Day +2252 : Melbourne Retreat - St Paul's Cathedral

I am fine today.

St Paul's Cathedral is the metropolitical and cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, Victoria in Australia. It is a landmark of Melbourne.

The foundation stone was laid in 1880 and the cathedral was consecrated in 1891. The architectural style of the cathedral is know as Gothic transitional, something ancient thing to us, but if you would like to find out the detail, Wikipedia described in length what it is all about.

Apart from the unique style of the building, what attracted me was the huge pipe organ which I accidentally discovered. Since the instrument is very uncommon today, I believe not many notices this instrument which just seems to be a part of the building.

Pipe organ

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2251 : Melbourne Retreat - Chinatown and Shot Tower Museum

I am fine today.

We visited China Town and Shot Tower Muzium in Melboune City.

China town is not very big but as according to Wikipedia, it has its unique history - "Melbourne's Chinatown was established during the Victorian gold rush in 1851 when Chinese prospectors joined the rush in search of gold. It is notable for being the oldest Chinatown in Australia, the oldest continuous Chinese settlement in Australia, and the second longest continuous Chinese settlement in the western world, only because San Francisco's Chinatown was nearly, but not completely destroyed by the 1906 earthquake."

The Shot Tower Museum is located in the iconic Shot Tower building in Melbourne Central shopping centre. The tower was once a place for making shots. It is 9 storeys high, and has 327 steps to the top. The tower produced six tonnes of shot weekly up until 1961, when the demand for the lead shot dwindled, because of new firearm regulations. The tower has been preserved despite demolition of all other buildings, and it is  now enclosed in the Central shopping complex, showing the good effort of Australians in preserving historical artifacts.

You might wonder what is a shot. I am not very sure but I guess it is a type firearm, perhaps something that the army put inside a cannon to shoot at enemy :-)

Chinatown

The weather was too cold, we found a shelter in a Chinese Restaurant and enjoyed good Chinese tea and Dim Sum :-) 

Parking fee in the town is expensive

Shot Tower inside Melbourne Central Shopping Complex

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2250 : Melbourne Retreat - Visiting the city

I am fine today.

We visited Melbourne city on the third day.

The train station

Somewhere to secure your bicycle for free

The train is very long but without many passengers. May be the time is non-peak hour

Standing inside the safety zone, feeling very safe now

Melbourne Parliament House

City Circle Tram - bring the tourists going around the city free of charge

Very special building structure - like ancient buildings

To be continued and see you next post :-)

Day +2249 : Melbourne Retreat - Visiting Wilson Promontory National Park (3)

I am fine today.

The parakeets were very friendly and they will land on our body any time :-)

The fruits of a gum tree

Visiting Springvale for famous and delicious Vietnamese beef noodles. Springvale is a town not far away from Dandenong with a lot of Chinese and Vietnamese