Thursday

While all of you back in the States were celebrating July 4th, it was already Thursday, July 5th in Melbourne.  It was going to be a sort of one agenda item day for me. I was scheduled to take a free walking tour  of Melbourne which Dan had found on-line. It was the same group with whom we did the tour of the Rocks in Sydney. Unfortunately the beginning did not bode well - it was raining lightly and it was cold, not exactly the kind of weather that one wants to spend outdoors tramping around, but hey, it was free. If it really got bad, I could always abandon the tour.

How to hit a cop with a frying pan

As luck would have it, the rain stopped just as the tour began. I won't give you the blow by blow, but suffice it to say that we got a bit of Melbourne's early days- Australians seem to relish in their criminal past - the glory days of the Gold Rush and new-found prosperity, its fall from that prosperity, its uncomfortable role as Australia's second city, and it's revitalization and modernization in the the late 20th century. Yes, all of that and then some in a 2 1/2 hour walk around the city. It was actually quite interesting, especially learning how the different states in Australia got started. I realized how little I knew about Australian history, but I suspect that I am not alone among my fellow countrymen and women.

The tour finished in the heart of "downtown" near one of the city's major train hubs, Flinders St. Station. On the way there we walked through several of the many lanes and arcades for which Melbourne has become justifiably well-known. In an attempt to make the central business district more "lively" and attractive after business hours, the city government began encouraging citizens and entrepreneurs to both beautify the lanes and to create businesses in them. They are now the home to a vibrant cafe culture and some amazing street-art. We were there during lunch hour and the place was hopping.

When the tour ended on the other side of the Yarra River in the Arts District, I was happy that I had taken it, despite my sore feet. Dan and I parted ways at this point, because I wanted to see the Queen Victoria Market and he had already done that. I headed off to hop on the free tram, but somehow managed to get myself turned around and it took me a while to get where I was going. When I finally arrived at the market, it was already past closing time and many of the vendors had shuttered up their stalls. A few were still dealing with last minute clients, but clearly I had missed the show. I had heard about the amazing food stalls, but most of them were closed or closing as well.





Just I was about to give up,I came up to the door of  a permanent looking place called "El Rincon" that billed itself as a tapas place. There was no one inside except one young fellow who might have been in the process of cleaning up. I gingerly opened up the door and asked if they were still serving, "Sure" he said, "Come in." He explained that the cook had just taken a break but would be back in 10 minutes. I said I would wait, mostly because I wanted to get off my feet, but also because I wanted to finalize the arrangements for our tour on the Winebus for the following day. I had been in touch with that tour company before today's walking tour and had obtained a verbal commitment for two seats, but I still needed to pay in order to confirm them. The person with whom I had been e-mailing, Mai, had been very accommodating and she didn't disappoint.

My pulpo a la gallega

In the meantime, the cook had returned and I placed my order. My "pulpo a la gallega" arrived almost at the same time as the confirmation e-mail for the Winebus. We were on for Friday!  I felt like celebrating." Waiter, I'll have a glass of albarino!"