Melbourne, at last...

I say 'at last', because this is the final 'new' city for me during my travels here in Australia. After Melbourne, I return to Sydney - where I started my trip way back on July 7th.
I actually arrived in Melbourne late in the evening on the 16th - but there was merely enough time to grab a very quick bite to eat and then head to bed. My first glimpse of the city itself would be on Friday morning.
I would start the day in the very capable hands of a true 'Melburnian'. Whilst still in DC, one of our Beauvoir parents (and Australian), Jane Slatter, kindly put me in touch with her sister, Kate - a lifelong resident of Melbourne. So it was Kate who met me at Southern Cross railway station - and I felt very fortunate that I would now get a true insider's view of this great city.
Our first stop was the observation deck at the very top of the Rialto tower. As I've mentioned before, I think it's always great to see a city from above to get a real sense of it.
Melbourne is a big and busy city. My first impressions were of a bustling, successful city from the Victorian era (appropriately, Melbourne is situated in the region known as Victoria). It reminded me in equal parts of Dublin, Edinburgh and Chicago - with a distinct English flavor thrown into the mix also. But this was Australia - and the ubiquitous palm trees reminded me of that! There was certainly a mixture of old and new here - soaring skyscrapers up above with impressive Victorian buildings vying for attention in their shadows below. From the top of this particular tower I could see many Melbourne landmarks - the Yarra River, the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground), Kings Domain, the South Bank and Docklands, Botanical Gardens, Olympic Park (Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympic Games), Flinders Street Station, St. Paul's Cathedral and Parliament House. Back at ground level, I was taken to the wonderful arcades or 'Laneways' as they are known here. These are the small back streets and alleyways that lie between the main streets of Melbourne (built using a grid design, like Manhattan). Many of these laneways - off main streets Bourke and Collins - are simply delightful and bursting with activity. There are countless coffee bars and restaurants and tiny windows offering sandwiches and snacks. Degraves Street and Centre Place are especially popular and populated, both constantly wafting with a very tempting espresso-scented air. But my first coffee stop would be at Melbourne's oldest coffee bar - Pelligrini's. Melbourne is Australia's capital of coffee (according to Melburnians!) - as it benefited from a vast influx of Italian immigrants.
Pelligrini's was set up by an Italian family who were allegedly the first to bring an espresso machine and Italian-style coffee to Australia. I was not disappointed. Wow - now that's coffee! Howard Schultz should come here and see how it's really done.

I was also shown Flinders Street Station and its famous clocks - a local meeting spot for years, where locals tell friends "I'll meet you under the clocks". From there, we walked on into Kings Domain and to the Shrine of Remembrance. Men and women who have served Australia in wartime are commemorated here. It's an awesome building and is very humbling.
It was great to see elderly veterans there, acting as guides. My host told me that her father, an air force veteran form the Second World War, had proudly done that job in his later years.
Our final stop together was the wonderful Queen Victoria Market. This is a huge, sprawling, enclosed market, which used to be common in most English city centers in the first half of the twentieth century. Sadly, few remain now. Covent Garden, in London, used to be rather like this - before it was converted into cafes, boutiques and souvenir stores.
But this is an absolutely thriving market - where you can buy just about anything. It still has all the original Victorian-era architecture and many original stall fronts and signs remaining. Most appealing, was the bakery and deli section. I will certainly be returning there for breakfast - Kate said it was a must!
I spent the early evening strolling down Bourke Street, enjoying the bookstores and the street musicians. I can tell I’m going to enjoy Melbourne - there is a lot to see here and I can't wait to see more tomorrow.

