The view from our hotel balcony

We've had a great couple of days in Australia's second largest city. What's been really fun is having our own small flat. Clarion Suites Gateway, which is where we've stayed basically provides fully serviced one-bed apartments complete with fully fitted kitchen, living room and most importantly for us, our own washer/dryer. Being away for so long we need access to something a lot less overpriced than the average hotel laundry.  

It's also been fun not to go out for every meal and to prepare our own food. Breakfasts in particular have been a real treat. Decent fresh fruit and freshly cooked bacon instead of the usual mass catered hotel buffets has made this a most enjoyable experience. Even if only for a very short period we feel almost like residents. It has to be said, however, that even if we were residents here, as Europeans, I think we'd be in a minority. There is a huge oriental population in Melbourne - immigrants from China and almost every other nation in south-east Asia seem to outnumber native Aussies and certainly dominate the retail sector.

We soon got accustomed to the noise and hustle and bustle of city life that seemed such a shock to the system when we first arrived and it's been great fun mooching around and exploring.  We've obviously blended in, as we were asked today for directions by, as it turned out, an emigree from the UK who came here in 1957.

Tomorrow, Friday, we'll finish off our local sight seeing before heading off to the airport after lunch to catch the short flight to Adelaide. By early evening we'll be at the luxury Kangaroo Island resort, Southern Ocean Lodge. 

A footnote on our accomodation......we overlook the Yarra river and much of the city's downtown area. This includes the new Crown Leisure Complex that includes bars, restaurants, cinemas and a casino spread along a out 300m of riverside. This complex has an unusual way of marking the hours between 9:00pm and midnight.  Along the south bank of the river are eight seemingly innocent-looking identical rectangular steel sculptures about 10m high. On the hour each one of these shoots a huge jet of flame into the air. First they do this individually, then in pairs and groups and finally all eight fire off together. It is a spectacular and explosive sight.          

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