate Wesley to the time change, we conspired to keep him awake through late evening.  The afternoon was spent in the Royal Botanical Gardens, which holds many Australian plants that are exotic to us as well as plants from around the world that are exotic to Australia.  Among the latter were red oak trees, indiginous to northcentral and eastern US--a touch of home!  We had afternoon tea at the gardens, but substituted ice cream and iced coffee as the temperature was about 35 C (95 F).  Although is was hot and we were not moving very fast, we noted that the temperature in Platteville was around 10 F, so that made the heat much less oppressive!

Wesley, Susan, David, Beth on botanical gardens.

Another garden shot.

In the cooler of the evening, we took a walk to St. Kilda beach, which even at 10 pm was alive with folks seeking a bit of respite from the heat.
Sunday started slowly and after lunch all of us headed downtown for some more exploring.  There was a "change" (weather front), so the temperature was significantly moderated.  We first hit the Royal Exhibition Building (built for an exhibition in 1880 and in use for a wedding fair today).  We couldn't go in, but could get a glimpse of the interior through the doors.

Exhibition Building

We then wandered generally west, passing (among many others) the Victorian Trades Hall, the exterior of the old gaol, through China Town, the Rialto Building (now a hotel) on the way back to Federation Square and the tram home.

Memorial to the eight hour day near the Trades Hall.

China Town entrance.

Rear of the restored Rialto Building.  Note the corrugated steel "dunnites" (toilets) perched on the exterior.  These were added at the time Melbourne was first building sewers.  Apparently the city was often referred to as Smellbourne in those days.  (This pic is especially for Sarah!)

Beth put together a picnic supper and we met Andrew and Thea at Victoria Gardens for a free concert in the park.  It was not unlike concerts in the park in Platteville, but a wee bit bigger.  Sal Kimber was the warm-up and Deborah Conway the headliner.  Both were quite good, but Deborah Conway was a bit more enjoyable for me--more energy, a supporting band with back-up singers AND a bass (any band is better with a bass!).

Picnic in Victoria Gardens.  David, Thea, Andrew, Wesley and Beth (CW).

Tomorrow we leave for the Grampians National Park to spend the next three nights.  Weather is looking good, so we'll do a fair amount of bush walking and exploring there.  I'm not sure about internet access (hopefully none!), so it may be a few days till I post again. We may even have to get along for a few days without finding out how the Packers did!