Melbourne is a city of 5.3 million with a very modern skyline and has been voted one of the most livable cities in the world for many years in a row, due to its low crime rate, wonderful public transportation, massive green spaces and high employment. They offer a transit card for $17, which allowed us to use trams, trains and busses. We went straight away to the Queen Victoria Market, a wonderful 17-acre market, the largest in the southern hemisphere. There is every kind of food and cooking supply, and an area of vendors selling t-shirts, kangaroo leather goods, souvenirs and local handmade goods. We picked up a few items, and enjoyed a nice lunch at El Rincon, a Spanish restaurant.

We then headed to the very large Royal Botanical Gardens Victoria, the home of the “fern gully” with amazing species of ferns and trees. It was shocking how cool and quiet this area was, though in the city, and we enjoyed being so deep in nature. We saw the Shrine of Remembrance and then headed back to the central business district. Along the way, we saw many fancy-dressed young women, headed to the Taylor Swift concert at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds. We found a nice restaurant along the Yarra River and had dinner before heading back to the ship. We learned a new word, furphy, which is a brand of beer but it is also a part of the Australian vernacular and means “a tall story or exaggeration”. It will come in super handy as we lead up to the U.S. fall elections.

Next stop in 4 days; Perth, AUS.

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