On to Melbourne, October 26, 27

 October 26, 2025

      We left Phillip Island - what a great stay we had! We needed to use up some time so as not to get to Melbourne too early. So, we took a brief stop at Churchill Island, a nature and old farm preserve.

Galah

MMMM Chocolate!

We only looked around at some birds. Then, we stopped at a chocolate factory to get some coffee (mocha, of course). It was mobbed with families who were taking tours and eating chocolates. 

Mangroves

       Mark drove in periods of driving rain, but, luckily, it was less than a two-hour trip. Getting into the apartment on the Docklands was a bit tricky, involving going to an IGA-xpress store to get the key, and then finding the parking garage etc etc. But, we did it and are in a swanky apartment directly overlooking the Docklands and Melbourne. 

     

Living room into bedroom - 2 Newquay Promenade

Kitchen, dining

    We ate in the apartment, did a laundry and watched a thunderstorm from our huge picture windows.

View from our window

October 27, 2025

     We had a really nice day today exploring a bit of Melbourne. But, it was cold - only about 51 degrees and a stiff wind of about 25 mph. 

      We took a tram (free in the inner zone) and then walked across the Yarra River to the National Gallery of Victoria where we spent the bulk of the morning. It is a beautiful building. This was recommended by Jecca and Otis who gave us a lot of tips on our visit to Melbourne.

National Gallery of Victoria

A plate by Picasso

Stansfield's Painting of ship wrecks on English coast

         We then walked to ShanDong Mama in China Town, recommended by Jecca and Otis from their trip here two months ago. It did not disappoint - we both had noodle soup dishes and hot tea, which was very welcome to warm us up.

Recommended by Jec and Otis

Mmmm. Noodle soup and tea

Noodles with bok choy, shitake mushrooms

   

State Library Reading Room

Dome at State Library

     From there, we walked to the State Library of Victoria which was very impressive, another recommendation from Jec and Otis.  Besides walking through the large reading room and the central Dome, we also viewed some rare books. Most impressive was an interactive exhibit about the abundance of misinformation, an exhibit we all should go through. Statistically, it showed how much of the information in social media is false and that most people do not fact check sources, even college students. 

Mark in front of State Libary

       We also saw an exhibit about Ned Kelly, a criminal who was hanged by order of the judge whose donations funded the original library. Both of us had read a book about Kelly's life and it was an interesting exhibit. He is somewhat of a national hero for standing up against authority.

Sculpture dedicated to reading. The animals are peaking to read, too!

       

Ned Kelly's armor

                                                           From there, we walked by to Elizabeth St and picked up a tram back home to 2 NewQuay in the Docklands.

        A good day.