Right, so having spent the better part of the day sleeping, I'm back in a somewhat non-zombie state :). Going back a couple of days then, crew-change was quite a blur! For the last few days on the boat we were back out on the back-deck, and it was still the case on crew-x morning! To make things worse, they actually brought the chopper times forward!! I'd barely stepped out of the shower when I heard that the first chopper was due on deck in 15 minutes!! Thankfully, I was on the 3rd chopper :D but I did arrive a little late for the MOB standby crew.
The ride out in the chopper was really nice though, the clouds and rain around shrouding the vessel soon gave way to clear blue skies over lush green fields. And the Philip Island GP track!! Promptly snapped a few pics, and there was actually a race going on!!
We were back in Melbourne a little before midday, and with a flight at midnight it was back into town again! And this time we took a better look around. Melbourne has quite a nice tram network, and one of the services is a free around-the-city ride on this ancient piece of machinery that rattled loudly enough to often drown out the on board commentary :P. But it did take us around to the part of the city with some really beautiful architecture. The most impressive was obviously St. Patrick's cathedral, especially with the bright red Cadillac parked right outside :D.
On the way we also ran into a series of interesting 'fossils', metal casts set in stone. It's quite striking actually, how old the city feels! I think I've said that before about Melbourne :). But the buildings, the streets, the trams all add to the ambiance. And side by side there's the new. All in all it's a fairly well planned city, square blocks and streets at right angles, with the Yarra river cutting through. What I could not explain was the feeling of familiarity that only comes with a lot more time spent at a place. Or maybe, somehow, there didn't seem to be anything particularly out of the ordinary.
Except maybe the number of weddings we came across :). And their respective settings! One particularly excited group we found on the steps of the museum, another at the cathedral, with the bright red Caddies in attendance, and then, probably the most interesting one, the one with the GTs pictured above, and the giant silver Mack truck!! And of course the setting was a stone by lane half hidden between two old buildings nd it's walls completely covered with rather spectacular graffiti!
Eventually we headed off towards the river. We were in the danger of being led to the giant Ferris wheel you can see in the distance beyond the bridge, but the idea was dropped when no direct route seemed to be available :P. We walked much farther along the bridge this time, and waited for dusk. And guess what we found! Yet another newly-wed couple :|. By now it was way past my usual bedtime, and I was beginning to feel the effects and we headed back to the hotel. But no sleep was forthcoming till I actually boarded the flight and then I think I was out even before the doors were closed :).
The ride out in the chopper was really nice though, the clouds and rain around shrouding the vessel soon gave way to clear blue skies over lush green fields. And the Philip Island GP track!! Promptly snapped a few pics, and there was actually a race going on!!
We were back in Melbourne a little before midday, and with a flight at midnight it was back into town again! And this time we took a better look around. Melbourne has quite a nice tram network, and one of the services is a free around-the-city ride on this ancient piece of machinery that rattled loudly enough to often drown out the on board commentary :P. But it did take us around to the part of the city with some really beautiful architecture. The most impressive was obviously St. Patrick's cathedral, especially with the bright red Cadillac parked right outside :D.
On the way we also ran into a series of interesting 'fossils', metal casts set in stone. It's quite striking actually, how old the city feels! I think I've said that before about Melbourne :). But the buildings, the streets, the trams all add to the ambiance. And side by side there's the new. All in all it's a fairly well planned city, square blocks and streets at right angles, with the Yarra river cutting through. What I could not explain was the feeling of familiarity that only comes with a lot more time spent at a place. Or maybe, somehow, there didn't seem to be anything particularly out of the ordinary.
Except maybe the number of weddings we came across :). And their respective settings! One particularly excited group we found on the steps of the museum, another at the cathedral, with the bright red Caddies in attendance, and then, probably the most interesting one, the one with the GTs pictured above, and the giant silver Mack truck!! And of course the setting was a stone by lane half hidden between two old buildings nd it's walls completely covered with rather spectacular graffiti!
Eventually we headed off towards the river. We were in the danger of being led to the giant Ferris wheel you can see in the distance beyond the bridge, but the idea was dropped when no direct route seemed to be available :P. We walked much farther along the bridge this time, and waited for dusk. And guess what we found! Yet another newly-wed couple :|. By now it was way past my usual bedtime, and I was beginning to feel the effects and we headed back to the hotel. But no sleep was forthcoming till I actually boarded the flight and then I think I was out even before the doors were closed :).
Currently: tired
Listening to: Chicane - Autumn tactics
More Melbourne pics here.
The last pic... reminiscent of Darling Harbour, doncha think? :)
ReplyDeletea little bit yes, but I was reminded more of the view from across Narrows Bridge :). u should go sometime.
ReplyDeleteWhere? Melbourne or across Narrow's Bridge?
ReplyDeleteNarrows. shud get u'r lazy bum out of the office early enuf one of these days when I'm there :P
ReplyDeleteLazy my foot! :P I end up walking an hour everyday, so there! Hmpf!
ReplyDelete