Our trip to Australia started with the usual long, uncomfortable fight - 4+ hours to LA, 13+ hours to Sydeney, and a short hop to Melbourne.
The suburbs of Melbourne are a marked contrast to the our last big tour - the Amazon River!
Shops line many of the major arteries
Why pigeons are a nuisance
Melbourne skyline from Brighton
Aside from the family barmitzvah which was the main reason for the trip, our secondary objective was to find somewhere to stay when we return in December with all our children and grandchildren for a longer visit. This pic shows Hilda's pleasure immediately after we succeeded in this quest.
Self Portrait
On a tram ride into the city a film crew boarded for some background shots
Our downtown objective was the National Gallery of Victoria - which was closed, of course, on the Tuesday we visited!
The alleys leading to Flinders Street station are packed with coffee shops of all kinds
Graffiti in alley
Melbourne City
Inside the State Parliament building I was given the usual "No Photographs" after this shot. Since police forces around the world have proven they can't stop terrorists, they have adopted a simpler objective - "Stop Photography". Wierd!
We generally had reasonable weather, but our day in the city was marked by sprinkles.
The obligatory tourist shot of the city from across the Yarra river. Australia's large cities look and feel like a blend of modern America and England, and South Africa in the sixties.
Australian leisure activities seem to focus on sport and gambling, but they have time for more traditional pastimes.
Back at the National Gallery when it opened
The Wall of Water always provides interesting effects
Recursion?
Gallery 3
Gallery 4
I cannot, and will not, resist these shots.
Small coffee shops abound - lets meet for coffee is the standard greeting - so we did so often
Hilda's cousin -a survivor of the Holocaust
Australian malls are dominated by the Westfield group - a Sydney based company - which owns many around America. They the largest retail property group in the world by equity market capitalization, according to Wikipedia.
Jared
This storefront has not changed since our last visit over two years ago!
On the way back to Chicago we stopped in Sydeny for a one day visit to family and friends. This is my great-nephew Jadon.
Shelley, Jadon and Hilda
My Uncle Joe - only 20 years older than me.
Rhona, Joe's wife
Joe's parents, my grand parents, on their wedding day. My grandfather died before I was born. I do not remember seeing this picture before.
Joe's grandchildren, my cousins (one removed, to be precise) -Lara and Steven.
Sydney suburbs are not like Melbourne's
In every country I visit I take market pictures. Why make an exception here?
