Road Trip...

DSIL#1 - "I have a couple of Stamp Albums you can have - come for Lunch"

I must admit I could get used to having a view like this from my Kitchen window.

And the 'Couple of Albums' turned out to be BIL's extensive Collection of First Day Covers.  

Apparently, we now collect other peoples Stamp Albums....

So that is how we found ourselves having an unplanned weekend away in Ballarat.

 

Ballarat is only 90 mins from home but we decided to turn this into an early Birthday treat and stay overnight at the RACV Resort.

So, having nowhere to go but Home and all day to get there, we took the opportunity to visit the Creswick Woollen Mill.

We wandered into the past looking at the old tools, and weaved our way through a portion of the 100 meters of the World's Longest Picnic Rug

 (Guinness Record 6-10-2011)

We read about their advances in Fire Blanket Technology for the CFA

and walked past silent looms. 

(The blankets are now woven in Waverley Mills Launceston TAS and finished at Creswick.)

All that was left was to spend way too much time in the Mill Store.

Checking out the beautiful Woollen Blankets and clothing.

And who could resist a basket full of Alpaca Offcuts.....

Gone Forever ...

It was once a New Home in a New Housing Estate.

Built with Hopes and Dreams of a Family to share.

The elderly owner - All alone when we moved into the street, taught me how you can live your Senior years with Grace and Good Humour.

She eventually moved to be with her Son in Queensland and I missed those conversations at the Gate.

Today, The heavy equipment came in and reduced it to a pile of rubble - to be taken away and Hopefully, Recycled.

More of Our Street's History - Gone forever.

Another pair of 2 Story Townhouses are taking it's place.

What Hopes and Dreams will come and share our Street? 

We may never know, because Unfortunately, these Homes no longer come with Conversations at the Gate.

Pharaoh at NGV

"The British Museum is delighted to present Pharaoh - Our first collaborative Exhibition with National Gallery of Victoria"

 500 Items spanning 3000 years on exhibition in Melbourne.

Having been privileged to see the Tutankhamun Exhibit at the Melbourne Museum in 2011 (and not permitted to take photographs) I was excited to attend this exhibit.

It was awesome - 

From the Grandest Statue. 

(Statue Pharaoh Ramses II as a High Priest.)

1279 - 1213 BCE

To the smallest bead, 

(This Spacer Bead - used to separate several strands of Beads). 1069 - 656 BCE

And QR Codes to See the Back of things...

(Which BTW still works - so try it!)

The Kids also had easier to understand explanations.

Eyes that gaze across the Centuries.

Mentuhotep II

c 2055 - 2004 BCE

Hoping for Immortality after death.

He lived and died 2000 years before Christ.

To have His Name and deeds not forgotten. 

Surely this is immortality.

* * *

With so many exhibits

I couldn't read all the detail plaques, so decided to buy the souvenir book.

267 pages of Photos, Maps, History and in-depth background information. It complimented the Exhibit perfectly.

JUNE

 What do you do when it is your Birthday on a Cold day in June?

Go to the Zoo and hang out with the Butterflies!

OR

Have a Chat with a T Rex

(The Dinosaurs are only here until July 14th)

And then it Rained

The gentle rain on the roof of the carriage was the first indication that today was not going to go as planned.

Our First delay was because a Storm flooded one of the Tunnels. So while we slept, *someone was sent find out if it was safe for us to continue.

By 9:45am we were at Wangaratta waiting again - this time for Paramedics to attend a Medical Emergency.  

Needless to say we were not going to be in Melbourne by 10:45 am.  

We finally pulled in to Broadmeadows Station at 12:20.  

Our Excursion to the MCG had been cancelled and we were taken directly to Lunch.  

Passing familiar streets to a non-existant commentary as neither the Driver or Guide had ever had to 'Do a Tour' before.

(Maybe they could be forgiven because they were both from Adelaide!)

The Eureka Tower was the World's tallest residential building when finished in October 2006.

It is named after the 1854 Eureka Stockade Rebellion with references being incorporated into it's design. 

It hosts the Annual Eureka Climb where participants climb the 1642 Steps to the Observation Deck

(Current record is 7 minutes to climb 88 Floors).

I can tick this one off the list - 

ONE Floor counts doesn't it?

The Observation Deck on the 88th Floor is currently the Highest Public Vantage Point in the Southern Hemisphere.

And WOW what a View!

If you want to see Melbourne  - Then this is the place to be.

It was hard to choose which photo to post.

We enjoyed ALL the activities Skydeck had to offer including going out on "The Edge"!

And then on to the 89th Floor - The Highest Restaurant and Bar in the Southern Hemisphere

Featuring a Modern Australian Menu the Meal was simply elegant.

From here it was back on the Coach to rejoin Our Train and continue our Journey.

*Total respect to people who do this so we can be safe.

Out of the Blue. .

Sunday Phone call..

"Hi Wendy, are you doing anything tomorrow night?"

You see I am sick and we have concert tickets and can't go

Would you like them?

And this is How DH and I ended up at the Sold Out 'Russell Morris in Concert with the Southern Cross Orchestra' at Melbourne's Hamer Hall.

It was an awesome night of Stories and Songs from an entertainer that I only knew by his Hit Song

 "The Real Thing".

My Neighbour is still trying to find out the cause of her illness but is slowly getting better.

