The two biggest cities in Australia, Sydney and Melbourne, are often compared and contrasted.
There was, and still is, much rivalry between the two..
I once asked a gracious old lady what she thought of Melbourne and Sydney….
She said “Well of course, Melbourne is marvellous..…”
‘‘but my dear………. what could compare with Sydney Harbour?”
So never the twain shall meet.
Our family became more familar with Melbourne when our elder daughter and family moved to this gracious city, full of colour and movement!
Melbourne is well known for its trams, they are a novelty for us and fun to take the tram in the city, and watch the world go by…
Melbourne has become a very multicultural city, and is represented by many many different cultures. Needless to say there is a great variety of foods, markets, coffee, cafes and restaurants.
We often visit this cafĂ© because it is near the Botanic Gardens…
In the older suburbs of the city, it is easy to see the early pioneers and gold rush days… (my father’s family came from Wicklow, Ireland.)
Our daughter and family live in a well kept inner city suburb, with lots of parks and lovely gardens.
The small Eucalyptus trees are perfect for the streets, and the flowers bring the birds too.
During Australia’s Covid Lockdown, we travelled to Melbourne to help out with our daughter and son-in-law, as they were expecting their second baby in September. Lockdown rules still applied, with social distancing, wearing masks and restricted numbers of people socialising together.
The highlight of our day was a slow walk with our three year old granddaughter
Thanks to her we noticed every ant, insect and bug along the path, all of which was very interesting….
Kind and thoughtful neighbours helped by putting toys in street trees, Winnie the Pooh was very popular, and we looked forward to seeing Winnie every day.
The Rainbow Lorikeets enjoy the parks and seem to be everywhere..
Gardening continued through Covid…
Before Covid this park was full of people, playing sport, sitting under trees, having picnics, children swinging on play equipment.
Looking at these photos now, the very quiet and strange life of Lockdowns and Covid seems a long time ago, and what an uncertain, and worrying time it was!
We were very grateful to have an enthusiastic three year old on hand!
However, we realised flying a make-shift kite was harder than we thought..
A bonny baby boy was born, and before long it was Christmas..
The Eucalyptus flowers were decorated by kindly neighbours, and, for us, Melbourne was marvellous..
Some time ago I have written a blog post about the Covid Lockdowns in Australia, and there might be some overlap of photos. My apologies.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post today. I hope you are having a day of sunshine…
Copyright: Geraldine Mackey: All Rights Reserved.
I have to admit I am slightly biased towards Melbourne, maybe because it was the first place I visited in Australia, but I do like to visit both.
Melbourne is such a foodie place these days, you would enjoy trying out all the restaurants!
You make Melbourne look like a good place to live. Looking back on it, Covid seems to have been very strange though it seemed quite logical at the time.
Melbourne is a good place to live if you want to live in a big city.. (and there are some good bike tracks)
I agree about Covid, it seemed to be strange, but we seemed to accept it all.
I think I need to put Melbourne on my Bucket List. I can just picture myself having a coffee in one of those quaint alley cafes after a tour of beautiful, established gardens.
Yes, the green spaces are lovely, and Melbourne seems to specialise in good coffee shops.
A lovely post, Gerrie! Like you, I have fairly recently become familiar with the city my elder daughter has settled in. I don’t suppose I would have thought of visiting it before but I’m now quite knowledgeable about it and can see all its good points because she and her husband are very happy there. It is nice to know that even as we get older our horizons can still widen!
Thanks Clare, and I agree, you become more knowledgeable about a city or town when your adult children live there. Yes, it is nice to know that even as we get older our horizons can still widen…a lovely thought!
You are lucky to have two such beautiful cities in your area. It looks like they both have a long list of positives and beautiful landscapes. Of course, two young grandchildren are a draw to an area all by themselves. 🙂 Covid lockdown was something, and I’m still amazed at how many people are still getting it. Two people I know had it last week. I’m a little past the concert and ball park activities, but I do wear a mask when I go in a large store that is very busy. I’m usually the only one, but it doesn’t bother me. My husband has a compromised immune system so I’d rather err on the side of caution. Thanks for sharing your beautiful birds. I always am amazed at their bright colors.
Thanks Judy, and I agree with you about Covid still being around. As we go into our winter, I am going to wear masks in public places, (despite the fact that we have had Covid and flu vaccines) as there are plenty of viruses going around.
Yes the Rainbow Lorikeet is well named, and is quite used to people around, so he/she is often up for a photo.
Such a lovely post, Gerrie. I remember my dad making us a kite , so very long ago now. It certainly was quite a challenge to fly it though. I do love to see your colourful birds. Yes, although COVID lockdowns are now a thing of the past, I still see random people wearing masks in the shopping areas. A grim reminder that we must never become complacent.
Thanks Sylvia, always lovely to see your comments. My cousin has been in Cape Town and Umshlanga recently, so I thought of you.
I agree about Covid, it is still around, and we had our Covid vaccine recently we that in mind.
Hope all goes well, enjoy the sunshine, it is very cold here in Canberra.
How lovely it was to see the Melbourne pictures, I loved living there many moons ago. Your grandchildren are beautiful, they must be so much bigger now. Yes, lockdowns during Covid sure were scary and so very strange.xxx
Thanks Dina, I had forgotten you lived in Melbourne, and yes, our grandchildren are now nearly seven and nearly four! They are both very cute.
I’m crossing fingers Covid, and Lockdowns are done!
Happy gardening!