Since we've finished with our doctor and dental appointments, as well as catching up with some of our old friends, it's time to resume our travels. Wanting to avoid that four-letter word that begins with "S" and covers the ground in winter, we've headed to the "land down under"; Australia. During this phase of our adventure, we spent 21 hours on a huge aircraft (with 800 hundred other passengers), lost two calendar days (because of passing through several time zones and an international date line), and have arrived in Melbourne, Australia. This is the capital , and most populous city, in the State of Victoria. Prior to the arrival of the first European settlers, people's from three indigenous tribes (Wurundjeri, Boonwuming, and Wathaurang) had inhabited this region for close to forty thousand years. Melbourne, in 1835, was founded by free settlers from the British Crown Colony of Van Damen's Land ( now Tasmania). It was incorporated two years later. During the 1850's gold rush days, it became one of the world's largest and wealthiest cities. For the last six years, Melbourne has been ranked as "The World's Most Livable City." The boom of immigrants from around the world has created a truly cosmopolitan enclave of distinct neighborhoods. For that reason, we're having a bit of a problem grasping the true "culture" of Melbourne (i.e. that which makes Melbourne uniquely Australian). What we are finding is that Melbourne is a very walkable city, in spite of having the world's largest urban tram network (with 250 kilometers -or 155+ miles) of track. Our current plans call for us to winter here below the equator before returning to North America in the Spring.
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