The Beach Town and The Big City

Yesterday, Tuesday, we were on Phillip Island.  After much back and forth over what to do, we decided against the seal cruise and the Penguin Parade.  We opted for the Koala Conservation Centre.  Getting there required 3 modes of transportation.  First there was the tender from the ship to Rhyll on the island.  From Rhyll, it was a shuttle bus to the main town of Cowes.  And finally a taxi to the centre.  

The centre provides a natural habitat for the koalas who were introduced to the island in the 1800's from the mainland to protect them from hunting.  There were boardwalks and paths to follow to see the koalas.  It was a challenge to find the koalas since they are up in the trees and predominantly asleep.  We learned that koalas have a very difficult life - sleeping 20-22 hours a day, eating leaves for 2 hours a day, and the rest of the time engaging in other activities like mating.  It's an extreme version of being on a cruise ship!

Fortunately, there were signs letting us know where the koalas were occupying their comfortable spots in the trees.  Here is a sampling of what we saw:

We also saw some birds and a wallaby.

After returning to Cowes, we walked around a bit. Cowes reminded us of many other beach towns that we've been to.

It turned out to be a good day on Phillip Island. Today, Wednesday, we are in Melbourne. We will be returning to Melbourne next week for a 2 day visit so we will have lots of opportunity to explore the city. Linda has been here twice, me only once. Today we started by taking the ship's shuttle bus into the center of the city. Our first destination was Patricia's which, according to the Crazy Tourist website, has the best coffee in the world. So we headed across the river.

On the way to Patricia's we passed a barber shop and I was in need of a haircut. Mission accomplished.

Then we hit Patricia's. We could tell it was a popular spot as there was a crowd in the alley by the shop's entrance and a queue to get coffee. Linda enjoyed a long black and me, a double espresso. Was it the best coffee ever? I can't say. But it was very good!

Following coffee, we walked along the river.

Next stop - the National Gallery of Victoria. Another large museum, another eclectic collection - everthing from antiquities to impressionists to modern art. These Aussie's know how to do art museums!

After a lunch break, we made our way to the Skydeck and took the elevator up to the 88th floor. There was no option to walk it! The views were great.

We have been really impressed by the architecture in Melbourne. Some great older buildings and remarkable modern buildings.

We loved our day in Melbourne and look forward to our return next week. I know that some of you are asking, didn't they see any koalas in red bikinis? Of course we did!

I will leave you with this. In the Gallery, there was a set of 6 lithographs by Jenny Holzeer entitled Truisms, basically about 200 sentiments by the artist. So, today, I offer you this one: "THE SUM OF YOUR ACTIONS DETERMINES WHAT YOU ARE" Peace and blessings, Linda and Larry