Discovering Melbourne

Wednesday, July 23

Today we went to the city and along St.Kilda Road by tram to the Chinese Consulate to pick up our passports with the visas we need for our trip to Shanghai. We're all set now.

After lunch we walked down to the newly completed Emporium Melbourne and were blown away with the complex and the amazing variety of stores in it. There were a number of stores we'd seen overseas, and there were some new ones we'd never heard of. Two Japanese companies now have stores in this complex, one called Uniqlo (a clothing store) and the other was called Muji (a minimalist brand selling clothes, homewares, furniture etc), and their prices were very reasonable. This new complex now means we don't need to look in shops overseas that we now have in Melbourne, and never thought we'd have.

The other store and concept that blew us away was the Magnum shop, which had a long queue of people lining up to buy a customized Magnum ice cream. This consisted of choosing your Magnum flavor, then your melted chocolate flavor to go over it, and finally selecting 3 or 4 toppings to go on it or with it in a little tray. We couldn't believe that mid afternoon on a winters day in Melbourne there would be a continual queue for a customized ice cream - and that so many people were willing to pay A$8 for one!!

It's great being home again and making new discoveries in your home town, but we're looking forward to next weeks trip to Shanghai and some warmer weather.

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Melbourne

Thursday, July 17

As it's only 2 weeks before we fly to Shanghai we were anxious to lodge the applications for our visas for China, so we completed all the paperwork and set off for the local train station. At Flinders Street station in the city we changed to a tram which took us to the stop right outside the Chinese Consulate.

Flinders Street station in Melbourne

 

Lodging our applications went smoothly and we will be able to pick them up next Wednesday, so we were impressed with such a fast turnaround. One of the questions on the form was "Which countries have you visited in the last 12 months?" - this required a separate sheet of paper listing the 27 countries we've visited in the last 9 months of travelling!

We caught the tram back to Flinders Street, had a quick lunch and caught a train back to the station near Alan's parents to visit them. It was great seeing Dad looking so well and Mum as bright as ever.

Winter has really arrived in Melbourne, with the top temperature a chilly 12C with rain and a cold wind. We're really feeling it after so many months of warm - hot sunny weather!

 

 

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LA to Melbourne

Sunday July 13 to Tuesday July 15

We finally boarded our Virgin Australia flight and found our seats. It was good to be on an Aussie plane and the VA crew were bright and cheery, well organized and with good attitudes. It was also a nice touch to have a small bottle of water and a travel pack (eye shades, ear plugs, headphones and a pen) on our seat with the pillow and blanket.

Dinner was very good and as soon as it was over we settled down for a sleep - it was after 1.30 am! VA have water refill stations set up throughout the cabin so you can top up your water bottle as needed, and they also have things like packets of potato chips and chocolate bars at the refill stations and you can help yourself whenever you feel like it. We thought this was very effective and made it easy for both the crew and passengers throughout the night.

We slept for about 6 hours, then dozed for about 3 before breakfast was served. Again, it was another above-average airline meal and before we knew it, we were starting to descend. We transited through Sydney without any hassles and then boarded the flight to Melbourne. What a shock to our systems when we arrived! It was 11C and raining. Our good friend Angie was at the airport to drive us home and fill us in on all the news. It was strange being back home after so long away, but there really is no place like home and we were glad to finally get back.

We've had so many amazing experiences, seen and done so many things and met such fantastic people during this trip so we will cherish these memories forever. Thank you to everyone who was part of this trip and to all who have been following our travels on this blog.

Stay tuned for more posts as we're off to Shanghai in 2 weeks for the wedding of one of our nephews.

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San Francisco to LA

Sunday, July 13

After a wonderful night last night with Steve and Karen we thought we'd have a nice sleep ahead of our big travel day today. However, we didn't count on the noise in the hotel with it being a Saturday night and also being located next to a club. Unfortunately a group of girls returned from the club about 1am and spent the next hour or more running up and down the corridor outside our room, speaking on their phones, yelling at each other and squealing! Not conducive to a good nights sleep!! It finally ended at about 3:00 am.

When the alarm went at 7:30 amwe were still tired but had to get moving so we would be ready in time for our 9:30 am shuttle ride to the airport. There wasn't much traffic around so we arrived in plenty of time to check in and catch the flight to LA. After collecting our luggage in Terminal 1 we had to get to Terminal 3 to check in, so decided to get some exercise and walk there. Along the way we detoured into a terminal where there was a bar with the World Cup final on TV, so we watched the last 30 minutes of the game along with about 200 or more fellow passengers! There was quite a cheer when Germany kicked the winning goal but we think there were more Argentinian supporters in the crowd - and they were very quiet at the end.

