On Tuesday morning after the clean up we were up early to get the train into the city for our first touristy day.
We did my old usual routine for going to the station and Bill got to finally experience Melbourne’s public transport system. He has had to put up with my complaints about it all the time even though I don’t even travel on it any more. This is absolute proof you have been a Melbourne public transport dependent person, you are scarred for life.
Here I am just so overjoyed that I am on the same platform where I stood for half of my life –
Bill was obviously fascinated by the speed humps in our area as I found this when I downloaded our pictures –
We hopped off at Flinders Street and quickly took some pictures on Princes Bridge before getting on a tram to head up to the Old Melbourne Gaol.
Bill on his first tram ride!
While the Old Melbourne Gaol was ok and it has been well preserved and all but I felt it was not worth the $21 each entrance fee. This may have been fine back in the day when international tourists would get a bargain travelling to Australia but when the Australian dollar is nearly equal to the US – you have to have a good reason to justify the costs. As I witnessed back in January – prices have skyrocketed in Australia and as now an outsider looking in especially in tourism and travel – the standards especially when it comes to accommodation leave a lot to be desired in the big cities. At least we can say we have seen it!
Bill channeling his inner Ned Kelly –
Disheveled Bill channeling his inner Chopper Read at the City Watch house –
Padded cell at the old City Watch house. This was still in use up to the mid-90s –
The gallows where Ned Kelly was hanged –
Dad in a cell –
We wandered around the Old Melbourne Gaol site and then went and grabbed an early lunch. We were actually going to Parliament for lunch but we knew that there is no time to actually ‘eat’ when you are talking so much. I gave Bill quick tour of the Queens Hall, the Library (sob!) and Legislative Council chamber because as it was a sitting day there was no big public tours happening. We caught up with everyone at Sessions cafe and then headed down for Question Time! Here is Bill’s coffee in a Parliament cup –
Bill got to witness politicians behaving badly first hand as we sat in the Speakers Gallery and here is the Hansard from the day we were there.
I had to quickly leave Question Time early as I had a dentists appointment (the thing you do on holiday!) and I was happy to hear that the excess corn syrup in everything here has not rotted my teeth to the core – I was really worried about it. So I met back up with mum, dad and Bill. Bill and I went off to have a look around St Patrick’s Cathedral as I also wanted to take him on the Brunswick Street Tram home.
Bill at my old tram stop –
We loved this plaque inside the Cathedral –
Seagull action shot in the grounds of the Cathedral –
One thing I loved was I was still able to calculate the time it would take for the tram to get to the end of the line so mum could pick us up right off the top of my head – just as I had done years before! My still at memorizing timetables was still able to be put to use and Bill was able to see just how tragically daggy I am. Yeah!