Tennis Fever

Wasn't going to mention swimming as it's rather repetitive but then I figured it might be thought I wasn't bring active enough.  

After breakfast (back at Beluga) we continued into the city, this time to the tennis at the Rod Laver Arena.  

We enjoyed the signposts but felt we'd have liked to know how far Wimbledon was! 

It was great to watch two out of the top three men players, but the greatest excitement was on one of the 'outside' courts where Marcos Baghdatis's travelling band of supporters revelled in his fifth set win.

Sporting stars

Great to be at day one of Oz tennis with victories for Federer, Nadal and Murray among others.

Late excitement for the home crowd too as plenty of Aussie males make it to the second round. 

Sharapova through in the women's but Shriekapova for us and left after three games. 

Good to catch up  with a couple of old Reuters buddies covering the event. 

Biggest sport? Jean. The only resident  spotted all week in the very chilly hotel pool. 30 lengths no problem! 

Great stuff. 

  

St Kilda and Cricket

Jean writes: 
Thought I was going to have company in the pool today as two other people arrived with towels - but no!  They were only there for the hot tub. 

Took the tram to St Kilda for the Sunday market, which had quite a lot of stalls, but I only bought a couple of pairs of cheap earrings - one to replace my red ones, as unfortunately I lost one of a pair a couple of days ago. 

Whilst there we took advantage of some yummy pancakes for breakfast.

We managed to take a tram right into the city and walked along close to the river to the MCG for the cricket - Australia v India.

The statues outside the ground are iconic, as are the hangers-on!

Dave writes:

Starc warning

A great day's cricket at the MCG with Australia edging home by four wickets with an over to spare against India. (India 267-8, Australia 269-6).

It's part of a tri-series which also involves England and which is serving as a World Cup warm-up.

Aussie paceman Mitchell Starc took six for 34 to add to the four wickets which undid England a couple of nights ago. 

Bowling regularly at over 90 mph he looks the business. 

Excellent knocks of 138 from Indian opener Rohit Sharma and 96 from his Australian counterpart Aaron Finch helped entertain the crowd with its large Indian contingent. 

With batting in depth, Starc as a spearhead and home advantage,
Australia are worthy favourites though the 5-2 currently on offer looks too short. 

Inside

Swimming first thing again and I fancy the water was a tad warmer after so much sun yesterday.  I still haven't seen anyone else in the pool since we arrived, though.

We took breakfast at Rosco's - partly because the Beluga isn't open early over a weekend and partly because we wanted a change.  Dave had Eggs Benedict for the first time this holiday - his 'usual' when we were in Melbourne, six years ago.  

Took the tram to the city, with the intention of finding the rest of the 'Laneways', which Dave remembered from ten years ago, taking in some culture at the Melbourne Museum and finishing off with Captain Cook's house, with a good slice of Yorkshire nostalgia for Dave.  

We completed the first item fairly quickly but, on the way to the second, came across the Old Gaol, which had been on our longer term list.  So we stopped off.  Four and a half hours later, we agreed it was a tenner (each) well spent.  

The three parts of the visit were:
- gaol
- watch house
- court house.

The gaol held a mass of sad tales, some of which highlighted the harsh conditions meted out by the authorities, in an overcrowded and grim setting.  We had plenty of opportunity to see inside the small cells and read the information boards and, at the end, there was a re-enactment of the story about Ned Kelly and family, prior to his arrest.  

The watch house was, in effect, a police station and holding cells for people, men and women (though mostly the former) after arrest, including a padded cell and 'wet' cells for the drunks, who were likely to make a mess.  Funnily enough, the first person held there actually was a woman, arrested for using bad language at the opening ceremony! 

We had the opportunity to take mug shots.  

The 'policeman' who brought us in told us that we had all been arrested and treated us in an appropriate manner - i.e. no leaning against the wall, no talking, no weapons, no contraband etc.  We were divided into groups and locked in cells, whereupon the lights were turned out! 

Next stop was the court house, a magnificent building - Dave will recount the happenings there. 

All of this was great and we learnt a lot, but it left us hungry (it was nearer tea than lunch!) and with little time for the Melbourne Museum.  Fortunately, we qualify for a concession (free) ticket, so we saw some of the galleries for an hour, but will go back next week.

