Melbourne
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 10:38 am
Set on the Yarra River and close to national parks and beaches, cosmopolitan Melbourne certainly loves its sports. While, for culture vultures must visits include the Victorian Arts Centre with its magnificent concert and theatre complex allied to the National Gallery housing Australia’s greatest collection of fine art; and the Melbourne Museum, the largest in the country with fascinating displays of Aboriginal artifacts. One of the best ways to get an immediate feel for the city is to jump on a vintage tram, which will rattle you around the key sights in the city centre. For me that would have to wait until later in my trip, because I had a date with immigration.
The ship sailed into Melbourne at 8.00am and within thirty minutes we were docked and the captain had secured a safe zone around the ship. There were only a handful of us actually disembarking today but even so we weren’t allowed off until all the tours had been called. Lucia hadn’t booked anything, she said it was more important to het t see me off. I was really touched by that gesture and told her to go off and capture something of the city but she was adamant that she wanted to spend any last minutes with me. I know she is absolutely gutted I’m getting off but I have to hope she at least can enjoy the rest of the cruise. Being recently widowed she has had a really hard time adjusting and although in normal circumstances we might not have jelled, this cruise has brought us both a new friendship which is very precious.
We left the ship at 9.30am and surprisingly the officials let me straight through. I was really shocked in view of the facts that I am a single person travelling alone with a mountain of luggage, instead they stopped two Australian girls with small carry on bags – go figure! As I walked through the arrivals door, I saw a lone man sitting on a bench holding a big sign with the name ‘Graham’ on it. For a split second it didn’t register as I was looking for a sign with my name but then it twigged. It was a marvelous moment if not a tad emotional. It really hit me that after all the years of hearing the most wonderful stories from my parents, I had made it to the other side of the world and I was seeing my aunt and her husband for the first time in 46 years.
Graham, Lucia, my luggage entourage and me walked down to street level and Lucia and I guarded the bags while Graham went to retrieve his car. He explained he’d left Diane at home because of fitting my entire luggage in, and he wasn’t wrong. With the car fit to burst and a final hug with my ship board friend we left the port and headed for Sanctuary Lakes.
Diane was waiting for us and I have to say she looks amazing. They both made me so welcome in their home and I have to say it is a beautiful house and looks like layouts in a glamorous home magazine. I spent the rest of the day unpacking and getting myself organized followed by a trip to the supermarket to stock up on comfort foods. The only hiccup was that Diane and Graham had invited some of their friends over to meet me this coming Friday. It seems that Graham hadn’t got the last itinerary I’d sent which showed that on that day I was booked into a zoo experience. I rang immediately but they didn’t have one free spot until 2 April, which shows just how popular this outing is. Unable to change my booking, Graham said he would change the date of the get-together for the Sunday instead. Alls’ well that ends well.
Being that there are no port stops for a while I will check in each week with an update.
Videos have been updated on www.facebook.com/michelemonro
Stay well and don’t forget to check in once in a while.
The ship sailed into Melbourne at 8.00am and within thirty minutes we were docked and the captain had secured a safe zone around the ship. There were only a handful of us actually disembarking today but even so we weren’t allowed off until all the tours had been called. Lucia hadn’t booked anything, she said it was more important to het t see me off. I was really touched by that gesture and told her to go off and capture something of the city but she was adamant that she wanted to spend any last minutes with me. I know she is absolutely gutted I’m getting off but I have to hope she at least can enjoy the rest of the cruise. Being recently widowed she has had a really hard time adjusting and although in normal circumstances we might not have jelled, this cruise has brought us both a new friendship which is very precious.
We left the ship at 9.30am and surprisingly the officials let me straight through. I was really shocked in view of the facts that I am a single person travelling alone with a mountain of luggage, instead they stopped two Australian girls with small carry on bags – go figure! As I walked through the arrivals door, I saw a lone man sitting on a bench holding a big sign with the name ‘Graham’ on it. For a split second it didn’t register as I was looking for a sign with my name but then it twigged. It was a marvelous moment if not a tad emotional. It really hit me that after all the years of hearing the most wonderful stories from my parents, I had made it to the other side of the world and I was seeing my aunt and her husband for the first time in 46 years.
Graham, Lucia, my luggage entourage and me walked down to street level and Lucia and I guarded the bags while Graham went to retrieve his car. He explained he’d left Diane at home because of fitting my entire luggage in, and he wasn’t wrong. With the car fit to burst and a final hug with my ship board friend we left the port and headed for Sanctuary Lakes.
Diane was waiting for us and I have to say she looks amazing. They both made me so welcome in their home and I have to say it is a beautiful house and looks like layouts in a glamorous home magazine. I spent the rest of the day unpacking and getting myself organized followed by a trip to the supermarket to stock up on comfort foods. The only hiccup was that Diane and Graham had invited some of their friends over to meet me this coming Friday. It seems that Graham hadn’t got the last itinerary I’d sent which showed that on that day I was booked into a zoo experience. I rang immediately but they didn’t have one free spot until 2 April, which shows just how popular this outing is. Unable to change my booking, Graham said he would change the date of the get-together for the Sunday instead. Alls’ well that ends well.
Being that there are no port stops for a while I will check in each week with an update.
Videos have been updated on www.facebook.com/michelemonro
Stay well and don’t forget to check in once in a while.
and the friends and family get together.