Crowd watching World Cup final at LAX

 

After checking in at Virgin Australia we walked to the departure area in the Tom Bradley International Terminal to go through security. This process took nearly an hour but went quickly as we got chatting to a young family heading off to Europe for a month's holiday. There was an interesting light feature in the terminal which kept showing "totems" of the different destinations you can reach from LAX - it was very clever. The quality of meals in US airports has improved a lot and we enjoyed a nice late lunch before settling in for the long wait for our plane to depart at 10:15 pm. We're looking forward to a good sleep on the flight to Sydney where we have to change planes for the last leg home to Melbourne.

Light display of Sydney "totems" at LAX

 

 

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San Francisco, Day 3

Saturday, July 12

While Noelle indulged in some last minute retail therapy, I wandered along Market Street and some of the streets that run off it to see what was around. I was interested to see the variety in some of the old buildings that were constructed after the big earthquake and fire in the early 1900s. I couldn't resist a few streetscape photos to include in today's post.

The Hobart building and SF fire truck

Wells Fargo bank building

View along Market Street

After lunch we returned to our hotel to give ourselves plenty of time to pack in preparation for the flights tomorrow, one from SF to LA, and the next from LA back to Melbourne via Sydney. We wanted to get this done before we caught up with Steve and Karen, a couple we met on the first cruise who live in SF. They had contacted us a few weeks back re catching up and suggested we go to a local show called "Beach Blanket Babylon", which is the longest running musical revue in the world. The revue is renowned for the amazing and outlandish hats/headgear worn by the performers.

We met Steve and Karen in the lobby, and Steve organized a car for us using Uber to take us to the theatre. We weren't familiar with Uber even though it operates in Melbourne but were really impressed with the service. At the theatre seats are only allocated to a section but not to specific seats so it's a case of lining up to get the best seats in the section booked. Karen kindly offered to stay in line so that we could go and have a drink in Capps Corner, a famous Italian restaurant that is a real institution in SF and is right next door to the theatre. As Karen was near the front of the line, we got the best seats when the theatre opened its doors. Once in our seats, we had plenty of time before the show started to catch up on all the news from the 2 months since we were last together on the ship.

Steve, Karen, Noelle and Alan in front of the Club Fugazi

The theatre was quite small but ideal for a musical revue, and the show certainly lived up to its reputation. The music, singing, dancing and costumes were great, but the hats the performers wore topped it off (pardon the pun)! They were just amazing!! There was a cast of characters (politicians, entertainers etc) who helped Snow White find love with clever, witty, updated satirical words to go with great old recognizable tunes. Everyone loved it and it was a fabulous way to spend the last night of this incredible trip. Below is a photo of the sales brochure with 2 examples of hats worn by the performers! The extra large hat with the SF scene on it even had a little cable car. At the end of the show, the cast sang "San Francisco open your golden gate ..." and the theatre went dark and all the buildings on the hat lit up and the cable car moved forward and back along the brim - quite a hat!

After the show we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner and it was really nice to spend time with our friends. Steve ordered another car through Uber (we were very impressed Steve) and after saying goodbye we returned to our room to put the finishing touches to our packing. We have a l-o-n-g day ahead of us!

 

 

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San Francisco - Day 2

Friday, July 11

I'm writing this as I wait in a very long line (in quite chilly conditions) for "a little cable car reaching halfway to the stars" - or even Downtown will do! We have had a very pleasant day down in the Fisherman's Wharf area but now, after dinner, we and most other day trippers, are wanting to get home. It was lovely and warm in the sunshine today but that is long gone now and the breeze off the water is quite cool.

We decided to catch a cable car to Fisherman's Wharf this morning. When we got to the ticket box at Market & Powell there were a couple of hundred people already in line so we joined it and had to wait 55 minutes to board a cable car. It's fortunate that they are so charming and unique otherwise the buses would do a roaring trade! Lines overseas are always interesting as you overhear other travellers' experiences as they talk amongst themselves or you try to pick the different languages you hear. In our case, we had a young Danish couple in front and a more mature French couple behind. The French couple didn't speak much English but did try and were very kind to take a photo of both of us riding the cable car. The Danish couple spoke excellent English and the girl had actually studied at the University of Queensland for one year and they had both visited on two other occasions so, with our recent visit to Copenhagen and their visits to Australia, we had lots to chat about. Needless to say, the 55 minutes passed quickly and enjoyably.

