Singapore Changi Airport - mid May 2011

What do you do when you have a nine hour lay over in Singapore and Ed decides it is just too hot to leave the airport and go to Newton's Circus for a quick bite to eat.  In fairness, they told us because of the distance and the traffic we wouldn't have had the time to go for lunch as I had wanted.  So, the question reminds - What do you do?  You go the the Butterfly Garden in Singapore Changi Airport, of course.  It was captivating. 

 And then you go visit the fish pond.

Tsukiji Fresh Fish Market - June 2011

Tsukiji Central Wholesale Market is a large market for fish, fruits and vegetables in central Tokyo. It is the most famous of over ten wholesale markets that handle the distribution of fish, meat, produce and flowers in metropolitan Tokyo. Tsukiji Market is best known as one of the world's largest fish markets, handling over 2,000 tons of marine products per day.

The sight of the many kinds of fresh fish and other seafood and the busy atmosphere of scooters, trucks, sellers and buyers hurrying around, make Tsukiji Market a major tourist attractions. In fact, the numbers of visitors have increased so much over recent years, that they have become a problem to the course of business, as the aging market's infrastructure was not anticipated to serve as a tourist spot. 

 If you get here really early in the morning, (4 a.m.) and buy a ticket you can watch the auctioning of the big, whole Tuna.  We, of course, did not make it.

 

There are rows and rows of all different kinds of delicacies.

Every kind of seafood you can possibly imagine.

 

Ed loved this guy .

 

We bought shrimp, lots of shrimp, big shrimp.

 

We did get tuna even if we missed the auction.

 

Checking out the vegetables.

 

Making a deal on some tomatoes.

Trip Down Under Continues - Noosa - Mid May 2011

We left Brisbane after our second short visit and went to Noosa for Ed's Team Building Workshop.  Noosa is a wonderful resort beach town.  It reminds me of the California coast.

 Our room in Noosa.

 

View from the balcony of our room. 

 

Ed was at meeting and I got to walk in the surf.

 

This part of the beach had a lot of surfers.

Special dinner the first night the wives were invited to attend of the Team Building. It was a  welcoming dinner for the wives. Myra and Anthony, one of the guys who works with Ed. Anthony works in Brisbane.  The team is spread all over, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Singapore, and Tokyo.

Let the fun begin. My first Karaoke performance.

 

Ed's Team members and the question remains, where is Ed?

 

Next morning the ladies had a hike up to Hell's Gate.

 

The scenery was beautiful.

 

This tree's root system got a lot of giggles from the group. One of the Australian ladies was keen on pointing it out to us.

Once at the very top you could see the Nude Beach which was right next to Hell's Gate, but no one was out on this day.

 

On our way back to the hotel.

 

They had to break into teams and complete a project.  Ed's group won.

 

Final night - Casino Royale

 

Ed and Myra -  Wah and Jerry

 

Let the gambling start.

 

I must have said something here.

We left Noosa and drove back to Brisbane to catch the flight to Tokyo.  We stopped in Eumundi to visit the very large Flea Market.  I got a cute little lightweight sweater.

 

We drove through several scenic little towns.

 Mapletown Falls

This is an actual road sign.

Glass House Mountains named by Captain James Cook - 1770

 Mt Coonowrin -These mountains are of high spiritual significance to the local indigenous people.

 

View of the Glass House Mountains

Trip Down Under Continues - Melbourne - late April - mid May 2011

Melbourne is a wonderful city also located on a river, Yarra River.   Melbourne  was founded in 1835 and boomed during the Gold Rush years of the 1850's.  The city center is full of a mix of old and new buildings.  It has a very European feel about it which was it's attention because of it's close ties with England. We stayed on the south bank of the Y River at the Quay West Hotel.

                In the middle of the Yarra River there sat a bar accessible by the pedestrian bridge.

 So, we stop for a drink and a snack then we headed for the central city.  We visited the Tourist Center and decided to take a self guided walking tour of the Arcades and Lanes and sights.

     We began our tour at Finders Street Station. "Under the Clock", is a popular meeting place.

  Of course, we did not follow the guide exactly.  This is St Paul's Anglican Cathedral - 1850.

High altar and Reredos, screen or decoration behind the altar,  are made from Devonshire marble, alabaster and Venetian glass mosaics.

Chapel of the Ascension

The Block Arcade. Little lane ways began life as rear access to properties facing big street. Many were later roofed as "arcades" to provide refuge from the weather and crowds and to provide more space for shops.

Block Arcade where 19th century Melburnians liked to promenade or "do the block".  Today it is still a hive of activity with its mosaic floors and fascinating shops.  A shop owners are not allowed to change the frontage of the shop. 

 Block Place is lined with cafes. A great place for a sushi lunch, which we had one day with the people Ed was working with.  Melbourne is filled with places to eat.

Royal Arcade- 1869 - oldest shopping arcade in Australia. Look up for Gog and Magog, 7 feet tall, the two legendary giants of ancient Britons who have struck on the hour since 1892.

 Cathedral Arcade is notable as it retains all of its original features. It is fully covered by stained glass and lead lights, which forms a highly detailed arch leading to a central dome. The floors are decorated with ceramic tiles.

The Underground Public Toilets are historic, the men's were built in 1910, while the ladies waited until 1927.  I always seem to find interesting toilets.  I will just have to write a book one day.

Niagara Lane - a group of 1880 warehouses.  I hope you can see the barrel hoists at the top of the building wall which the lane is noted for.

The Forum Theater, it played its first "talkies" in 1929.