24 hours in Canberra

Until a couple of weeks ago, I wasn’t planning on visiting Canberra at all. My itinerary was set to include Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. But I became more and more intrigued about Canberra. One set of Australian friends told me I really should go there – and another set of friends told me not to bother. I had also watched Billy Connolly’s travel show ‘World Tour of Australia’, in which he completely slams Canberra! Bill Bryson, in his book ‘In a Sunburned Country’ (published as ‘Down Under’ in the UK), is also pretty scathing about the place. Even the former Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, famously refused to live in Canberra – preferring to stay in Sydney rather than move in to the official residence. That would be as if the Obamas had decided to stay in Chicago, rather than moving to the White House in DC! So I was curious about Canberra – and I also felt that I really did need to see the capital city of this country, especially coming from Washington, DC.
Canberra, like DC, was a planned capital city. It was a compromise, really – as nobody was able to agree whether the capital should be Melbourne or Sydney. So, in 1908, an area of New South Wales – almost exactly half way between Sydney and Melbourne – was chosen to become the A.C.T. (Australian Capital Territory) – again, rather like our District of Columbia. At that time it was little more than a sheep station – with nothing for miles around, except mountains and bush. To this day, it is still surrounded by nothing much – except mountains and bush. A competition was held to design the new capital. An American architect, and protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright, called Walter Burley Griffin won the contest and it was his plans that became the basis for the layout of the city, with its symmetrical road layout and placement of embassies and prominent government buildings seen in the Parliamentary Triangle (another DC parallel – Griffin is to Canberra as L’Enfant is to DC).
It took many years to complete this new city – and not all of Griffin’s ideas were used. Building and expansion is still going on, with new buildings replacing old. Even Parliament House (the equivalent of the US Capitol) is only twenty years old (the original Parliament House, from 1927, is now a museum).
In my brief time in Canberra I had time to have a look at the city center (known as the CBD - Central Business District), Parliament House and the National Museum of Australia. I would also attempt to walk between all these locations, to see more and get a feel for the place in the short time that I had.
The CBD offered a mixture of office blocks, municipal and civic buildings, modern indoor retail complexes and 1970s-era pedestrianised shopping precincts. None of it was very attractive. In fact, I was reminded of the worst of English 1970s architecture on streets that could have easily been in Leeds or Coventry. Time to move on.
Trying to walk from the CBD to Parliament House was not a good idea. It was much, much further than it looked on the map. Also – the only connecting road seemed to be rather busy highway. It was also freezing cold (they have winter here, unlike Brisbane). I eventually hailed a cab and was helpfully told by the driver that I had been crazy trying to walk.

Parliament House was an impressive structure and I was able to go inside and have complete access to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, as they were in recess this month. I was glad to see all of this, especially as a comparison to the Capitol, where we take our students every year. This building certainly lacks all the awesome beauty of the always-impressive US Capitol. In fact, beauty is not a word I would use to describe any of Canberra. Functional, structured, orderly, well-planned – yes. But there is no aesthetic beauty or warmth here (maybe the weather was getting to me). Canberra is almost over-planned. After leaving Parliament House,
I walked down to see the old Parliament House and walked through the Aboriginal Tent Embassy – an unofficial set of tents set up by Aboriginal people to represent their rights as the first Australians. I was pleased to speak to a man who seemed to be in charge of the ‘embassy’ – and I asked him what he thought of Canberra. He told me that it reminded him of a ‘giant cemetery’ – and I had to agree. At once, I was reminded of Arlington and its vastness, extreme symmetry and quiet, still, regimented atmosphere. That’s fine for a cemetery, but a capital city needs a little more life and warmth.

I finished my day at the National Museum. I was so glad to have made it here. The displays and artifacts were superb – and I learned a great deal about the indigenous people, the early settlers and the colonization of Australia. The museum did a wonderful job of respecting, celebrating and honoring every community and racial and ethnic group that has ever lived in Australia. Impressive stuff – and it demonstrated what a rich, diverse, multicultural country this is.
I stayed until closing time – after which I was lucky enough to catch a stunning sunset over the nearby Black Mountain and its famous Telstra Tower, but then it was time for me to move on. Off to the airport once again, for my evening flight to the state of Victoria and the city of Melbourne.

Back to School!

So here we are on Wednesday, July 15th – and it’s the START of a new school term for children here in Brisbane! The new term was beginning – and I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit two schools today.

First up was Weller’s Hill State School – a public elementary school in the suburb of Tarragindi. Here, 700 students - boys and girls – grades PreK through 7, were back for the start of their winter term. They all wear a uniform – and everyone has a sunhat, even at this time of year. It’s standard issue in Australia – they are, sensibly, very conscious of the power of the sun. This school was comfortably familiar. The classrooms I saw could easily have been classrooms in the UK or the USA. This was clearly a very happy, popular and successful school. They made superb use of all the outdoor space too – there was even outdoor teaching space, which is certainly well-used in this climate.

