Melbourne, St Kilda and parks

We began our Melbourne sight seeing in St Kilda. The first hurdle was to buy a tram ticket. We found a machine in the large railway station across the road, but this would not accept UK debit or credit cards and had a low limit on the change it would give. We understood that we could buy a day ticket on the tram, so tried that. This machine only accepted coins, 'welcome to the southern hemisphere' said the person in front of us. Fortunately we had enough coins for a 2 hour pass, so we solved the problem for a while.

St Kilda is a beach area on the bay. In the early 1900s, it was the place that important visitors, such as royalty, arrived and still has a Victorian feel to it. The end of the pier burned down in 2003 together with the pavilion, but this was so loved that it was rebuilt using the original plans as a starting point. Today, it has a modern cafe behind it.







The parks and houses nearby are of the same era.














There was a lot of activity on the water: board paddling, kite surfing and boat races.






We crossed into Albert Park which was much bigger than we expected - it took some time and a stop for lunch to cross it. The lake was being used for sailing lessons and rowing






and we saw plenty of black swans on the lake mostly with gross identity tags which seemed to bother them.








We left Albert Park, passing this memorial to the president of the local football association and also cricket club, on our way to the Botanical Gardens. It shows that Australians have considered sports management to be important for centuries.






On our way, we passed more interesting houses







The Botanic Gardens is set in 38 hectares, is close to the city and is very well used. As it was Saturday, the Botanical Gardens was a hive of activity with several weddings taking place. The reception of one wedding is at the top of this photo.






By now we were tired so it was time to head for the tea rooms and then for the tram. On the way, we passed a lake with large turtles and large eels.






We changed trams in Bourke Street where Myer's department store had its Christmas tableaux of animated scenes for children.






After a short rest we were ready for the evening. We were picked up by John's third cousin once removed, Neville Kelly and his wife Rhondi. We went back to their home in Hawthorn, Melbourne for a delicious supper and then John and Neville poured over charts and photos, providing each other with details, clarifying and filling out family trees. John was thrilled as several puzzles were solved at the meeting and now he can truly claim to have a sculptor in the family.





Pat and John on tour