The Cable Car ticket line this morning

Manually turning the Cable Car

Finally ready for departure

When we reached Fisherman's Wharf, we were both quite peckish (what's new!) so were on the lookout for somewhere nice to eat when we spotted a store with some rather nice clothes in it. Luckily for me, the dresses fitted and suited me so, 4 dresses later, we left the store! We found a little cafe for lunch and, over lunch, decided to catch a street car back to our hotel with our shopping rather than carry it around all day. We had bought a daily transportation ticket that enabled us to use any form of transport as often as we liked until midnight so we thought it made sense to make the extra trip back to the hotel.

A vintage Street Car

The street cars are very vintage in appearance and they reminded us of the silver retro "Atomic" motor homes sometimes seen in old American movies. Sadly, when the next one arrived for us to catch, it was the modern version so we had to settle for riding in what looked like a bus on rails and just looking at the vintage street cars that we passed.

After dropping off the shopping and a quick freshen up, we lined up again for a cable car but this time, with fore knowledge, we walked a block or two and waited there rather than in the long line at the first stop. In the morning we had noticed that the cars were not totally filled at the first stop and when we had asked the driver why, he told us that they were not just for tourists but formed part of the metro transit system and so seats had to be left for passengers getting on at other stops. Aha! Definitely one for the memory bank that proved very useful for us. Only challenge was that the car we caught was only going to Chinatown - a little more than halfway to Fisherman's Wharf. We got off there and walked downhill (thankfully) to Pier 39.

No line and straight on

Pier 39 is VERY touristy and we thought it was like going to the Royal Melbourne Show without the sample bags or animals! Lots of souvenir shops, restaurants, cheap jewellery stores, gift shops, and stores selling sporting & celebrity memorabilia. The tourists were the same genre as those encountered at Disneyland, etc. We had a quick look around and took some photos.

Further along there was an excellent display on the history of Alcatraz accompanied by a great model of the island and lots of info boards and photos. The boards traced its history from a prison for Civil War sympathisers and wayward Confederate soldiers to the most heavily fortified prison in the world used to house infamous criminals like Al Capone. The last inmates were moved off the island in 1963. Another interesting aspect of the display was the focus on the lifestyles of the families of the wardens, etc. who had to live out on Alcatraz. We found it very interesting and it helped make up for the fact that we had arrived too late to get tickets to Alcatraz today.

The model of Alcatraz Island

From there we just ambled along soaking up the sunshine and holiday atmosphere. We went to Ghiradelli Square and The Cannery and by then, stores were beginning to close and the sun was going down.

We selected a good fish restaurant to have dinner and both of us chose a clam chowder for starters and the Red Snapper for the main course, and both turned out to be excellent choices. After a lovely meal, we headed for the cable car stop where this posting began.

The sun going down and the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Washington DC to San Francisco

Thursday, July 10

Correction to our post yesterday - we found out after we had posted it that President Obama was in Texas yesterday so the mystery person in the calvacade remains a mystery. Our cab driver this morning told us it was probably the Vice President as he gets similar treatment. Whoever it was, was certainly someone important!

We had to be up early this morning for our United flight to San Francisco. We had used points to upgrade to First Class and were pleased about being in the pointy end of the plane for the five hour flight. We arrived at Dulles International Airport about 7:30am, checked our cases and proceeded through security. Noelle went straight through while I was directed to another line where I got the full treatment, including the body scan.

It was nice to be in the first group to board and to turn left to seats 3E and 3F instead of our usual right turn. It was even nicer to be offered a drink soon after settling in to our seats while we waited for everyone else to board - very civilized. Not long after take off we were served breakfast and it came with real cutlery and a cloth napkin - after so many economy flights you notice these refinements!! The Bloody Mary was a nice accompaniment too.

The only drawback with United is that they don't have the personalized entertainment option where you can choose what you want to watch, so we read, snoozed and looked out the window as we flew over the patchwork of America at 35,000 feet. It's always fun trying to pick out landmarks that indicate where you are, and after the farming areas of Pennsylvania and Indianna we were able to pick out Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan.

A patchwork of farmland in Pennsylvania or Indianna

Through the light cloud we could see Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan

We continued west over a large city on the banks of the Mississippi River and then across Wyoming and Utah. The variety of colourful scenery below was amazing, and a highlight was the sun shining on the hills and mountains while rivers meandered through the valleys.

The Mississippi River

Somewhere over Wyoming?

