MELBOURNE

20^th November, 2014

While camped on the Mornington Peninsular we took the opportunity to do a day trip into Melbourne city on the train.  With the train station right beside the campground it was an easy matter to walk over to the station and take the two carriage commuter train to Frankston.  The trains doing the round trip from Frankston to Flinders Street (the main train station in Melbourne) run every 15 minutes so it was a quick changeover from the Stony Point train to the Melbourne train and 40 minutes later we were standing on the platform in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD.  We crossed the road to the Information Centre in Federation Square

Information Centre in Federation Square

and from there we could really appreciate the ‘olde worlde’ architecture of the Flinders Street railway station

Flinders Street Station

and Saint Paul’s cathedral.

St Paul's

We’re not so sure about the modernistic style of architecture in Federation Square itself

Modern Architecture in Federation Square

but there was certainly something for everyone (architecturally speaking) on all sides of the square.  As we took in the high rise vista an icon of Melbourne’s public transport system rumbled by.

Melbourne Tram

We’re so happy that at least one capital city in Australia retained their tram system.  They might not be the best option for modern day commuters but for a hands on travel experience they can’t be beat.  We found where all the two wheel commuters park their motor bikes as we walked along Little Collins Street

Motor Bikes on the footpath in Little Collins Street

and in Collins Street itself we window shopped at all the brand name stores.

Collins Street

The security guard at Tiffany’s gave us a long hard look as we loitered in the doorway admiring some obscure architectural feature on the building opposite.  After wandering the streets we finally made our way back to the train station and crossed the bridge over the Yarra River

Melbourne high rise along the Yarra River

to the Arts Complex on the other side.

Arts Complex Melbourne

We were getting rather hungry as it was way past lunchtime so we stopped for a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants along the river at Southgate where we watched the tourist ferries plying up and down the river.

View across Yarra River to Flinders Station and Federation Square Melbourne

After our late lunch we strolled along the riverbank and eventually made our way back to the footbridge which crossed over to the train station.  We were amused to see the hundreds of locks that had been placed on the bridge railings.

Lovers Locks - Melbourne

The tradition of couples showing their commitment to each other by placing a lock on a bridge or railing of some structure seems to have also become quite popular here.  We saw many instances of this in lots of different countries on our overseas travels.  Before we made our way to the train station we took one last look at the view across the river to Southgate.

View across Yarra towards Southgate from Flinders Station

Our trip today was just to do a bit of sightseeing and enjoy the train journey without having the hassle of driving Mitzi in the city traffic and trying to find somewhere to park.  Our goal had been attained and the photos in this blog are just a snapshot of what there is to see in Melbourne.