March 18 - First Full Day in Melbourne

FIRST FULL DAY IN MELBOURNE

Started my day with an instant coffee (that had been awhile!) — in Australia and NZ they’re big on hot tea, so an electric kettle to boil water for tea is standard equipment, rather than a Keurig or drip coffee maker. Found a Starbucks a couple of blocks away, and got us a muffin. It had gotten cooler and was threatening to rain ... but only sprinkled a little. The girls headed to art galleries, and Keith and I went our own ways. Taking a chance on the rain, I decided to walk the ~1 mile to the Melbourne Museum. It wwas excellent!  Saw outstanding exhibits on Aboriginal life, the history of Melbourne, and Aussie animals.  Also found lots of cool stuff for some of the grands at their gift shop.



I was whupped, so headed for a place to sit, have a beer and a sandwich, and chill. I’ll be damned if I didn’t wander into a brew pub that had the Florida vs. Texas Tech NCAA tournament basketball game, which was very close at the half. I got myself a beer, sat down and watched while waiting for someone to take my lunch order. No one ever did, but I nursed my beer and watched the rest of the game. The Gators bricked countless free throws, fell behind, and rallied, but couldn’t catch up. Bummer! Went back to the apartment and rested for awhile, then went to the National Gallery of Victoria. 
Yarra River
It had some works by Monet, Renoir, Reubens, Rembrandt, etc. ... even “The Thinker” by Rodin! It was very crowded, but enjoyable. 
National Gallery of Victoria


Di had made dinner reservations at Macaroni Trattoria Italiano, which was a short walk from the hotel. Wonderful food and nice wine! 

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