Melbourne, an absolute gem.

Candidly, I don't know where to begin. Odd for me. I normally go through the day gathering bits of memories I want to share, so when it comes down to actually putting words to page, it flows fairly effortlessly. But today, wow, today is a magnificent blur; too full, too busy, too much in love with a city 1/2 way around the world that I didn't have the mental capacity to file away each precious moment. I was enthralled, captivated, enfatuated. Yes, it really was that good. A few days ago, I compared and contrasted Auckland NZ to NYC. The bottom line - Melbourne is the very best of both.

Melbourne is a clean, safe, manageable city with everything you want a city to have. Ethnic concentrations that celebrate their heritage and share it with everyone - check. Museums and cultural activities with fascinating exhibitions - check. A theater district with shows like phantom of the opera - check. Shopping ranging from upscale to bazaars - check. Easy to navigate grid with excellent mass transit - check. A vibrant sports culture and home to a tennis grand slam - check. Maybe you want a beautiful sandy beach - check. I could go on, but you get the idea. Check, check, check. The people might be the best part.. just sincerely nice, easy to speak with, genuinely interested, eager to engage.

We got off the boat early...7am. Australia requires a full "evacuation" of the ship as part of immigration protocol. Getting off early avoided long lines. We were offered a free shuttle to downtown where the trollies are also free. But not all trollies start till 10am. Before 10, they are focused on getting people to work and school. I actually love this time of day; walkers and bikers out on their daily regime, uniformed school kids waiting for trains, coffee shops serving up fresh joe and pastries. It's a time when the city is waking up and easing into hustle and bustle. It is also a biker /scooter/ skateboarder friendly city.

My wife and I decided to prioritize the Melbourne tennis center where the Australian Open was just a few weeks ago. It was quite the journey on foot but we strolled along the river and then through the beautiful Victoria gardens on the way.

We were there in no time. We saw the rod laver arena and trod where some of our tennis idols have walked. It was surreal.

By the time we had fully experienced it and got my first of 3 Australian geocaches, it was 10am, so we walked over to a tram station and began our tour of the city. We found the #35 easily and began our loop around the city. It's much like a hop on hop off, but free and good narration. We stopped first at the marketplace. Hundreds, maybe 1000, vendors selling fresh farm goods in one section, dry goods in another, manufactured goods in still another. It simply went on and on.

Prices were amazing. Quality canvas totes, $15 each or 2 for $25. Great price, right?. But then you realize that AUD, not USD. In USD it's about $11 and $19 respectively. That means these canvas bags were under $10 usd each as we bought more than 2. We bought 3 actually, we should have bought more. Stuffed animals for the grand, baseball caps, t shirts and a jacket, all emblemized with Australia or Melbourne. No pics since they're presents.

We got back on the tram and headed to Chinatown. We found a great place that reminded me of my NY fav Wo Hop. A hole in the wall, great prices, outstanding food, and large portions.

Best wagu beef pot stickers I ever had. 12 pot stickers for $11 aud or about 7$ usd. Crazy!!! My wife got chicken with seasonal veggies and rice enough to feed a small village. Had to leave some since we're not allowed to bring food back on the ship. Almost killed me.

Then we rode the tram around 2x as we selected our next adventure, which turned out to be a church built in the 1850s. The church was solid, beautiful proportions and nicely adorned but not over the top. We went in and had a nice conversation with the minister, who happened to be there midday. Though a statue of Wesley was outside, leading us to believe it was methodist affiliated, it was not. Turns out, the church was the combination of 3 denominations who joined together to become a new denomination..... Methodist, Presbyterian and a non-denominational church. Brilliant!!! Especially in light of the US UMC schism currently happening over the ordination and marriage of gay and lesbian people. Without getting political, and without taking sides, it simply challenges my faith in institutionalized religion, that preaches reconciliation, resolving differences, listening, grace, and other tenets of the faith for us to follow and then splits over any issue. Seems so hypocritical. And as Forrest Gump would say, that's all I have to say about that. The church was beautiful. Here are some pics.

After the church, we navigated to the NGV, national gallery of Victoria. But before I talk about that, I wanted to share some of the beautiful art installations we saw around the city

You have to love a city that values art as part of its living landscape, outside, not tucked away. I also noticed trees everywhere with lights strung through them, lights strung across alley ways, lights, lights, lights everywhere, which made me want to revisit Melbourne in the evening. We will.....someday!

Our last stop was the NGV, national gallery of Victoria. There were countless works of art as you would imagine organized by culture then time period. One piece of art stood out for me more than all the others. So unusual to have an UNFINISHED work of art prominently displayed. I learned that some famous artists had apprentices who would start a painting working on the less relevant areas, the background, the sky, the clothes, the minor characters. The main artist would then finish it. Here's an example.

Here are other amazing works of art we enjoyed learning about.

After the museum, we headed back to the shuttle and back to the ship. I failed to mention, it was HOT in melbourne, especially 3-6pm After we left the air conditioned museum, my eyes burned as we exited into the 100 degree temperature. We like the heat, or at least prefer it to the cold. But still, it was even a lot for us. So a dip in the pool and a margarita were incredibly refreshing!!!! Dinner was light as we had a big lunch, and we skipped the show...a hypnotist. I instead opted to watch the movie under the starts...avatars. but alas couldn't finish it. I'm sure it will play again.

We have 5 more ports in Australia and cannot wait. Add Australia and New Zealand to your bucket list. You will not be disappointed.