Part of the trip was cloudy and that let us snooze without missing anything. As we were in row 3 we could see the cockpit door and were interested that whenever the pilot or co-pilot wanted to leave the cockpit to use the bathroom, etc., the chief purser blocked the aisle with what looked like a pull-across wire "fence" for security.

We finally arrived in San Francisco and another "treat" - our luggage came off quickly because it had been tagged as "Priority". We got a cab straight to our hotel and fortunately our room was ready so we left our luggage in our room and went out to explore the area around our hotel. It's been 29 years since we were last in SF so we were keen to get our bearings and identify some local landmarks. Our hotel is just near Union Square surrounded by the usual big retail stores, and Powell Street where the cable cars run. They never cease to delight passengers and spectators alike. We plan to ride one tomorrow down to Fisherman's Wharf.

Noelle in Union Square

Powell Street cable cars

Alan at Union Square

We also came across a big Westfield shopping centre at the end of Powell Street so went in to have a look around. In the main atrium area we saw there were curved escalators - something we've never seen before. Of course, we had to use them.

Inside Westfield Shopping Centre in San Francisco

As our body clocks were still on East Coast time (3 hours ahead), we decided to have an early night so we can hit some more of the tourist spots here tomorrow.

 

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Washington DC, Day 5

Wednesday, July 9
After last nights storms it was noticeably cooler this morning although the humidity was higher. We set off for Constitution Avenue where most of the museums are located because there were still a couple we wanted to see. Along the way we passed the northern end of the White House (we had previously seen it from the southern end) and it was interesting to see some protesters on the footpath and see their signs. There were lots of people around and we did what they were all doing and took yet another photo!

Noelle with protesters (& sign) outside the White House

"Ban all nuclear weapons or have a nice doomsday!"

When the sun came out it was quite hot so we were happy to arrive at the National Gallery of Art and feel the cool temperature inside. There were a couple of special exhibitions we wanted to see so we headed straight for them. The first was a collection of early American furniture, with most of it made in the late 1700s and based on British designs, but made with local and imported woods by American craftsmen. Most of the pieces were in excellent condition for their age and some had incredible provenance. There were also other decorative items like American, British, Chinese and French porcelain as well as early American glassware. It was a very impressive collection and really well presented.
We swung by some Titians, mainly because there was one on loan from the art gallery in Naples, Italy - Danae - and although we've seen some Titian's before, it was amazing seeing them at such close quarters and without hoards of people around us! It was the same right through the gallery so we decided we like US art galleries.
The building itself impressed us with its massive rotunda in the middle and beautiful courtyards located in the centre of the east and west wings.

Noelle in the Rotunda

Alan in one of the courtyards

There were also plenty of places to sit and admire the artworks along with comfortable lounges to rest in - and some people had really taken the "rest" part to extremes!

The next exhibition, although small, was very topical as it was dedicated to the Monuments Men from WW2, many of whom worked at this art gallery. These art experts were drafted into the Army to recover the art stolen by the Nazis, and were the subject of a recently released movie starring George Clooney that we actually saw on one of our recent flights.

Next up were the Dutch and French masters, particularly Rembrandt and the Impressionists, both of which are our favorites. There were also some special "on loan" Van Goghs in with the usual paintings on display and, again, we were able to get up close and personal with them! It was interesting being able to see the different styles of the Impressionists, and to appreciate their creative genius.

Van Gogh self portrait

Finally we arrived at a special exhibition of the French artist, Edgar Degas and the American artist, Mary Cassatt, who lived in Paris from 1874 until her death in 1926. They each had an influence on the other's style, and collaborated on some works, as well as experimented with different materials and printing methods. It was fascinating seeing how their friendship developed, and how it helped increase their creative output during such an amazing period in the history of Art.
We left the Gallery and it was very humid and looked stormy and we hadn't gone far before it started raining. We zig-zagged our way home up some streets and along others trying to avoid having to wait for lights to change for us to cross - they are unbelievably long cycles here. As we approached one intersection, we saw it was being controlled by Secret Service men. We could hear the sound of sirens (not altogether unusual in DC!) so we waited to see what was happening. We asked a nearby building security man what it was all about and he said that, with the measures being taken and the cavalcade that was approaching, it would have to be the President. We don't know for sure whether it was but in one of the black Cadillacs it certainly looked like President Obama. Very exciting stuff to finish a wonderful time in Washington DC and we still have lots more to see and do on a future visit.

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Washington DC, Day 4

Tuesday, July 8

We definitely need our heads read! We had a number of choices of things to do today - some inside, some outside, some requiring quite a bit of walking, others located close by. Our choice - walk to Union Station, go to the Post Office Museum, then Capitol Hill, and if time permitted, the Air & Space museum.