And,  although we were told not to, 

knowing how Big a Fan He is - 

(The concert tickets were a Gift to her DH)

We brought them home an Autographed Program.  

It was the least we could do to say Thank you!

Coffee With the Giraffes

Today we decided it was a nice day so we went and had our Morning Coffee with The Giraffes.  

After all - The Zoo is not that far away and we should go more often.

So Coffee with the Giraffes it was.

But then - There was more than Lattes and Coffee Scrolls on the Menu.

We were fortunate enough to arrive right on Feeding Time and All the Big Cats were out.

AND I had brought my Canon 760D with the 18-135 mm Lens just to see what it could do.

As far as Cameras go - It is getting a bit on the "Old Tech" side but still...

I wasn't disappointed with these shots of Our Beautiful Snow Leopards. 

It breaks my heart to know that these Magnificent Creatures are still being Hunted Today and are under Threat of Extinction.

Check this Post from the Zoological Society of Auckland for a great write up on Our Snow Leopards and their Habitat.

Continuing on through the Carnivores Trail I caught a glimpse of our elusive Sumatran Tiger.

I have other Photos of this Beauty from previous trips to the Zoo but today Indrah was on the hunt as she was very aware that her Keepers were just meters away

 - On the OTHER side of the fence!

I was very pleased with todays 'Photo Shoot' and look forward to spending time with the Other Residents of Melbourne Zoo.

Getting Pedantic - AKA Research!

THIS is an example of why the "Great Photo Cull of 2023" is taking so long.

Melbourne has FOUR Airports. The details are below this Post.

We live under the Flight Paths of Essendon and Tullamarine and therefore have some Interesting air Traffic overhead.  These are the Photos I am sorting through today.

Not content to just cull the blurry ones

and Rename the photos as the Camera file names are now being duplicated

I decided to Identify the Aircraft.

Some are Very easy - Our Flying Kangaroo is recognisable from any angle

Some not so easy - 

especially the Private Jets that fly into Essendon

And some Livery has long since Faded from Memory.  

Pacific Blue? 

Rebranded to Virgin

It has been an Interesting trip which also included Hot Air Balloons and Helicopters not to mention Vapor Trails and Skywriting.

The price of having a Curious nature and a Camera!

* * * * *

Essendon: Opened February 1950 was Melbourne's International Airport until

Tullamarine International Opened in July 1970

 

Moorabbin: Has been in operation since December 1949 is it mainly Light Aircraft & Training

Avalon: Was built in 1953 for the production of Military Aircraft. Situated 23 km from Geelong is now Melbourne's 2nd International Airport. 

It is also the Venue for the Melb. International Air Show.

A Staycaton in Melbourne

Last Year's Wedding Anniversary was definitely a hard act to follow. It involved not only Planes, Trains and Automobiles but Ferries, Busses, Bicycles and a Segway!

This Year only involved the local bus, and then a Tram into the City. And a LOT of walking!

The highlight of our Short stay was a Visit to the recently opened "The Lume" Exhibition Space.  

It is situated at the very end of the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre (Next to DFO South Warf).

Here we were taken on a Multi-Sensory journey through the Life and Art of Vincent Van Gough.

From a Photo-Op inside one of his Iconic Paintings

to the Sounds and Scents of the Streets of Paris

And of course you can't go to Paris without Morning Tea in an Iconic French Cafe that becomes one with the Larger than Life displays.

(French Earl Grey and an Assortment of French Patisseries was our choice from the Menu.)

We wandered through Fields of Sunflowers before heading out.

An incredible Tribute to an Incredible Artist.

Sunday Morning

We live in a Quiet Street in a Sleepy back-water Neighbourhood at the end of a Road that basically goes no-where.

Sunday Morning we woke to news of a very bad night in Melbourne with several attacks and stabbings - some of which were Sadly Fatal. We went through the emotions of "Oh - How Terrible" and then set about our walk to a Local Cafe for Breakfast.

What we did not know, until we walked around the Corner and were confronted by the sight of Police and Forensics, was that one of the Attacks ended near our Street. 

We are saddened by the events that have scarred our Beautiful Melbourne on what was a Family Holiday Long Weekend. 

And the fact that a 16 yr old lost his life in such terrible circumstances - so far from his own home and Family.

Update: 23rd March 2022 

Victoria Police have reported that 7 Teenagers (Aged 13 to 17) have been arrested for this Death. None of whom were Local to the area.

Declan will be laid to Rest on Thursday.

It's Over.

 No more Lockdowns - or so they say...

Time to dust off the tables and press your Work Gear.

It's been long enough.

NOW after 84 days - We are out of "Lockdown No. 6".

It hasn't been the longest, last year Lockdown #2 went for 111 Days.

120 if you were caught in the #1.5 Postcode lockdown that preceded it by a week.

We kept our Sense of Humour and made friends over Takeaway Coffee.

And between these times we must not forget that we had 7 months when life went back to almost normal, as we watched the numbers drop.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could bring back all those Zeros by the 27th November again?

These announcements can then become just a Memory and the Government will have other things to Tweet about.

In the meantime - I am happy to be able to GO shopping again. 

I will still prefer to do my shopping when it is quiet.

Maybe not THIS quiet. 

But it will be a while before I venture into the crowds again.

And that is OK.