In March and April John and I had a fabulous holiday in Singapore and travelling around Australia. After visiting Perth and Fremantle we moved onto Melbourne in Victoria, where we had a fantastic time staying with our friends, Hamish and Georgette..  The city has a cosmopolitan air with plenty of bars, restaurants, civic buildings and a thriving cultural and sporting scene. We visited the Botanical Gardens, the city centre, the Yarra River, the MCG and sampled a few of the bars and restaurants.

Perth Fremantle Melbourne Great Ocean Road Mount Gambier Coonawarra Renmark Adelaide Sydney Manly  Watsons Bay

The Botanical Gardens were well worth a visit.

The sun was so hot that after a while we did have to find some shady spots.

In the City Centre

Down by the Yarra River is the Arts Centre.

We walked around  

Federation Square.

Along Swanston are some very British looking buildings including 

the Town Hall.

The Manchester Unity Building looks like the Chicago Tribune tower

Naturally I couldn't resist having a look around the State Library.

Another fine example of Victorian architecture

The State Parliament

and nearby is St Patrick's Cathedral

We visited the Carlton Gardens,

which is home to the Royal Exhibition Building behind which is the Melbourne Museum.

The Yarra River runs through Melbourne.

There's a real mixture of architecture with British and European styles amongst the modern sky-scrapers.

Melbourne Cricket Ground, 

A visit to Melbourne would not be complete without seeing the MCG, so naturally Hamish took us to the hallowed ground, where Victoria were playing Queensland..

In the evenings Hamish and Georgette took us out 

down by the waterfront

for some excellent wining

                                                      ....   and dining

After Melbourne we hired a car and drove along the scenic coastal route, The Great Ocean Road.

See the photos from the rest of our travels around Singapore and Australia.