Melbourne is set around the shores of Port Phillip Bay. The City itself, laid out in a large rectangle and boasting a lively and cosmopolitan pulse, sits on the northern banks of the Yarra River, about 5 kilometers from the bay. Melbourne is very well known for its sports venues along with fabulous shopping areas featuring locally designed originals to international brands. Melbourne's historic network of laneways and arcades boasts the unique, the exotic and the quirky.
On Monday, I took a one-hour cruise on the Yarra River and then did a 1/2 day City tour. I really enjoyed Melbourne - it is laid out so well that it is very easy to get around and so many things are within walking distance! There is also a free City Circle Tram that goes around the City.
Fitzroy Gardens is a haven on the edge of the city. Set aside as a public reserve in 1848, the 26 hectare site officially became Fitzroy Gardens in 1862. There are magnificent tree avenues, fountains, garden beds, Cook's Cottage, and a memorial to John F. Kennedy.
John F. Kennedy Memorial
Cook's Cottage was constructed in 1755 in the English village of Great Ayton by the parents of James Cook. It was shipped to Victoria and re-erected in the Fitzroy Gardens in 1934. The cottage commemorates Captain James Cook, who in 1777 mapped the east coast of Australia.
Entrance to Chinatown. Chinatown is a distinctive and well known area of Melbourne which dates back to the gold rush days of the 1850s. Melbourne's Chinatown is the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the western world.
The Dockyards
Melbourne Olympic rings
Ahhhhh........dessert before going to the Crown Casino for the evening. Crown Casino is the largest casino in Australia and I had really good luck playing roulette - trippled my money two nights in a row!
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