Melbourne

Melbourne has proved to be another interesting city. It was a mixture of old and new: extremely modern buildings and skyscrapers, then there were old cottages and mansions that were put up by the first settlers. In fact, the old governors cottage had been fabricated in England and sent out here board by board, so it looked out of place in this city. The Information Center was the best we had ever seen, extremely helpful people who were dressed in red and stationed throughout the city to help you. The only other place we have ever seen anything like that was in Helsinki. From the moment we got off the ship we found the people to be friendly, hospitable, and proud of their city. We took a short bus ride into the heart of the city where we got on a tram that ran in a circular route around the center. It was old, rickety and crowded with locals who hopped on and off as we traveled around. There was a commentary over the PA system but the din from people on the car was so loud we had difficulty hearing what the guide was saying. Did I forget to mention the tram ride was free.

People on the tram were friendly and willing to talk to you about their hometown. The circular route took you to the most interesting parts of the city including their stadium, shopping precincts, government buildings and a couple of yacht basins. We did get off the tram at one point and went into a big shopping mall. We spent about an hour there before getting back on the tram and completing the circuit. We then caught a city tour bus, also free, and went around different parts of the city and seeing other interesting sights. Both the tram and the bus were very crowded, the tram with locals and the bus with tourists of all different nationalities and cultures.

After we finished our two tours of the city we caught the shuttle back to the ship, had lunch and rested for a while before changing into formal duds and going back into Melbourne to the National Victoria Gallery for the annual World Cruise banquet. It was a very dramatic room and when we went into it we kind of caught our breath. There were 50 tables set out: in the center of the tables were very tall vases like we had at Rachel's wedding and they were filled with three dozen white roses, which were easily caught by the lights in the room. There was candlelight on the table, the candles being on a draped silvery cloth. The chairs were covered in white with silver sashes tied in the back. The astonishing thing was that this was set in a completely black room; black floor, black walls but the entire ceiling was like a stained-glass window. The menu was smoked salmon, a bread basket with lots of different breads, then filet mignon with mashed potatoes, green beans with some fancy sauce. The main course was followed by dessert served on long white dishes with three desserts on each plate. The first one was strawberries and blueberries; the second was chocolate mousse served inside a chocolate basket and the last was a small lemon-meringue pie with coffee or tea. Wine and champagne flowed freely during the entire meal. We were entertained by the Australian Boys Choir and they were outstanding, on a par with the Vienna Boys Choir. That sums up a very special evening. We departed some time after midnight sailing towards Adelaide. Today we are at sea, choppy but not too bad. Morag is doing a wash in the ship's entertainment center also known as the laundromat. I am sure we will have stories to tell you about that when we get home.