We have now settled in and are discovering some beautiful Victorian architecture throughout Port Melbourne near where we live. We've also discovered that we won't be buying any real estate here any time soon. This makes Saskatoon look incredibly affordable. We've found many pockets of beautiful old structures tucked in amongst numerous 'miner's quarters'....which are fast becoming upscale housing....typically with add-ons to the back.
January 26th was Australia Day - and being in Australia, it seemed only fitting to do as the Aussies do. This, of course, involved attending to a parade ( oops - missed that), getting in on the 21 gun salute (front row standing room on that one), attending a Remembrance ceremony at the War memorial, and doing a walk through ( along with thousands of others) of the Governor's Mansion. The Governor's mansion is the largest in Australia, and really is 'stately'. The grounds are surrounded by botanical gardens....which will be another viewing.
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| chop chop |
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| warmed up |
After a bite of lunch we were off to watch some typical birthday activities....log splitting and rowing. Rich was disappointed not to be allowed into the log splitting competition.....I don't know whether it was the lack of appropriate white pants & shirt combo, or the fact that his hands have gone 'soft' over the past five months with no reno projects or farming to keep him fit!
The evening ended with a fireworks show. We had walked home from the festivities ( about 45 minutes, but had to head back for that- it was well worth it!)
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| lights of Melbourne |
Our next big excitement was a trip to Canberra, the Aus capital. Rich had been asked to speak, so it seemed like a good reason to rent a car and do a road trip - about seven hours each way. We were persuaded by a friend to stop overnight in Rutherglen on the way back to sample some local wines. More about that in a bit. Canberra is a planned city - a bit like Ottawa, in that it wasn't either of the bigger cities ( in this case, Melbourne and Sydney). The countryside was very 'California like' in our minds. Apparently this was very lush compared to most years. We were busy looking for kangaroos and other interesting wildlife....finally saw two - when we stopped for coffee....not quite what we had in mind, though we did finally see some roos near an interesting little place called Murrumbateman.
This place is interesting for two reasons - it is like many prairie towns....fast disappearing, but, it is also the centre of the...( universe would be Indian Head)...southern hemisphere - according to a friend of ours back home who began school there.
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| AUS Capital Buildings |
Shortly thereafter, we reached Canberra. Canberra is less than a century old, and has had the Capitol building built twice in that short time. The recent building is beautiful in a modern sense - but apparently cost a billion dollars....in the 1980's.... It is built on a hill, and is impressive as one drives up.
Lots of interesting marble inside....and interesting Prime Ministers too at times ( one went for a walk and never came back - in the 1970's....drowned? eaten by a shark? taken by a Soviet sub? Who knows.
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| Really - a Prime Minister |
The kangaroo and the emu are found on the coat of arms of Australia....because? Well, after much thought, it becomes apparent -----these two fellas cannot move backwards....so I guess, from a symbolic perspective, that is what you would want your country to do....although, I've often thought knowing when to strategically retreat can be a good thing....
While Rich was 'speaking', Joan went to the National museum. It was a fantastic presentation. Lots of pictures, but we will save those for another time.
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| Canberra in the evening |
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| Rutherglen mainstreet |
Not that we have a theme going...but it did rain much of the time we were in Canberra. It may have been some residual from Cyclone Yasi up north. At any rate, we headed out Thursday afternoon and made it to a beautiful little town called Rutherglen in the middle of northern Victoria wine country.
We arranged to do some touring the next day, and having our friend, who also turns out to be a head of the Wine Economists of....( Aus, America, the world.....hmmmm don't know)....( and yes....there is such a thing....talk about a great title!).
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| basic resource economist |
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| wine economist |
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| wine taster - no econ involved |
It had been a beautiful sunny day....and then the sky darkened, the winds picked up, and in a matter of minutes, we were in a different world.
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| same place, 15 minutes later |
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| 20 minutes later |
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| Save the wine! |
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| just like Saskatchewan |
We had over 50 mm in about twenty minutes....and a total of about 4 inches of rain that day. The building we were in began taking on water....quickly. We bailed.... They were saying, "Have you ever seen anything like it?"........yes.....two Gray family weddings came to mind....We had to change routes a bit for the afternoon - some roads to wineries were under water....but we managed to take the high road....
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| wine crew |
The settings of some of the vinyards were incredible....as were the tasting rooms. Nothing like a castle to make you feel like you are living the good life. The rain stayed away until the middle of the night, then poured down again.
Almost time to go home, however we managed to find a local paper to read with coffee in the morning. We just couldn't pass up sharing the front page story....The Aussies may have us beat in sports, strange predatory beasts, and a few other things....but technology????
Seriously, this was in the morning paper.....Apparently they have as much trouble with 'red tape'...well, at least 'tapes', as we do. In reading, the last 'standards' were set in 1986 on school specifications....and logic cannot interfere!
After our smug little chuckle, we set off for Melbourne.....and just in time.....water was coming over the road....and this was the high road.....We made it out, but roads were closed several hours later...and word has it the town could be isolated for several days. Western Australia still has a drought....we are headed there next month.....
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| water coming over! |
Wonder what next....
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| a sunset back in Melbourne |
January 26th was Australia Day - and being in Australia, it seemed only fitting to do as the Aussies do. This, of course, involved attending to a parade ( oops - missed that), getting in on the 21 gun salute (front row standing room on that one), attending a Remembrance ceremony at the War memorial, and doing a walk through ( along with thousands of others) of the Governor's Mansion. The Governor's mansion is the largest in Australia, and really is 'stately'. The grounds are surrounded by botanical gardens....which will be another viewing.
Our next big excitement was a trip to Canberra, the Aus capital. Rich had been asked to speak, so it seemed like a good reason to rent a car and do a road trip - about seven hours each way. We were persuaded by a friend to stop overnight in Rutherglen on the way back to sample some local wines. More about that in a bit. Canberra is a planned city - a bit like Ottawa, in that it wasn't either of the bigger cities ( in this case, Melbourne and Sydney). The countryside was very 'California like' in our minds. Apparently this was very lush compared to most years. We were busy looking for kangaroos and other interesting wildlife....finally saw two - when we stopped for coffee....not quite what we had in mind, though we did finally see some roos near an interesting little place called Murrumbateman.
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