We knew it was a reasonable distance to Union Station but neither of us realised it was actually 22 blocks away - approx. 5 kms! Not that bad, except the temperature was also rising and had already reached 90F before we reached Union Station. Two very hot and bothered tourists arrived at the station, after walking in the sun for about an hour, and made straight for a drinks stand. We decided to extend it to lunch and really enjoyed the rest, cool and rehydration. Feeling much better (but certainly not looking it), we walked around the station and were taken aback by its grandeur and beauty. A lot like Grand Central in NY, it is currently being renovated following the earthquake in Washington DC back in 2013. Prior to that, it had been neglected for many years then, with the help of a group of local organizations, it was restored 20 years ago. It was faithfully restored according to original plans and all the gold leaf was repainted, mahogany seats replaced plastic ones that had been put in during the 60's, and a new replacement marble floor was laid. The overall impression was fantastic.

Al outside Union Station

The Shopping Area at Union Station

The Waiting Area at Union Station

We were loathe to leave the cool of the station but, fortunately, the Post Office Museum was only next door. Now a Smithsonian Museum, the Post Office Museum was so interesting. Personally, I thought I would probably be bored but I knew Al wanted to see the stamps, etc. so in we went. How wrong I was. There were personal stories of heroism by postal workers over the years, hysterical stories of heists gone wrong, and perhaps for me, the nicest story about Owney, the Postal Dog. Back in the the late 1800's, a little terrier puppy made his way into the Albany PO and quickly won the hearts of the postal workers who named him Owney. He rode on mail bags all over the country via horse & cart or postal trains. Postal workers all over the US got to know him and made him tags from their particular post office and placed them on his collar. After a while, Owney could hardly hold his little head up with the weight of all the tags so the Post Master General had a harness made to hold his tags. Owney's travels also took him on postal ships around the world and by the time he died, it was estimated he had travelled as many miles as half way to the moon. After his death, postal workers the world over contributed money for him to be preserved by a taxidermist and he now resides at the museum. There were also exhibits featuring carts, vans, planes, etc. used to distribute mail throughout the US and an exhibition of mail boxes from countries around the world, including Australia. From a philately point of view, the museum holds the full US stamp collection. Al loved it and I learned a lot but both of us really enjoyed the museum.

Exhibits featuring planes used for postal deliveries at the Post Office Museum

It was then out into the heat that had now risen to 97F and a kilometre or so's walk to the US Capitol. Today we were glad our American friends air condition their buildings to such a freezing temperature. After a cool drink, we took ourselves on a tour of the Capitol as all tour tickets for the day had been distributed. Again, it was very interesting but we were disappointed to find that we could not see inside the famous dome as it was closed for a private function. The Senate was sitting today and we were able to watch that via video. Mr Obama appeared to be in all sorts of trouble re the new Healthcare Plan and the majority of Senators we saw read testimonies from their constituents voicing their displeasure at having to pay more and receive less in benefits. It all seemed very déjà vu.

The Capitol building

Plaster model of the Freedom statue that is cast in gold and stands atop the dome on Capitol Hill

Before leaving the Capitol, we visited the Library of Congress and, in particular, the Gershwin Room, the Bob Hope Room and the Graphic Arts Room. It was great seeing the grand piano George Gershwin composed so many favorite songs on along with handwritten scores by Ira Gershwin, and to see terrific footage of Bob Hope entertaining the troops, etc. The Graphic Arts Room featured photos of the March on Washington at which Martin Luther King delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech. We were so engrossed with this room that we got quite a surprise when a security guard came in with a ring full of keys, wanting to lock up for the night.

George Gershwin's Piano at the Library of Congress

It was still hot when we left and as we still had 4-5 kilometres to walk home, we took our time and took advantage of whatever shade we could. We decided to have an early dinner and this gave us the chance to break our journey home. After dinner, the sky had blackened and a storm appeared to be brewing. We headed for home and a couple of blocks from there, the wind swung around becoming much stronger but cooler. Dust and dirt were flying everywhere and it was a really unpleasant end to our walk. Once home, we put on the TV to find Washington was about to experience thunderstorms and heavy rain but nothing like the tornado warnings for NY and Pennsylvania. The forecast was correct and it is currently bucketing down outside our hotel and the temperature has dropped to 73F - lovely!

A distraction in some shade - we stopped to watch a little squirrel squirreling an acorn away - any excuse to stop in the cool!

 

 

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