The Travelling Builder at Melbourne

The project: How to make an Old Style Bench Seat
The place: Melbourne

See the short video clip

Note: Click on any of the photos to see an enlarged version. There is a description of the photos further down the page.

A bit about the place

If I had to describe Melbourne? Mmmmmmm, let me see - food, vibrant, busy, sports, festivals, shopping, entertainment.... Did I mention food?
It is an awesome, arty City with a population of 4 million (give or take).

Picture Melbourne CBD as being a rectangle about 2 km long, by 1 km high.
Inside that rectangle is a grid of main roads.
Between the main roads is a grid of smaller roads.
Weaving between all the roads is a labyrinth of lanes, usually crowded, where you can eat and shop. Did I mention food?
It is that myriad of lanes that gives Melbourne a special essence. They even have guided tours to take people around those lanes.

Anyway, getting back to the rectangle. To the left is Southern Cross Station for local and interstate trains. Also a load of outlet stores.
Above the rectangle is the Queen Victoria Market.
At the bottom of the rectangle is the Flinders Station, and just across the road is Federation Square, which seems to be a popular meeting place with tourist information facilities and free entertainment, among other things. Running along (just below) the rectangle is the Yarra River, and running along the bottom side of the river? you guessed it - food.

To the right of the river are parks and sports arenas, and to the left, the river winds out to Port Melbourne passing Docklands which is a trendy up and coming area with great living accommodation (apartments), shopping etc.

I won't even go into the sandy beaches that start from Port Melbourne and run along the coast to St Kilda and beyond, because I'm writing a brief article about Melbourne, not a novel.

Transport? Excellent. A day ticket will let you ride on any train, tram or bus (within a certain zone) and it is very easy to get around.
Melbourne boasts the world's largest tram network.

Melbournites love their sport, their food, their drinks, and they would bet on two flies climbing up the wall.

I (along with my wife, Jenny) have been fortunate enough to have stayed in Melbourne on a number of occasions, stopping in both the City, and house minding in the suburbs, so we were able to get a pretty good feel of the place. Although we fell in love with Melbourne, you couldn't help but sense an underbelly of drug abuse that raised its ugly head from time to time. Would I live there? In a shot.

General photos
The photos in the right hand column were taken around Melbourne City.
Click on the photos to enlarge them.
From top right they are...
1) Looking down to Flinders Street Station and Federation Square from the 88th floor of the Eureka Tower. The Eureka Tower is adjacent to the Yarra River on the South Bank (opposite Flinders Station).
2) Federation Square. Across the road from Flinders Street Station and is the place where people go to meet. There always seems to be some cultural event going on and the main tourist information centre is there.
3) Flinders Street Station. Across the road from Federation Square (Melbourne's meeting place) and is the central railway station for all the Melbourne suburban lines.
4) One of the many Lanes that weave their way through Melbourne City. Melbourne is well known for its myriad of Lanes and there are even Lane Tours.
5) Queen Victory Market Is not far from the CBD and can be easily accessed by foot, car, train, tram or bus. Load of fresh produce and General Merchandise pack the many stalls. Many a good bargain to be picked up, especially with the fresh produce if your timing is right.
6) The longest table in the world, or the worlds longest lunch is held yearly and is part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival
7) Another of the many trendy food and shopping Lanes that adorn Melbourne City
8) St Kilda Beach which is about a 15 minute tram ride South from Melbourne CBD.

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