Theme Day - Landmark

Above: Flinders Street Station

Easily the most recognisable of Melbourne's landmarks is Flinders Street Station on the corner of Swanston and Flinders Streets. This grand old Edwardian baroque building of red brick and golden cream stucco was built between 1905 and 1910 after winning an architectural competition held in 1902.

When going into "Town" this was where people met up - "Meet me under the clocks" was the catchphrase of friends, lovers and sweethearts. It was everyone's favourite meeting place.

Flinders Street Station is Australia’s oldest train station and the busiest suburban railway station in the southern hemisphere. Over 1500 trains and 110,000 commuters pass through each day. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, and the 708-metre main platform is the fourth longest railway platform in the world

Today's quote: As a child I found railway stations exciting, mysterious and even beautiful, as indeed they often were ~ Paul Johnson.

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Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-24

 

Above: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-24

Care for a ride? Can you imagine whizzing around in this snazzy little model? Wow - not exactly the car you'd nip to the shops and back is it? But then again, think of the heads you'd turn taking this little baby to the supermarket, or better still going through one of those McDonald's drive throughs to order your burger...


The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 had a Mercedes FO108W V8 engine and was driven by Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainenin. The Australian Grand Prix that year was held on29 March (2009) at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne and was the first race of the 2009 Formula One season.


Today's quote: "The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys" ~ my Mother.

The Bicycle

An old yellow bicycle propped up against a weeping willow - who put it there among the flowers? I see in my mind's eye a lady in a long, old-fashioned blue skirt, white blouse with small frills, a cameo at her neck, a straw boater with a red and blue ribbone and tan leather riding gloves to protect the delicate skin of her hands. With black leather boots she comes, places a small cane basket on the handle bars and with a ladylike movement, mounts her bicycle and rides off along the country road.


Today's quote: Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a bike ~ John F. Kennedy

Theme Day - Transportation ~ The Farmyard Express

Farmyard Express
All aboard, the farmyard express stopping all paddocks. How much is the ticket? Two apples and one banana!

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Today's Quote: I have come to believe that there are infinite passageways out of the shadows, infinite vehicles to transport us into the light ~ Martha Beck

The Elephant and I in Cambodia

Thank you to everyone for their comments whilst I was away. I had an amazing time and will post a few pictures from my trip. I have started a blog (Malaysia And Cambodia) about my experience, which I'll be adding to and with photos.

Heidi, Heidi, Ho,
The great big elephant is so slow,
She swings her trunk from side to side
As she takes the children for a ride.
Heidi, Heidi, Ho,
The elephant is so slow!

Coming down Phnom Bakheng
After trudging up the hill to see a glorious sunset at Phnom Bakheng, I rode an elephant down.
Now, a 1200 - 1400 pound (that's 545 - 635 kg) elephant plodding along a flat path is one thing, but a 1400 pounder going down a very steep hill/mountain is an experience to remember! With every heavy step thumping down, I was at a forward angle and each time we moved I found me rear end slid forwards - almost off the seat. With arms out-stretched, I held onto the wooden sides. It felt like my arms were coming out of their sockets some of the time - but Oh! It was a wonderful experience, and yes, I'd do it all over again given the chance.

My elephant is a female aged 42 years and her name is Teo.

Today's Quote: Let a person walk alone with few wishes, committing no wrong, like an elephant in the forest - Buddha.



Thank you to Inverness Daily Photo who has awarded me the Sunshine Award.

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Many wonderful people have helped me with their positive comments and I'd like to share this award with

J Bar from Sydney - City and Suburbs
Cezar and Léia from Bonjour Luxembourg
Brattcat from Battleboro
Arabesque from Mabuhay-Manila
Davine Pitcher from 53 Buddha's and Me
Soni from Mil Palabras Menos
Chef Kar from Adventures of One Sober Woman
Three Rivers Daily Photo
Jacob from Paree - Photos of the City of Light
Louis from San Francisco Bay Daily Photo
Nefertiti from Un peu d'humour, ca enjolive la vie...
Rob and Mandy from Daily Photo Barcelona

Cruisin' Along

Venice On The Yarra

Melbourne's Yarra River runs for 242km and has the largest port in the southern hemisphere. Hop on a boat at Federation Wharf and explore Melbourne along the picturesque Yarra. We have three operators - City River Cruises, Melbourne River Cruises and Williamstown Bay and River Cruises.

The boat pictured is the MV Melba Star, operated by City River Cruises and is the newest, largest and most luxurious cruise boat on the Yarra, with an extensive range of onboard facilities and services. The vessel can travel upstream towards Hawthorn and downstream to the Port of Melbourne, Williamstown and the Maribyrnong River.

So what are you waiting for? Jump onboard and let the Skipper take you on a relaxing, leisurely cruise seeing the city of Melbourne as you gently trail your hand in the water, a glass of wine in the other and enjoy 2 hours of one of the most memorable experiences.

Today's Quote: Cruising let's you share a back porch with a billionaire - Sir Francis Chichester.

Tram Or - Horse and Carriage?