No Cup of joy for Ned

Notorious outlaw Ned Kelly was tried in the main courthouse in Melbourne and hanged in the prison next door. 

Both buildings remain today and tourists are treated to a re-enactment of his trial leading to his demise a couple of weeks later on November 11, 1880. 

Argument remains over whether he received a fair trial and there are even claims officials wanted to hurry things along to avoid a clash with the Melbourne Cup horse race. 

The event, which nowadays traditionally stops a nation on the first Tuesday in November, had a big following even then.

1880 in fact marked the first time the attendance topped 100,000. 

For the record, the race was won by Grand Flaneur at odds of 4-1.

My last winner, I believe. 

Brrrr!

Jean writes:

Another thirty lengths this morning.  It's a small pool, mind, so that's no great feat.  It looks as if it's indoor from the photo, but it's definitely open to the elements! 

There's been precious little sun for the last few days, though, so the water's cold.  In fact, Dave had decided to take a dip today but, halfway down the steps, wimped out and went for another run instead!

The ball boys and girls for the Australian Open Tennis are staying at our hotel.  For the last couple of days, they have been gathering, presumably to set off for training, as I've returned to my room after swimming. 

The Beluga, about five minutes away, has become our "local" for breakfast.  

Today's plan was to strike out on our own for the beach, South of St Kilda.  

Sandringham, pronounced Sand-ring-ham has a lovely beach, and I completed my usual collection of shells while walking along the shoreline.  

Brighton Beach was the next stop, where the famous (locally, anyway) Brighton Boxes are located - bright beach huts.  

Dave thought he was home-from-home! (it's number 82!)

Our real treat, though, was to see some black swans.  We had both assumed they are limited to fresh water, but not so.  They seemed perfectly happy in fairly shallow salt water, bobbing up and down on the waves.  

Dave writes:

Another eyeful  
Down to Sandringham via tram, bus and rail on our excellent all-embracing travel pass. 

Superb beaches and sea views on clearest of mornings. 

Raised bandstand, offering even better vistas, was rescued in the 30s with one of the city elders declaring if Paris had its Eiffel Tower, Sandringham must be allowed to keep its bandstand !

Nearby Brighton Beach also harks back to the past with a large cannon recalling the days when the bay needed such deterrents. 

The history is recalled in a suitable plaque on one side. 

On the other, in a matching plaque, tourists are told they can learn more on an accompanying app!

Free bets
As we are on holiday I'm offering free bets on any sporting event - but only to those currently in Melbourne and staying in the same hotel as me. 

That brings in Jean whose forecast of Australia to beat Oman 3-1 in the Asia Cup football the other night at odds of 10-1 was not far off. Australia won 4-0. 

In tonight's cricket, 4-1 against England was taken late afternoon when they were struggling while batting. 

Despite a century from skipper Eoin Morgan, England slumped to another loss to save the bookie. 

We have tickets for Australia v India here on Sunday. Latest betting: 1-2 Australia, 7-4 India. 

Ouch!

Jean writes:
Sadly, we came across this sign at the Botanic Gardens.

I don't think any potential thieves would set their sights on this plant though!

There were plenty of other beautiful/interesting/desirable ones that they might want for themselves though.

It's impossible to do the Botanic Gardens justice as there was so much variety in the flora.  

Lots of bird life too. 

The Common Myna (of the starling family) - seen everywhere around here and very bold/noisy.

The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo - even noisier - what a racket!

The Purple Swamphen.  We sat on a bench for ages and watched a mother and baby in the reeds and a father (we think) keeping a watchful eye on us.  They walk/run in a peculiar manner and have huge, elongated toes which are really obvious as they raise their legs and the foot "hovers". 

Magpie lark.  Apparently no relationship with either a magpie or a lark!

Eastern Spinebill.  We were told it was a Bell Miner, but not confirmed in the bird book.  The Spinebill has a long, thin, slightly curved bill, which is very distinctive, that's used for extracting nectar.  

Unfortunately jet lag seems to have kicked in and I had virtually no sleep last night.  Hoping for better tonight.

 

The day started as yesterday should have done, with a swim for me and a run for Dave.  The pool was quite cold but after a few lengths it didn't seem so bad.  

