Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all those who died and served in military operations for their countries.
An event is being organized at The Shrine of Remembrance on Monday, 25 April.
Friday, 22 April 2011
Good Friday
Good Friday (today) is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. Based on the details of the Canonical gospels, the Crucifixion of Jesus was most probably on a Friday.
Almost everybody is on holiday here in Melbourne/VIC until next Wednesday - the last longest public holiday until Christmas.
Almost everybody is on holiday here in Melbourne/VIC until next Wednesday - the last longest public holiday until Christmas.
Monday, 18 April 2011
Fly over Melbourne
While I was going to work this morning I noticed some people were doing something much more interesting - they were flying in a hot air balloon over Melbourne.
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Canberra
Ok, now the last part about our trip - Sydney to Canberra and back to Melbourne.
Sydney to Canberra - the rain stopped when we entered ACT.
The freeway / highway was not crowded.
The Parliament House was one of the few things we've been able to visit (or where we saw something interesting) as we arrived around 17:00 on Saturday so everything was closed at that time.
The parking space is somewhere under the building and it was quite strange as we didn't saw any sign that the parking space is for visitors. Remember, we were coming from Sydney, so I was expecting to pay the parking at least here at the Parliament House...
You can go on the hill almost to the top. If you go during visiting hours, you should be able to visit more.
You'll have a nice view over the city from here.
Somewhere in the city - the autumn looks nicer in Canberra.
On Saturday evening there was a big event - Canberra day or something..
The streets of Canberra - it was early on Sunday morning so almost nobody on the streets.
On the way back to Melbourne
I noticed that in Victoria the Rest Areas are nicer than in NSW or ACT. Many of them have BBQ areas with 3-4 bbqs. Don't know if they work as I haven't tried, and some were not clean (I wouldn't eat something done on them), but anyway, you have options :)
This is nice for example if you go on a holiday with a camper van, and you want to stop for a bbq :)
I noticed I was more tired after Canberra to Melbourne, than the initial Melbourne - Sydney, but we made it back. Our Verada is very nice to drive on such long trips.
Last impressions after this trip:
- it was nice that we saw that part of Australia, it is ok to drive there as the roads are not crowded, but there is not much to see. If you want to take the time to stop on the way there in some other cities, it might be much more interesting.
- the parking in Sydney is very expensive. I recommend, if you don't have any plans/time to visit something else while you are there, to go there by airplane and rent a car if you really need to do some trips (Blue Mountains etc). As I was busy during the day (training), we didn't have time to do any trips so the car stayed in the parking all week (at level 7 - underground. I was not able to understand the floor numbers, as it started from 3 ... so only 4 levels down, but anyway considering the age of that building it was an unique experience to get the car from there).
- not much to see/do in Canberra and the restaurants are expensive (we stayed there from Saturday to Sunday morning, so this statement might not be correct, but the city is not really a touristic destination).
Sydney to Canberra - the rain stopped when we entered ACT.
The freeway / highway was not crowded.
The Parliament House was one of the few things we've been able to visit (or where we saw something interesting) as we arrived around 17:00 on Saturday so everything was closed at that time.
The parking space is somewhere under the building and it was quite strange as we didn't saw any sign that the parking space is for visitors. Remember, we were coming from Sydney, so I was expecting to pay the parking at least here at the Parliament House...
You can go on the hill almost to the top. If you go during visiting hours, you should be able to visit more.
You'll have a nice view over the city from here.
Somewhere in the city - the autumn looks nicer in Canberra.
On Saturday evening there was a big event - Canberra day or something..
The streets of Canberra - it was early on Sunday morning so almost nobody on the streets.
On the way back to Melbourne
I noticed that in Victoria the Rest Areas are nicer than in NSW or ACT. Many of them have BBQ areas with 3-4 bbqs. Don't know if they work as I haven't tried, and some were not clean (I wouldn't eat something done on them), but anyway, you have options :)
This is nice for example if you go on a holiday with a camper van, and you want to stop for a bbq :)
I noticed I was more tired after Canberra to Melbourne, than the initial Melbourne - Sydney, but we made it back. Our Verada is very nice to drive on such long trips.