 

 Our final stop of the tour at Young and Jackson's to toast Chloe who was installed in 1909.  We had the special beer which is named for her.

Chloe was painted in 1875.  In May of 1983, she was presented to the public by the National Gallery of Victoria. There was much objection to her nudity, her owner put her away in storage.  She was purchased in 1909 by Henry Young.  She was installed in Young and Jackson's in 1909 where she created quite a frenzy.  St. Paul's Cathedral's move its main entrance so it would not be across the road where their flock went fleeting for a drink with Chloe directly after church.  Australian servicemen shared their last drink with Chloe before going off to the great wars.  For this reason, Chloe is celebrated on Anzac Day to remember those that were lost.   Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

Sunday, we were off to see the sights out side central city, Blue Dandenong ranges and the Yarra Valley. One of our favorite stops was Fergusson's Winery.

We also checked out the grounds not just the wine tasting.  All though, we were the first to finish lunch and get to the wine tasting.

Next stop, Healesville Sanctuary, home for over 200 species of Australian birds, mammals and reptiles in a natural bushland setting.

Kangaroo

Kola eats for something like 24 hours straight.  This little guy is chowing down.

The eucalyptus leaves they eat gets them stoned and they just hang in the tree and sleep.

        Walking back after dinner to our hotel on the south bank standing on Prince Bridge.

A view of the south bank from prince Bridge.  You can see our hotel, Quay West Hotel.

While in Melbourne, Ed and I meet for lunch just about everyday.  After lunch, I would tour around the city.  Melbourne offered a free walking tour with Melbourne Greeter Service; it had City Ambassadors through out the city you could stop and ask questions; there was a free tourist shuttle that had 13 stops you could get on and off and tour each stop; and they had a City Circle Tram which I did not get to take advantage of.  There were several things I did not get to do which I was planning on doing on our next trip which is not happening at the moment.

Eureka Tower is named after the Eureka Stockade, a rebellion during the Victorian gold rush in 1854. This has been incorporated into the design, with the building's gold crown representing the gold rush and a red stripe representing the blood spilt during the revolt. IT is the tallest residential building in the world.It has an observation deck on the 88th floor and The Edge' - a glass cube which projects  10 feet out from the building with visitors inside, suspended almost 984 feet above the ground. When you enter, the glass is opaque as the cube moves out over the edge of the building. Once fully extended over the edge, the glass becomes clear.  We did not make it up the building this trip.  Heights are not my favorite thing!

Owners of the shops commission the artist to paint the out side of the buildings.  It is their way of cutting out Graffiti.  

 Melbourne is very proud of its "street art".  Many of the artist are very well know and popular.

Melbourne Central Clock - Every hour on the hour it opens up and plays Waltzing Matilda - with animated figures.  It was a gift from a Japanese business man.

Melbourne Center also houses the Shot Tower built in 1882 and is 160 feet tall.  It was used to make shot. In a shot tower, lead is heated until molten, then dropped through a copper sieve high up in the tower. The liquid lead solidifies as it falls and by surface tension spherical balls. The partially cooled balls are caught at the floor of the tower in a water-filled basin.

A. N. Z Gothic Bank and former Stock Exchange was built 1883-1887.  The bank manager whose design it was lived on the top two floors.

 

This is the "View from the Loo" on the 35th floor of Hotel Sofitel.  I told you I always find interesting toilets.

A close up of Melbourne Cricket Ground as seen from the Loo, affectionately know as the "G". Every September crowds of over 100,000 come to watch the finals and Grand Finals of Australian Rules Football which is very different from American footfall.

Our friends, Sue and John McConnell whom we met while living in Malaysia and have managed to stay in touch with through Christmas letters and emails, came up from Sale and spent time with us in Melbourne.  We had dinner at their favorite restaurant in Chinatown. Melbourne's Chinatown has been an integral part of the City since the gold rush days of 1850.  It is the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the Western World.

 

Here I am on another evening out for dinner at a very popular restaurant, The Meat Market,  washing my hands in nothing less than the Unisex Toilet.

 

Saturday morning Sue and John drove us to their lovely home in Sale.

 

John and Sue's dog waiting for his dinner.

Val and Jerry, Ed worked with him in Malaysia,  joined us and Sue's brother and wife for dinner that night.  It was really nice catching up on old stories and bringing each other up to date on our current lives.

Sunday was Mother's Day and Samantha, Sue and John's daughter invited us over for a M+
7747other's Day Brunch.  We had not seen Samantha since they left Malaysia and she was around 10 years old and now she all grown up with a son and a daughter.

We then drove out to Seaside where Sue and John have a beach house.  It was wonderful being by the ocean and if it wasn't so cold I would have certainly walked in the surf.

 

On our drive back to Melbourne we got to see kangaroos in the wild. 

Another day of walking around and seeing the sights, Queen Victoria Gardens.

Yes the girl is in the pond being photographed.

Government building in the park.

 

Shrine of Remembrance- There is a great view of the city from the Shrine.

Aboriginal Burial Stone which it includes the burial site of 38 Aboriginal people and is a significant site for many Indigenous people.

We got to go see the play, Doctor Zhivago, It was excellent.  We had dinner in the Greek Precinct before the show.  Melbourne has many precincts and they each have their own food specialties.

Yarra River at night.

Sandridge Railway Bridge has been a meeting place of people and cultures for centuries. The series of complex 24 feet high stainless steel sculptures reflect themes of immigration and journey, which are of particular significance to the former rail bridge. Many of Melbourne’s immigrants crossed this bridge soon after disembarking at Port Melbourne.

"The Running Couple"