Marvelous Melbourne

We decide on an extravagance; let's park the campervan on a site in Melbourne and treat ourselves to a nice hotel in the city, that enables us to explore the place more effectively. The campsite is a good half hour outside the city so we park up, pack an overnight bag and take the bus into town. We stay at the Intercontinental and, as usual, get a lovely room with great service. One thing about Melbourne is that it's really easy to get around; the tram system is the most comprehensive in the world and we use it a lot. So we have a good wander around. We start off by taking the free City loop and spend about an hour going round the ring of the city. Then it's off to see some sights; firstly, to get a coffee and we go down to Centre Place - it looks rather dodgy as it's a tight all and really run down, but it's full of eating joints and has a great atmosphere. And the loos are interesting with the graffiti; talking about graffiti, we travel about 100 metres and find a street full of artistic graffiti; not quite Banksy but not bad.

Next we walk through Fitzroy Gardens and onto bohemian Collingwood. Certainly an interesting place; retro 60's for certain. We have a beer at Grace Darling Hotel, which is pretty good. Then a tram to St Kilda Beach. When we arrive, it's a little uninspiring, although there's a nice walk along the beach. But we find a nice beach bar that served a decent burger and pizza. The sun then came out and the whole place looked better! So, back to the hotel and ready for tomorrow, as we have booked a personalised Lanes and Arcades tour.