Melbourne

Leaving Phillip Island this morning we drove back to Melbourne, our home for the next 4 nights.  There was time for one stop at  Warbok, a rescue center for injured Australian wildlife.  This wombat on the left was blind  in one eye but definitely enjoyed the carrots we fed him.  The kangaroos loved being scratched under their chins as they can't reach this spot.  And none of them turned down the food we were allowed to feed them.

Melbourne had never looked lovelier as we drove into the city and passed numerous parks filled with trees sprouting bright green leaves and beds filled with colorful spring flowers.  It's a very clean city with a combination of 17th century and modern architecture.  This lovely Gothic structure is St. Patrick's Cathedral. I had stayed at the Park Hyatt across the street from the cathedral two years before.

Our tour ended at the Crowne Promenade Hotel where I registered for Corroboree and checked into my room on the 22nd floor.  What a view -- the city of Melbourne and the Yarra river spread out in front of me!  Not much time to enjoy the view, however, as I inhaled the box lunch Aussie Tourism had prepared for us and hurried downstairs for the opening session.

Changing clothes for the Cocktail Reception a few hours later, I turned on the TV to see if I could get an update on the 7th game of the World Series.  Instead, the breaking news reported Qantas had just suspended all its flights until the dispute with their pilots and ground crews could be settled.  I wasn't too worried at this time as my return flight isn't until Nov 10th, but many of the agents here were planning to leave on Nov. 1st as they had already done pre-Corroboree famils.  I soon found them on the phones frantically trying to book flights on V Australia!  I also found out that the Rangers had lost the World Series.  Bummer!

Despite the bad news regarding Qantas, the Cocktail Reception was lovely, and I enjoyed visiting with freidns from earlier Corroborees and the views of the Yarra River.  From there I headed over to the Langham Hotel (Melbourne's 5* hotel) for a lovely dinner sponsored by Swain Tours.  The dinner was delicious, but I didn't get back to my room until almost midnight.  Needless to way, I fell into bed.  An exhausting but fun day!

We're all anxiouslly awaiting the re-establishment of flights to the US, but the outcome remains to be seen.
More from Melbourne soon.
Linda