Day 53: Melbourne (Part 1:2)

Today is broken into two parts: Part 1 - Included Excursion:

At 8:15 AM we loaded onto bus #1 took a route around the City of Melbourne for a bit - actually saw the setting up of the Grand Prix race to be held in the next week. This did cause some traffic challenges for our bus driver. He got us to the finish line safely.

Our first stop was at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria - I really wasn’t into a take photos of plants sort of mood. I know I missed digitally some great shots, but we enjoyed the gardens they are lovely. There is amazing collection of plants beyond expectations. The grounds are lovely.

From there we walked over to the Shrine of Remembrance which was built by unemployed workers as a memorial for those Australians who served in WWI. It is a very sacred place. After climbing over 70 stairs to the balcony overview we made it to the top and got the mandatory Paul & Donna couple-selfie. With the city of Melbourne as our backdrop.

From there the bus driver took us back towards the ship. Donna and I, as well as a couple of others, got off at Victoria Market and headed out on our own. See Part 2 for the rest of this story.Read more