Mark started the day by getting his missing towels and having a shower and then we were off to Melbourne - we haven’t learned it’s nickname yet (if it has one). The sad part of this 3hr journey is that it turned out to be a kangaroo graveyard - we are not talking only small wallabies here either. We saw at least 14 of them dead on the roadside, plus a fox, all due to roadkill.
We shared the drive and managed to pick the worst service station of them all to stop at - we kept passing good ones but it was too early to switch and by the time we did Sod’s law came into play. The other thing that happened is that the temperatures plummeted to 14c and the rain came. It felt like being back in Britain - well not now with the snow and frost but you know what we mean.
Anyway, we arrived in Melbourne at lunchtime and parked the car on-site. Our room was not ready yet so we decided to catch the free circle tram (number 35) around town. The tram stops in the centre of town are all free and you only need to pay when you go outside. The tram was about 45mins in length and gave us a great overview of the city to explore later.
Even though it is a circle tram it actually goes in a square plus a bit where it goes off into a siding for three stops and then returns along the same stops. The best bit about the siding is the that the driver literally drives to the end, parks the tram, opens his door and walks the length of the tram, passing us all carrying some equipment, then opens a door at the back of the tram which all of a sudden has become the front and we are off again. Simplicity itself.
We returned to our hotel and checked into a nice room. Again the restaurant is closed - what is it with these places! However, we were give 30 dollars to spend on mini bar stuff so we stocked up on drinks.
The rest of the day we spent exploring the centre especially the lanes and arcades - of which there are many.
We picked somewhere to eat for lunch and Mark ordered a panini and a cake plus a milkshake whilst Pam ordered the same panini, carrot cake and a tea. Mark’s food and drink came as did Pam’s tea. Maybe the panini machine can only do one at a time? No, the young lady did not pass on the order so Pam’s was missed and by the time they sorted it out they had sold out of carrot cake but still wanted to charge for it. Generally the staff are so young and inexperienced in most restaurants, cafes and fast food places out here that you can consistently see wild deer caught in headlights looks. Maybe this is a post COVID thing or maybe it has always been this way but it is a shame.
After our food we continued wandering and then headed back to the hotel. We are not sure at all about this city. The buildings are fabulous, the trams are great and quirky, the people seem friendly and there are buskers everywhere but there is a sense of squalor (not dirty but just not clean and it’s rough looking) and the streets are filled with people sleeping rough and there is graffiti and/or street art everywhere which is not the beauty of Maryborough but edgy and full of angst.
Later in the evening we ordered Chinese from a local shop online and Mark went to collect it. The food was not exactly like we normally eat but tasted ok, except for the flat wide noodles which we both did not like. Tomorrow will be a proper day for exploring.
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