Your carriage awaits you Madam
Did you know that any horse-drawn vehicle is permitted to enter the city centre? It’s an old law, but it still holds today. Designated park and stop areas for horse-drawn vehicles are marked along Swanston Street. See Map.

Horse-drawn carriages can show you around Melbourne - imagine relaxing back and, to the gentle sound of the clip-clopping of horses hooves, being taken around the streets of Melbourne, around the Yarra, over Princes Bridge, in the comfort and style of a bygone era.

You might decide on a Royal Blue Landau Carriage, drawn by two beautiful white or black Percheron Horses - you could even have fully uniformed coachmen dressed in red tails and a top hat! Now that is guaranteed to impress! So catch a ride from Swanston Street and let your trusty steed take you on a nostalgic journey as you traverse the wonders and marvels of Melbourne.

The Tourist Shuttle

The bright orange and white Melbourne City tourist shuttle bus is free and runs daily every 30 minutes from 9.30am to 4.30pm (excluding Christmas Day and Good Friday). It takes you around the city of Melbourne stopping at 13 key tourist attractions and destinations in and around the city of Melbourne.
From Chinatown to the Shrine of Remembrance, to the Queen Vic to the Sports complex, it is a good way of seeing Melbourne without being hampered by which bus, which tram.
So look out for the bright orange sign for the stops and take the ease out of navigating your way around a major city.

For more information click on the link at the side listed under 'Melbourne Information.'
Happy travels.

Melbourne's City Circle Tram & Tribute Video

Our free City Circle trams run along Flinders Street, up Spring St. across La Trobe St. down to Waterfront City, along Harbour Esplanade and back up Flinders St. They run every 12 minutes and go in both clock-wise and anti-clockwise direction. It's a great way to navigate the city and see some of Melbourne's sights.

Below is a video tribute to our tram conductors who at the decision of government were abolished.
There is good footage and history as well as humour and a little over half-way, one of the "connies" decided to do a full-frontal.
It should be pointed out that he kept his ticket bag on at all times.
And his hat.


Bring Back Our Connies

They may be returning in 2010, albiet in a limited number. We Melbournians loved our "connies" and want them back.

Melbourne's Trams

"Tickets please, tickets please" - so called the tram conductors aka "connies" of old.
One of our most loved Melbourne icons - our trams. When other Australian capital cities closed down their tram network between the 50's and 70's, Melbourne thankfully did not.

Did you know that Melbourne is home to the largest tram network in the world and is a major form of public transport, and has 245 km of tram tracks, 500 trams and 1,813 tram stops? That is a lot of tram stops! And has around 178 million passenger trips a year?
Here is a map of Melbourne's Tram Network

The above tram was one of the "new" trams when I was a little girl - it had nice seats with vinyl padding on them. But usually when we caught the tram, it was almost always one of the "old" ones - long timber seats down both sides, timber seats in the middle with doorways but no doors. Used to get a bit cold in winter.

This was one of the W Class trams, introduced in 1923 and below is one of the "old" ones.

I'll be doing more photos/posts about our lovable trams.

Is It Ferris Bueller's Day Off?

"If you can dream it, you can do it" - Enzo Ferrari

Five Red Ferraris driving down the main street made for a glorious sight - is Ferris Bueller having another day off?

And remember boys, if you drive a Ferrari, always choose a red one - because red always goes faster!

Big Birds of the Sky

We live in a direct flight path and when the big birds are coming in to land, they come in groups of either seven or eight or twelve or thirteen, depending on time of day. These babies were flying over my place yesterday morning around 6.30AM - I just stand in the backyard and watch them. They really are a thing of beauty and it is amazing watching these graceful "birds". Leonardo da Vinci knew what he was talking about when he drew up his plans for the first aeroplane back in 1490AD

Jetstar

QANTAS Note the propellers at the front.

Virgin Blue

Air New Zealand

Singapore Airlines

Graffiti On Wheels

This Holden is often seen on our local streets and I've always been rather fascinated by the "Artwork". When taking these photos last week, two gentlemen sitting on a seat informed I was the second person that day taking photos.

One of the old gentlemen added the owner was an "eccentric."

Come Fly With Me

A close-up of a Virgin Blue plane - don't you just wish you had a figure like the beauty on the side?

The Cockpit

The Captain was kind enough to allow me into the cockpit after landing, after all the other passengers had alighted. Visions of saying, "What does THIS button do?" and pressing it at the same time were in the forefront of my meandering thinking at the time.
Of course I resisted.
Naturally.

The Flying Kangaroo

When Melbourne's International Airport Tullamarine first opened in 1970, Melbournians would go for a "Sunday drive" to marvel at this new and exciting venture which replaced the old Essendon airport. Melbourne now had its very own International airport where aircraft from all around the globe could take off and land, instead of having to first fly to Sydney as there were no difect flights previously.

Here we have one of our Qantas aircraft - which stood for Queensland And Northern Territory Aerial Services. It is nicknamed the Flying Kangaroo and the white kangroo on a red background is their logo.