On the way to Melbourne

 Let’s address the Elephant in the Room – the flight time from the US to Australia.  The number one comment I hear when I tell people I’m heading to Australia is I’d love to go, but I don’t think I could stand to be on a plane for that long.  The flight time from Los Angeles to Sydney is a little over 14 hours.  If you’re fortunate enough to fly Business this can actually be a pleasant trip.  You have time to sleep, eat at least two meals, and watch a movie or two or three.  If you’re not in a lay flat seat, it still may be preferred to spending the day with in-laws on Christmas or having a root canal , but it won’t be the worst thing you’ll ever experience in your lifetime, not by a long shot.

We left LA around midnight after a mechanically delay.  Upon take-off we had a nice dinner and I watched Conclave which I had missed when released in the theatres.  I read some on my book then slept for a few hours.  Upon waking I finished my book and had breakfast.  Honestly, this should not be a barrier if Australia is on your travel bucket list.

From Sydney we flew on to Melbourne where we met our friends that we’re spending the better part of two weeks with.  We have traveled several times with them as well as spending the Christmas holidays together so we knew we could give each other space when needed while enjoying each other’s company the rest of the time.  We are also incredibly fortunate that they enjoy playing travel agent and choosing our itinerary for the trip.

Our base for the next couple of days in Melbourne was in Chinatown.  This is not a large area but it’s very near the places we would visit.  We took showers and naps before taking a little walking tour of the area.  Melbourne was greatly influenced during the gold rush starting in 1851.  It was the richest city in the world during this 20 year period and there are many signs of this around the city.  It has a very European feel with wide boulevards mixed with smaller streets and even smaller alleyways.  Small restaurants and bars line the alleys with a wide variety of food offerings.  Our youngest son lived here for six months and couldn’t say enough about the food offerings. 

Late afternoon we took our first walking tour of the city.  We didn’t make it very far before finding a gallery representing Aboriginal artists.  The works were mainly on oil cloth that has been laid on the ground for painting.  I’m sure you know what this art style is, mainly being created using dots.  What you may not realize is how rooted it is to nature.  We found a lovely piece to take home with us as a reminder of our trip.

We walked through a park to take a look at Captain Cook’s,  who discovered Australia for the British, home that had been deconstructed and brought here as a tribute to him.  It’s quite obvious they were much smaller people back then or they spent much of their lives bent over.

Our first evening, we meet a friend from our photography adventures for dinner at Builder’s Arms Hotel.  Having an upscale pub feeling, the food and drinks were what we needed after our trip.  I should mention that our trip started on the first day of a four day holiday of Easter where many restaurants and shops are closed.  Our timing could have been better but we managed to keep ourselves feed and entertained. 

Tomorrow: Walking Melbourne and a little comedy