We started the day all still reveling in our wonderful time with Robert and Ed. I’m sure we’ll be talking about that experience for a long time. But today is focused on being tourists in Melbourne and trying to see some of the highlights of this wonderful city.
Our first decision was how to get to Federation Square where we wanted to start. We took the easy way and hailed a cab. The rush hour traffic through the CBD was made all the more difficult by several street closures causing rerouting and delays. Lou was very happy to be not driving. The other thing that causes driver angst in the CBD is the electric trams running up and down the middle of the streets. One has to be very cautious especially when executing a turn, especially hook turns where drivers move left out of the way of the tram and then essentially do a U-turn to the right. But we made it to Fed Square in one piece. Before touring Fed Square we crossed the street to visit St. Paul’s Cathedral (Anglican). The present church, a wonderful Gothic Revival structure designed by William Butterfield, was completed in 1891. Butterfield’s design was built without the spires; they were added later in the 1920s. The cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Melbourne so the archbishop presides here.

The interior stonework is a mixture of sandstone and limestone, with contrasting stripes of Victorian bluestone, giving the cathedral a warm coloring. I found the contrasting colors quite interesting. But what I really loved was the ceramic tile on the floors and walls. Encaustic tiles were used which are ceramic tiles in which the pattern or figure on the surface is not a product of the glaze but of different colors of clay. The patterns were intricate and seeing the tiles all down the center aisle was really impressive. The reredos, the screen behind the altar, is made from Devonshire marble, alabaster and glittering Venetian glass mosaics. The cathedral’s pipe organ was built by T. C. Lewis and Co. of Brixton, England. Over six and half thousand pounds were spent on its construction, shipping and installation before it was played at the cathedral’s inaugural service in 1891. Various modifications and maintenance works have been carried out since then, culminating in an A$726,000 restoration which was completed in 1990 with the help of a National Trust appeal. In its restored state the organ has four manuals and pedals with 53 stops, all with electro-pneumatic action. Building the cathedral at its current location was intentional. It sits directly across from the Flinders Street Station, a transportation hub that was the busiest station in Melbourne in the late 1800s, so everyone entering and departing the station saw the cathedral and parishioners could come from all across Melbourne.
Looking down the main aisle Patterns of sandstone and limestone Beautiful ceramic tiles on floor Tiles on the wall Reredos behind altar Looking at the entrance door and stained glass

We then crossed the street to Federation Square which is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the CBD. It is a square of about 8 acres and all around the square are major cultural institutions such as the Ian Potter Centre, Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) and the Koorie Heritage Trust as well as cafes and bars in a series of buildings centered around a large paved square, and a glass walled atrium. With the Victorian Flinders Street Station and the Gothic Revival cathedral also in the view, Fed Square is a real mish-mash of architecture.

We wandered around the square getting our bearings.
Federation Square Lou in a big chair Lots of modern architecture around the square
We first visited the Koorie Heritage Trust. Koorie is a demonym for Aboriginal Australians from the approximate region of New South Wales and Victoria. While I was excited to see Aboriginal artwork, the Koorie Heritage Trust is more of an educational and research center. While it does have some displays of art and craftwork, it is more library and conference center. We did watch 3 animated stories, dream stories about how things became to be like rivers, which were interesting. Aboriginal culture is passed down mostly through oral tradition so these stories are very important.
We then went to the Ian Potter Centre which is an art gallery that houses the Australian part of the art collection of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). We wandered through exhibits by Roger Kemp and Petrina Hicks (she had really weird photos of very bleached people with animals, birds or snakes on them. Christine was interested to see the photographs of Polixeni Papapetrou who photographed her children in various costumes. In one series she had her children wear grotesque masks which were really surreal. That whole exhibit was both fascinating and disturbing to me.
Child wearing mask Story about the mask photos Children in masks
We then found the indigenous peoples art exhibit. There were some really interesting pieces on display. We also watched a video of Aboriginal women rapping a very powerfully worded song about their history and what now is happening in this world. We walked through the exhibit and I was very intrigued to read the story of the paintings displayed. All of them tell a story. Here is an example.
Marsupial Mouse Dreaming Story of the painting


Here are a couple of other pieces. I laughed when I saw the emu throwing up the letters U, S, A.
By now, we had been doing the museum shuffle for quite a while so we headed down to the square to find a place for lunch. We landed in a pub overlooking the Yarra River and enjoyed a nice lunch. As I was sitting there I noticed tickets booths for Yarra River Cruises and I thought that would be a nice way to see some of the city and hear about various things and not have to keep Lou walking with his painful bum knee. Besides, for Christine a boat ride is a must any time one is available.
While we were waiting for the cruise, we walked across the bridge to Alexandra Gardens for a brief stroll.
View from the a bridge Entrance to Alexandra Gardens Melbourne is full of gardens Christine loved these palms
We got on our tour boat and headed upriver first. Along the way we saw where the Australian Open is played, the 1956 Olympic stadiums, a very new state of the art stadium, and many other sights.
Park along the river Rowers First reinforced concrete bridge (1889( Rod Laver Stadium Big new stadium complex View of the skyline Another river view with the Melbourne Cricket Ground (stadium) in the distance
We returned to the starting point and then went on the second half of the cruise downriver toward the Port of Melbourne.
Casino Convention Center Old warehouses not renovated on one side What renovated warehouses look like on the other side Pedestrian walkway over river High rent district 9 mil for one of these, minus the yacht City skyline That glass building was built with a 5 degree tilt A very active Port of Melbourne
We enjoyed our boat tour and learned a lot in the process. Afterwards, we strolled along the riverfront for a bit and checked out places to eat. As we were crossing one of the bridges we were inundated with people going the opposite direction leaving the CBD from their jobs to get to the Flinders Street Station. It was a mass exodus for sure at the quitting time of 5:00 p.m. with a big long queue to get into the station.
We found a food court and had dinner. We studied the tram map to figure out a way to get back to the hotel but none of the lines and transfer stops were convenient to the hotel so we again decided to take a cab. I suggested we check out where we would be meeting our tomorrow’s date at the Langham Hotel and then get a cab from there, easier than flagging down on the street I thought. We found the hotel and Lou asked about their parking process for our lunch tomorrow. Lou was thrilled to learn about the valet parking, just drive up and get out of the car for only $20 since we would be eating there. We will be leaving to start our return home tomorrow and so we will be all packed up with the car ready to depart after our lunch date. That does mean Lou will have to drive from our hotel to the Langham Hotel in the morning, but I know we can do it without too much trouble.
Via cab, we got back to the hotel in short order. We were all tired, but very satisfied with the day we had touring around Melbourne. We agreed that we had done just enough to feel we had seen some of the major sights and learned about Melbourne, with the boat tour being the best part of that.