February 8, 2018 – Melbourne, Australia

Capital of the Australian state of Victoria, Melbourne has been called the world’s most livable city. It enjoys a scenic setting on the large bay of Port Phillip. Soon after Queen Victoria declared it a city of the Crown in 1847, the rush to find gold in its rivers and streams made it one of the world’s largest and wealthiest cities.

Today we decided to skip the included tour and do it on our own. We were here three years ago, but did a lot of walking along the river. Today we wanted to do more of what was in the city that sounded interesting. Viking provided a shuttle from the port to Federation Square, which is in the center of Melbourne.

I found a site online called visitacity.com where you can go and tell it what you want to see and it will give you the times to go, time between spots, and a map. So, that is what I did. The first place was Federation Square. It is in the heart of Melbourne. It is built

on a level above busy railway lines. The area is made up of St. Paul's Court and The Square which are open squares as well as the covered Atrium. The Atrium is 5 stories high with glazed walls and exposed metal. In all Federation Square covers 3.2 hectares and several lanes wind their way through the large space between the many structures.

The Square is always busy with people coming and going as well being the venue for 2,000 events annually. There is also the Australian Center for the Moving Image in Federation Square. This innovative center focuses on the moving image through gallery displays, cinema screenings and activities. We did not go in, but it is impressive.

Almost across the street from Federation Square is St. Paul’s Cathedral. The Neo-Gothic building was constructed between 1880 and 1931 and replaced an earlier place

of worship which stood on the same site. The sandstone structure was designed by William Butterfield although Joseph Reed oversaw the building's completion. It was officially consecrated in 1891. The overall design draws on elements of the Early English and Decorative Gothic styles. The interior has a beautiful mosaic floor.

The church has a pipe organ constructed by T.C. Lewis and Co in England and was first played in the church in 1891. The church is strongly associated with music, not only because of the organ but also because of their well-known choir.

We now took off to walk by a few of the historic buildings in Melbourne. We went to the Old Treasury Building, but we were there too early to go in. It is a nineteenth century building and one of the finest of its kind in Australia. It stored gold and was the office of the Premier and Governor. Today it is a museum.

We then walked by the grand Windsor Hotel and the ornate Victorian Princess Theater.

Next, we came to the Parliament House Victoria. This Melbourne landmark was constructed in 1856 and has yet to be completed. The architectural vision for the building came from Peter Kerr and George Knight. First the Legislative Chambers were constructed. They were two unconnected bluestone buildings rising three stories and inside the décor was classic with gold leaf, grand columns, plush carpets and forest green to duplicate the interior color of Britain's Westminster. In 1860 the library was added joining the two Chamber buildings at the back to form a U shape. The central chamber has a dome and the library has tiers of books, ten-sided tables and curved staircases. For 18 years construction was put on hold and in 1878 the space within the U-shaped complex was filled in with the Queen's Hall and Vestibule. The West

Facade, Colonnade and Dome were part of the fourth stage of construction in the 1880s. The North Wing was started in 1893 and in 1929 the Refreshment Rooms were added as a North-East Wing. We had done the tour of Parliament in New Zealand and decided not to do another one here.

Our next stop was to be St. Patrick’s Cathedral. But on the way we walked through Parliament Reserve (park) and passed by St. Peters Anglican Church.

Then we got to St. Patrick’s. We almost passed on this since we had already been in one cathedral. But, this was outstanding. St. Patrick's Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Archdiocese of the city. The Gothic-Revival architecture of the Cathedral makes it one of the most attractive churches in the country as well as Australia's tallest and largest church.  The church was designed by William Wardell and modeled on the classic Medieval English churches of the14th century. St. Patrick's was constructed between 1858 and 1940 and is made of bluestone and sandstone. Inside the church lighting gives the space a gold glow and there are mosaic floors, a high ceiling and wide nave. There are seven chapels with beautiful stained-glass windows which surround the sanctuary. The chapels are often used for exhibitions.

We then passed through Fitzroy Gardens to get to Cooks’ Cottage. It was built in 1755 and is the oldest building in Australia. Originally located in Yorkshire, England, and built be the parents of Captain James Cook, the cottage was brought to Melbourne by Sir Russell Grimwade in 1934. Each brick of the cottage was individually numbered, packed into barrels and then shipped to Australia.

Our next stop we did not photograph, but it was to get our hair cut. We could not get an appointment on the ship for another few weeks, so I had mine cut at this place in 2015, so we both got our hair cut today.

Then we were on our way to our last stop, the Shrine of Remembrance. It is Victoria’s war memorial dedicated in 1934. The Shrine is a place to commemorate and learn about the service and sacrifice of Australian men and women who served the country during both of the world wars.

We then got back to our shuttle and went to the ship for lunch. There is a beach next to the ship, so after lunch we walked there for me to get some sand.

This was the end of our journey, which ended up being 10 miles long. My legs are tired. Tomorrow is a sea and then two days in Sydney. There we will spend the first day with friends we met on our South America cruise, and have lunch the second day with friends we met on the 2015 World Cruise, who are in port on the Holland America 2018 World Cruise.