I then went in to the city center – and to another school. Brisbane Grammar is one of the oldest schools in the country. It’s been around since 1868 – so it’s an impressive 140 years old. It’s a private school for boys, very much in the more traditional, English style. Uniforms (and hats, again!) were worn and the boys were all very welcoming, polite and hard at work. The facilities were superb – perhaps most impressive was the sports complex. They take their sport very seriously in Australia – and there was something for everyone here. A 50 meter pool, tennis courts, a fully equipped gymnastics facility, volleyball courts, soccer fields, rugby fields and cricket pitches. I watched a class of sixth graders working on a social studies project – and, again, felt that I could easily have been in a classroom back in DC or in London.
Here, they have four terms in a school year – and the school year begins in January. Term 1 is from January to March, Term 2 is April to June, Term 3 (which started today) is July to September and Term 4 is October to late November. The long vacation is from mid November to mid January – the summertime here, of course.
It was an impressive school and I was delighted to have had the chance to visit.
It was now time to move on from Brisbane. What an interesting, upbeat and lively city. I've loved it. It's the fastest growing city in Australia right now - and I can understand why. I hope to be back someday soon. I had one final stroll through the city - which allowed me to stop briefly at the Museum of Brisbane (inside the City Council building) - and then I had to get ready for my flight down south and on to the Australian capital, Canberra.

On the Waterfront

Today I took to the water (the Brisbane River) to get another, different, fantastic view of the city. I took the 'CityCat' service from the suburb of Bulimba into downtown Brisbane. Bulimba is a fashionable, cafe and bookstore-filled area - and the area that is Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's parliamentary constituency. Needless to say, I enjoyed a 'flat white' coffee from one of the local, independent coffee shops. This one was run by two brothers - and they had even named the store '2 Brothers'. I was then fortunate to chance upon a superb local bookstore - Mary Ryan's, which had a great selection of children's books - many by Australian authors. I had a long chat with the incredibly helpful manager of the children's section - and I now have scores of wonderful recommendations of books for us to use back at school.

I then caught the boat from the small pier in Bulimba. Many locals use this boat service as their means of getting from the suburbs to the city center for work every morning. What a wonderful commute! On the thirty minute journey I was treated to many great views of the city, including the striking 'Story Bridge' - a steel cantilever bridge, built in the 1930s.

I got off the boat just opposite the huge ferris wheel and I walked up towards the oldest part of Brisbane - and Brisbane's oldest building, the Commissariat's Store. This building dates from 1829 and was actually built by the convicts who has just been sent up to the new settlement of Brisbane from Sydney. This building was the government store house - for all food products and supplies. This is one of only two building that still remains from the days when Brisbane was a convict town. I guess they were keen to remove most traces of that era and replace it with the thriving and uplifting city that stands here now.
I continued my historical quest by looking for more of Brisbane's oldest buildings. I found Victoria Square - where a huge statue of Queen Victoria still stands, proudly surveying the city. The City Hall is a beautiful, colonial-style building with a tall clocktower that strikes every hour with the same chimes as Big Ben, in London. Every old building here seems to have some fascinating story behind it. Like the old windmill - the only other remaining building from convict times - inside which prisoners spent all day on a treadmill grinding the grains that would then be used to make their own bread. My favorite, though - which in many ways nicely sums up the Brisbane mentality and the Australian way - is the story of the old Treasury Building. This grand old Victorian building - once full of civil servants and governmental economists is now, would you believe, Brisbane's casino! There is some beautiful symmetry there - and the irony is wonderfully appropriate.

