DISCLAIMER:  The hotel has given me 30 minutes of WiFi time in the lobby so please excuse errors.  This is truly publishing on a deadline!

Our day in Melbourne began slowly with a leisurely breakfast at our hotel before heading off on a walking tour of Melbourne “Lanes and Arcades”.  I didn’t really know what to expect from the tour because I had not researched the city of Melbourne before we headed off on our adventure.  Little did I know that the charm of this unique urban environment would win me over so quickly.  The tour was organized by Hidden Secrets Tours.   At their website you can see maps and additional pics of our day.  Our guide was Lisa, who at one point called our group a herd of cats.  I loved that.

We met at the Federation Plaza that was originally built in honor of the 1901 federation of the Australian states and territories.  The recent renovation was quite controversial as you can see with very modern buildings in a Frank Gehry style, with everything askew and all angles.  Which brings us to the current architectural mood of Melbourne which Wayne describes as, “dramatic but won’t stand the test of time as the countless building from the late 19^th and 20^th century (there are many deco buildings that South Beach would kill to have).” 

Under the Flinders Street station is a coffee shop called the “Cup of Truth“.  A small business that serves coffee by the gallon and simply has a jar for people to pay, many which pay additional because of the concept.  There shop was closed on Saturday but here is their sign.

The tallest building is called the “Eureka” building.  Like the Sears (Willis) Tower in Chicago it has an “Edge” attraction with glass floors eighty floors above the ground.  The architectural inspiration of the building is the gold rush which propelled Melbourne into a world-class city and the top stories of the skyscraper are clad in 24 carat gold film.

Lisa got our group underway and immediately bowled us over with the incredible lanes and arcades filled with shops and restaurants owned by small businesses.   As in New Zealand, the majority of citizens work in firms with less than 20 employees.  One special shop introduced us to the Melbourne City Rooftop Honey.  A project that encourages rooftop hives to ensure the health of their honeybees.  Many restaurants maintain their own hives and harvest their own honey for use in marinades and salad dressing.  Melanie gave us a tasting of two types and explained the project with a clear passion.

We continued on foot exploring all sorts of nooks and crannies, including an arcade shop called “The Switchboard”.  Named so because it inhabits the space that formerly housed the 1930’s building switchboard and includes only a postage stamp kitchen on one side and two tables on the other. 

We stopped for a morning tea at Koko chocolates , where I enjoyed an original Hot Chocolate and Wayne had Chocolate Affogato, a carafe of double espresso poured over a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.  Totally indulgent!  

While we saw so many remarkable things, I’ll let these pictures tell the story.

We made our way to a most special place, the Nicholas Building.  Insert link if possible.  This building has now been repurposed to house small studios for artists to share, take on their own, work, sell their wares, rent as small a space as one clothing rack to display their designs, and is a warren of creativity and inspiration.  From the macabre to the oldest button store you could find just about anything.  Most of the artists protected their work by limiting the taking of photos.

We ended up sharing luncheon with Robert and Jennifer in the city plaza.  Robert is from Chicago and actually knows our upstairs neighbor.  Here we are halfway around the world and still barely a degree of separation.

We ended the day riding the free city trolley around the Central Business District and viewing the sites from an antique tram.  All in all, a day of surprises, secret finds in the most surprising places, and Melbourne showing all its charm on a sunny, warm fall day.