Bonus blog

Hi Folks

Excuse the flurry of Blogs but we are just about to leave mainland Oz and fly to Tasmania and we wanted to include one briefly about Melbourne coupled with the fact that the Victoria National Gallery of Art (International) was closed gives us a little 'spare' time. However the Victoria National gallery of Art ( Australia) was open and we saw the most wonderful exhibition of Aboriginal painting and artefacts. We were given an unexpected free guided tour by one of the gallery staff. Very good show which gave us an insight into what the paintings were about and how they
done.

The top photo shows our hotel. Very plush and comfy with a good view over Melbourne and the river Yarra. It is an open city and seemingly very relaxed and at one with itself. Very eclectic and a facinating range of architectural styles that have been built around the early Victorian buildings as evidenced by the photos.

The photo below is part of a bigger complex which houses a television company and also the Australian Art gallery. Super building and amazing inside although there was a tendency to
feel a little unsteady.

The last photograph is of the inside of the tram we travelled in. Probably built in the 1930s it is part of the main form of public transport and highly efficient.
So, briefly from Oz best wishes from Fogg.

Actually, the tram we were on was free and we could travel round the city centre getting off at the main tourist sites - excellent idea and one we saw in Perth too. The funky building is part of Federation Square and is amazing. A number of buildings all considered,wierd and wonderful shapes based on the triangle and inside you are not sure what is level!

We liked Melbourne very much and would recommend it as a destination. There was a lot more we could have seen and done. We now have a better understanding of indigenous art and culture and some of the issues surrounding the settlers and the Aborigine.

Will close now, best wishes from me, Phileas