Melbourne CBD

Melbourne is a large city of around 4 million on the Yarra River. It wasn't settled until the 1830's and really grew during the gold rush of the 1870's. Many grand buildings survive from that period.

The next boom started after WW2 and an large influx of immigrants from around the world have made this a cosmopolitan city.

It definitely has become a vertical city.

Some of the defining features we noted were:

The waterfront promenade along each side of the river.

The arcades; enclosed indoor shopping pedestrian malls dating back to the 1800's.

Interconnecting alleys. These have been developed into small bars, bistros and restaurants where everyone seems to stop for a drink after work!

Every square inch has been converted into a drinking establishment, even the bridge piers!

Wall art... legal graffiti in a lot of the alleys. In my opinion, there is too much of it and I am not sure I would want it defining the modern culture of my city.

Our tour of the city began with a tram ride from St Kilda to the CBD. This was only an 18 minute ride on the fabulous transportation system.

The CBD is a 1 mile by 1/2 mile grid. We started by following a "Lonely Planet" walking tour then joined up with an organized tour mid-afternoon to get a narrative of the history of Melbourne.

During our wanderings, we encountered the funeral procession for one of Australia's former Prime Ministers, Malcolm Fraser.

Apparently, the Vietnamese immigrants really liked him.

A spectacular building we visited was the State Library.

I was so glad we took the transit ride after seeing the parking rates.... The tram was $7.60....

We had walked for at least 12 km so really looked forward to the tram ride home. Even though it was the peak rush hour, we had no problem getting on our tram and a seat for a ride back to our apartment.

It was time to do a quick laundry before supper. After that was complete,we walked a couple of blocks to the local street full of eateries. We picked a Malaysian restaurant and had one of the best "chop stick" meals we have had on our trip.