Last impressions after this trip:
- it was nice that we saw that part of Australia, it is ok to drive there as the roads are not crowded, but there is not much to see. If you want to take the time to stop on the way there in some other cities, it might be much more interesting.
- the parking in Sydney is very expensive. I recommend, if you don't have any plans/time to visit something else while you are there, to go there by airplane and rent a car if you really need to do some trips (Blue Mountains etc). As I was busy during the day (training), we didn't have time to do any trips so the car stayed in the parking all week (at level 7 - underground. I was not able to understand the floor numbers, as it started from 3 ... so only 4 levels down, but anyway considering the age of that building it was an unique experience to get the car from there).
- not much to see/do in Canberra and the restaurants are expensive (we stayed there from Saturday to Sunday morning, so this statement might not be correct, but the city is not really a touristic destination).
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
Bondi Beach
Back to some notes on our trip.
On our way back from Sydney we stopped for few hours at the Bondi Beach.
Unfortunately it was raining, so most of this time we stayed inside.
Good coffee at Gusto Bondi on Hill Street.
A few surfers in the water at that time ..
Bondi Beach is a nice place to visit, but you should do it when the weather is fine.. :)
I don't think you'll find free parking somewhere here ... and it is not cheap also.
Date of visit : 2011-03-19
On our way back from Sydney we stopped for few hours at the Bondi Beach.
Unfortunately it was raining, so most of this time we stayed inside.
Good coffee at Gusto Bondi on Hill Street.
A few surfers in the water at that time ..
Bondi Beach is a nice place to visit, but you should do it when the weather is fine.. :)
I don't think you'll find free parking somewhere here ... and it is not cheap also.
Date of visit : 2011-03-19
April rain in Melbourne
Heavy rain in some parts of Melbourne last night - some train stations were flooded and maybe a bit of chaos on the streets this morning ...
I'm wondering how the traffic will look this evening ...
The view this morning towards Southern Cross Station and western part of Melbourne :
Towards the S-E suburbs - Eureka tower in the clouds, while the sun is shining over St. Kilda suburb.
30 minutes later the sky was clear ... but as we know the Melbourne weather, it is not over yet :)
(and yes, while I was writing/formatting this post, it started to rain again ...)
In the news today The Age - Rain plays havoc with trains, roads
- update: same day, few hours later (around 12:30)
- update: same day, later in the evening
The CBD's streets were full (at least what I was able to see from the office and on my way to the train station). I left from the office later than usual, so it might be almost like this each evening ?!
Anyway, later, from the train, I noticed the Dandenong Road was ok - more traffic towards the city, strange for that hour...
I'm wondering how the traffic will look this evening ...
The view this morning towards Southern Cross Station and western part of Melbourne :
Towards the S-E suburbs - Eureka tower in the clouds, while the sun is shining over St. Kilda suburb.
30 minutes later the sky was clear ... but as we know the Melbourne weather, it is not over yet :)
(and yes, while I was writing/formatting this post, it started to rain again ...)
In the news today The Age - Rain plays havoc with trains, roads
- update: same day, few hours later (around 12:30)
- update: same day, later in the evening
The CBD's streets were full (at least what I was able to see from the office and on my way to the train station). I left from the office later than usual, so it might be almost like this each evening ?!
Anyway, later, from the train, I noticed the Dandenong Road was ok - more traffic towards the city, strange for that hour...
Saturday, 9 April 2011
Sydney
As mentioned in the previous post, we went few weeks ago on a trip to Sydney, by car, and on our way back we stopped a day in Canberra.
I'll start with a few impressions about Sydney.