After breakfast in a local cafe (cheaper and better than the hotel) a tram took us into town and before visiting the Botanic Gardens, we spent quite a long time at the Shrine of Remembrance - very poignant - and the Observatory, where there was information, but no chance to see any telescopes or other equipment. 

Dave writes:

Getting around

Plenty of joggers round nearby Albert Park this morning but none sighted in the splendid Botanic Gardens close to the city centre. 

Bikers are actually barred but in this particular environment I reckon it's all for the good. 

Great to walk undisturbed (for 5 hours!) through large areas of greenery, lakes, flora, fauna, trees and birdlife.

Then tram ride back to hotel on what I now know is the largest such network of any city in the world. 

It's even free in the centre of town. Quite rare, I suspect. 

Set to test network some more tomorrow when we plan to head down the coast to the pristine beaches of Brighton and Sandringham. 

Conveniently Positioned

Jean writes:

That was the sign which greeted me as I exited the toilet at the Queen Victoria Night Market in Melbourne and prepared to wash my hands.  It quite took me aback, but there was the knee "button" so I used it.  Quite a good idea to conserve water, I guess! 

I hope you haven't got the impression that we that we have toilets on the brain! 

Dave and I had planned to go running and swimming, respectively, before breakfast, but not all plans come to fruition.  Due to a mix up with the alarm clock (my inefficiency) we didn't get up until eight o'clock.  Immediate thought - scrub the plan and go straight down to breakfast - which was not bad, but we'll probably try somewhere ten minutes away tomorrow.

We headed on into town via the tram and re-acquainted ourselves with some of the central area, , like Flinders Station.

Most of our exploration was by foot, although we also took advantage of the free tram to check out some of the western parts.  

One of the unexpected highlights (although I hate to admit it!) was in the Greek Quarter - the International Cake Shop.  So much choice - but what should I plump for? Mmmmm! 

Opposite the Victoria Parliament was this plaque.  It's a thought! 

Dave writes:

Tennis starts on Monday but Serena Williams is here tomorrow - modelling her bras !

She'll be at the Myer department store at the intimate apparel ware on the third floor with the slogan "Master your Bounce".

Happily I'm otherwise engaged. 

More upliftingly, spent the early evening at the Queen Victoria Market which on Wednesdays is special with live music and a host of cuisine. 

Boringly, and a bit Asian-fooded out, I opted for pie, mash and peas. 

Next market? St Kilda on Sunday morning. Serena may be otherwise engaged. 

Melbourne

 Tuesday 13th January

Jean writes:
The flight from Singapore was fine, except for one big thing.  You might laugh, but it really irritates me (no, worse than that!). I always seem to find myself in a seat behind someone who relishes in reclining as far as possible for as long as possible.  Grrrr! 

The trouble is, my back is much better if I keep the seat upright.  

Today it was even worse than usual.  

The (small) screen was about eight inches from my eyes so I had no chance of seeing any films without incurring a hefty headache.  Fortunately I had an alternative on my iPad so resorted to that.  

The culprit didn't wake up for food so I had very little room to eat my meal.  The result was three spills involving pasta in tomato sauce down my lovely white top.  Eventually I managed to get to the toilet and I think I've washed enough of it out so it won't be ruined.  

Melbourne - and what a contrast, right from the word "go" with the traffic.  No horns tooting, or not so as you'd notice, and just the odd motorbike, instead of the packs we've become accustomed to.

It's been raining though - all morning and most of the afternoon.  We popped out to investigate a couple of streets away from the hotel, but didn't venture further until this evening, when we took the tram to St Kilda where we walked along the beach and found a good restaurant.

Dave writes:

Beside the seaside

Back visiting St Kilda which I know well from Marie's time in OZ some years ago. 

10-minute tram ride from our hotel by Albert Park on the trusty number 16 drops us by the sea shore. 

Plenty of (push) bikers and some beach volleyball but the historic  Luna Park amusement grounds and neighbouring Palais Theatre have seen better days. 

Main street with its wide variety of bars/restaurants as busy as ever though and the Abbey Road with plenty of pix on the walls of The Beatles and various others fed and wined us. 

Will likely return as our Melbourne schedule is less frantic than Vietnam. 

Great to be back despite some persistent rain until early evening more reminiscent of Hanoi.