More Magical Melbourne

Melbourne is fast becoming my favorite city. Early experiences suggest it has just about everything:

Nice people
Gorgeous, eclectic architecture
Lots of green
A visible concern for humanity
Abundant healthy food options
Prices are a bit high, but countered by a favorable exchange rate ($.70 on the dollar)

We took a tour and discovered Melbourne is a planned city. It is evident that the plan was s good one. It has a feel I'd best describe as "people first." You are not overwhelmed by greedy businesses encroaching onto every square inch of public space. While the sidewalks and pathways are crowded, they provide an invitation rather than discouragement to pedestrians. Plants and trees abound, even in downtown.

Interestingly, we have encountered few Americans. In fact, we were the only Americans in the group walking tour we took yesterday. And walk we did! Our pedometers suggest we have taken 36K steps in the past two days; that roughy 20 miles. We're loving it!

Today, Saturday November 12 will likely be our last full day in Melbourne. The plan is to rent a BMW GS 1200 and ride to Grampians NP followed by a trip along the Great Ocean Road. We've got our fingers crossed for favorable weather. Fortunately, forecasters have already dropped the predicted precipitation probability from 100% down to 97% with accumulations of only 1." How cool is that?

If you so desire, you can join our tour here: A Walk Around Melbourne (a short video)

Some highlights follow...