Melbourne, Victoria - September 2013
Flinder's Street Station couldn't be mistaken for any other building. Maybe it's because it faces the diagonal across the intersection. We walked there on our way to catch the free city bus.
The Royal Botanical Gardens
We arrived at the Royal Botanical Gardens and planned our walking route with the staff who were very helpful.
These shrub sculptures were the finest we'd seen anywhere.
We didn't know what story goes with this piece of art which was incorporated into the paving.
The Children's Garden was even fun for adults. The fencing and artful side walks made it a fantasy carried out in nature.
The gardens were well groomed and very colorful for what would be the first part of March in the US.
20
25
The garden gates displayed beautiful iron work.
We had never seen the landscaping spill out into the driveway like this one did. It certainly made us feel it was alive and crawling, or growing.
The technique was carried out all around the Volcano section, as it was named.
A pair of ducks were fast asleep on one of the islands.
We were told that the water areas in the Garden were once part of the river, but were cut off but kept as waterways.
These shrubs looked like two different kinds of jade plant.
This was on the outskirts of the garden.
Federation Square
The buildings at Federation Square were very unusual. We took an elevator to the information office on a lower level and bought our tickets for our next day's tour of The Great Ocean Road.
The State Library of Victoria
We walked to the State Library of Victoria from our hotel. Only a glimpse of of the top it's huge dome can be seen from this view.
The library was designed for a collection of a million books and to accommodate 500 users at the same time. It originally opened in 1856.
On our way back we noted the city bikes for rent, like we saw in Brisbane. There was a football game planned for the stadium that evening and the pedestrian traffic increased on the main streets so we chose a different route returning to the hotel.
The street traffic was very efficient for moving people, cars and the trollies with multiple cars like small commuter trains. There was little lost time between signals and no honking horns or backed up traffic. Of particular interest was the No right turn except from left lane signs posted on intersections with crossing trolley traffic.
Much of the recent building architecture was quite radical and interesting.
In contrast to those buildings, this Catholic Church, just across from our hotel, was tucked into the midst of all the newer buildings.
The Royal Exhibition Building
The Royal Exhibition Building and its surrounding Carlton Gardens were designed for the great international exhibitions of 1880 and 1888 in Melbourne.
The Carlton gardens were extensive.
>
Looking into the Exhibition Hall from the back.
The museum entrance.
The following are some of what we saw inside.
This was a representation of a flying eagle, illustrating the story time for aboriginal folklore. The pieces were supported on a revolving cylinder in the ceiling creating the movement, and lighting played from below to create the effects.
The museum opened to the outside in the back.
An atrium.
