Melbourne

It was very difficult to wake up this morning after such a late night and we awoke to clouds and rain. Unfortunately the night air didn’t do Mom’s cold any favors. After much discussion we decided that she should just stay in for the day. Bambi picked me up around 11 and took me around exploring Melbourne. As I mentioned yesterday, it is such a beautiful city with the old intermingled with the new. Due to the rain, we had to revise our plans for the day. We started off by going to the Shot House, which was built back in 1847 and as it’s named, was where they made shot for ammunition. Instead of tearing it down when a shopping center was going in they decided to build the center around it. It really is an interesting structure. 

From here we walked around the downtown area so I could see more of the architecture including the old Post Office and Royal Arcade.

Exterior of original post office

Interior of post office building.

They have kept the original facades and in some cases much of the original interiors and now shops and little cafes occupy most of these buildings.

Original tile mosaic floor.

Since it was a Sunday, there were tons of people out shopping. Bambi then took me to the Miter Tavern, which is the oldest building in Melbourne. Sadly, they were closed, so we had to go elsewhere for lunch. We ended up going back to “The Block” in the Royal Arcade where we had a lovely lunch together and I was able to get another “skinny flat white”. I felt like I was learning a foreign language! After lunch she took me around much of the city so I could get a better view of the skyline and see some more of the area. They have a ton of different athletic centers for tennis, and cricket, and aquatic sports – there seemed to be one at every turn.

We crossed over the Yarra River, which cuts through the city and goes out to the ocean. We passed by the large train station that I think looks a bit like it was constructed out of turtle shells. Some of the modern architecture is not to my taste. We also saw the Southern Hemisphere’s tallest building, the Eureka building, but after Dubai, I figured it might be a let down if we went up.

One structure that stands out is the Shrine of Remembrance. It’s a massive memorial dedicated to Victoria’s war dead. It was designed so that a ray of sunlight falls on the Rock of Remembrance on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month, the exact moment of the armistice ending WWI. It was getting late in the afternoon so we started back towards the ship.

We did have to stop one last time to get some Cold Rock ice cream. It is very similar to what we have as Cold Stone, but very different flavors. I had the white cookies and cream and chocolate hazelnut with a little Caramello Koala mixed in. I think I should have gone with the kiddie size, but wow was it good. It was already 5 PM and time for me to get back on board. I said goodbye to Bambi – it was so great to see her! Once back on board I found Mom in the room, not feeling much better. We had to get ready for our last semi-formal evening and of course go and listen to music before dinner.

We have really gotten in to a routine on here. We had dinner with some people we had dined with before. We even got to see the local pilot “jump” from the ship on to the little tug that came up beside us. There was a “multi-instrumental” performance tonight that we ducked into and right back out of and instead went back to the bar where Eric had a final set. Fernando, the cruise director joined us for a bit. It was great to talk to him and get to know a little more about him. He has been with Silversea since the beginning and has some wonderful stories. Time again got away from us and it was heading towards 1 AM. This is the last night we can stay up this late!