First, it is quite easy to get from Melbourne to Sydney by car. The freeway is not crowded, you can drive for minutes without seeing other cars... We left from our home in Melbourne around 6:30am, and we were at the hotel in Sydney at 17:30 [few stops] (Hint: most of the parking spaces we saw were marked as "Loading zone" until 18:00, so you are not allowed to park before 18:00. Check for parking options in advance)
Unfortunately we arrived in Sydney just before 6pm, so take a look how the traffic was at that time ...
Later we understood that the problem was not because everybody was going home at that time, but a daily problem with the traffic in Sydney's CBD.
Not considering the infrastructure, Sydney is a nice town.
It has more "european-like" buildings, and also its main attractions:
- Sydney Opera House building
- Sydney Harbour Bridge
Few other things we visited during this trip:
- Sydney Aquarium : it is not very big, but interesting to visit. We haven't seen the one in Melbourne in order to compare it, so we recommend it.
- Sydney Tower: the view from the tower is impressive, but we were expecting more. We didn't take the "walk on air" option thou. We also haven't been on Eureka yet to compare them.
Coming back to the main attractions, they offer a beautiful view at sunset (hmm... we went there usually before sunset, maybe also during the day they look nice) :
One other place we liked very much is the oldest part of Sydney (hope I'm not wrong) called "The Rocks".
This place was established shortly after the colony's formation in 1788. The original buildings were made mostly of local sandstone, from which the area derives its name.
A German bar:
Right after this statue is a nice Italian restaurant. I recommend the calzone :). Last time I eat a calzone so good it was in Italy.
Pros/contras and hints:
- if you want to visit museums/aquarium/tower etc, check the offers if you get in the same time tickets to more than one location - it will be cheaper.
- we liked the old buildings which gives a "history" to the city.
- we didn't like the hills with ups & downs and the streets in the CBD.
- we didn't like the traffic in the CBD and the parking options (without a discount from our hotel the total amount only for the parking was around 500$).
- if you plan to go by car between Melbourne and Sydney, be prepared - not many things to see.
I'll start with a few impressions about Sydney.
First, it is quite easy to get from Melbourne to Sydney by car. The freeway is not crowded, you can drive for minutes without seeing other cars... We left from our home in Melbourne around 6:30am, and we were at the hotel in Sydney at 17:30 [few stops] (Hint: most of the parking spaces we saw were marked as "Loading zone" until 18:00, so you are not allowed to park before 18:00. Check for parking options in advance)
Unfortunately we arrived in Sydney just before 6pm, so take a look how the traffic was at that time ...
Later we understood that the problem was not because everybody was going home at that time, but a daily problem with the traffic in Sydney's CBD.
Not considering the infrastructure, Sydney is a nice town.
It has more "european-like" buildings, and also its main attractions:
- Sydney Opera House building
- Sydney Harbour Bridge
Few other things we visited during this trip:
- Sydney Aquarium : it is not very big, but interesting to visit. We haven't seen the one in Melbourne in order to compare it, so we recommend it.
- Sydney Tower: the view from the tower is impressive, but we were expecting more. We didn't take the "walk on air" option thou. We also haven't been on Eureka yet to compare them.
Coming back to the main attractions, they offer a beautiful view at sunset (hmm... we went there usually before sunset, maybe also during the day they look nice) :
One other place we liked very much is the oldest part of Sydney (hope I'm not wrong) called "The Rocks".
This place was established shortly after the colony's formation in 1788. The original buildings were made mostly of local sandstone, from which the area derives its name.
A German bar:
Right after this statue is a nice Italian restaurant. I recommend the calzone :). Last time I eat a calzone so good it was in Italy.
Pros/contras and hints:
- if you want to visit museums/aquarium/tower etc, check the offers if you get in the same time tickets to more than one location - it will be cheaper.
- we liked the old buildings which gives a "history" to the city.
- we didn't like the hills with ups & downs and the streets in the CBD.
- we didn't like the traffic in the CBD and the parking options (without a discount from our hotel the total amount only for the parking was around 500$).
- if you plan to go by car between Melbourne and Sydney, be prepared - not many things to see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)