Brisbane central

Today I had the chance to really explore downtown Brisbane - the city center and all that it has to offer. But I started the day at a local shopping mall - in order to pick up a few souvenirs and books, but also to get more of a feel of everyday life here. The mall was certainly similar to, say, Tyson's, in terms of scale - but much of it reminded me more of a British shopping mall, and this included several of the stores too. There were many very familiar, British stores - and British produce too. But there was also a Target and a K-Mart! Oh - and many, many coffee bars again.
In order to reach downtown Brisbane, I took one of the express buses that travels on the incredible 'Busway' - a simple, but brilliant concept. Separate, walled roads were built (in about 2001), purely for these express buses - to get people quickly in and out of the city without having to go through any traffic at all. A journey that would have taken about 30 minutes, took less than 10. Superb.
Brisbane was bustling - it was lunchtime on a regular workday. It was like many busy, thriving cities - with impressive skyscrapers and an encouraging amount of new development and infrastructure improvement still going on. Prime Minister Rudd has certainly made sure that jobs are being created and that construction is going ahead, to help Australia recover from the tough economic times the world is going through.
I walked down to the riverside, which was lined with cafes and restaurants and a marina too, and then onwards into the beautiful Botanical Gardens. It was reminiscent of Central Park - but with palm trees!
I crossed the new pedestrian (and cycle) bridge - the Goodwill Bridge - that took me over to the South Bank. This was an area of Brisbane that was re-vitalized significantly in 1988, when Brisbane hosted Expo (the World's Fair). The South Bank now houses an elegant riverside path and boardwalk, countless cafes and restaurants, a Museum, an Art Gallery, Theaters, Cinemas, concert halls and a huge Convention Center. Impressive stuff - and reminiscent of the South Bank in London - particularly as it also has a huge Ferris wheel on the banks of the river, rather like the London Eye.
There is even a beach and swimming area - which was being put to perfect use by many happy children and their families on this beautiful, warm afternoon. There were also countless Ibis birds - hoping a kind tourist would share their lunch with them. I noticed several signs warning against this practice!
Brisbane is very well planned and designed and contains just about everything you could want and need in a city. Looking across at the skyline from the South Bank, I remembered that just yesterday I had been looking at all this from the mountain top of Mount Coot'tha. It's equally impressive up close - and I'm thrilled to have had the time to get to know this exciting, surprising, beautiful city.

View from the hills

I always love looking at cities from above - or at least from somewhere very high up. So today I went to the top of Mount Coot'tha, where there is an 'overlook' from which you get the most stunning panoramic views of the whole city of Brisbane. I was not disappointed - and had picked the perfect day to come up here. The views were crystal clear, under a bright blue sky.
Once again, I thought to myself, I could get used to this winter weather! I was also struck by how beautiful this city is - with its curving river running through it, an attractive array of skyscrapers and green hills and valleys for miles around. It's funny to think that, historically, this spot was originally chosen to house the most hardened criminals - those that were deemed too rough and dangerous for Sydney. Basically, this was Australia's maximum security prison of the 1820s. The city got its name from the Governor of New South Wales at that time - Sir Thomas Brisbane.

I observed a Scottish 'invasion' taking place in Brisbane today - thousands of Scots (and ex-pat Scots, too) had descended on the city of Brisbane to watch their beloved Celtic - the famous soccer team from Glasgow, Scotland. They were playing a special pre-season game against the local soccer team, Brisbane Roar. It was strange to see so many soccer fans wandering around town all day in the distinctive green and white striped shirts of Celtic (for the record, Celtic won 3-0).

I spent the afternoon in a popular suburb of Brisbane called Paddington. There is also an area called Paddington in Sydney - and both are named after Paddington in London. Another example of the strong British influence on things - especially placenames. Paddington was full of antique shops and cafes - and beautiful houses high up on a hillside overlooking the city. I think that if I were to move to Brisbane, this would be where I'd like to live. I enjoyed another outstanding cup of coffee too!
Tomorrow I will really explore downtown Brisbane and discover what there is right in the thick of things, amongst all those skyscrapers. I'm really enjoying my time here - and I had no idea what to expect before I arrived. You hear so much about Sydney and Melbourne - but much less about Brisbane (which is Australia's third biggest city, by the way). Well, I highly recommend it to anyone visiting this great country. It has so much to offer, the weather is - seemingly - always good and the surrounding countryside is a fabulous mixture of perfect beaches and stunning countryside. Those early settlers - even the ones who hadn't necessarily chosen to move here - really found a new paradise. This is a truly wonderful part of the world.

Crikey!

Today was certainly full and action-packed - and it began with a visit to the famous Australia Zoo 'Home of the Crocodile Hunter'. This was Australian icon's Steve Irwin's zoo - which is now run by his family and often features shows with the crocodiles and his now-famous daughter, Bindi. It is certainly the most incredible zoo I have ever been to - and unlike all the urban zoos I have been to before in the US, London and Europe. This was more like a zoo crossed with a safari - as you could often actually be amongst the animals - not just watching them through metal bars or a sheet of plexiglass. I saw animals that I had never seen before - and even some I'd never heard of. First up was the famous crocodile show itself, featuring many exotic animals and birds - but, finally, a huge crocodile being hand-fed by one Steve Irwin's brave protegees.
Up next was the kangaroo sanctuary, and a chance to actually feed and pet the kangaroos - something I had not expected. They were incredibly tame and lovable - their fur was so soft and they happily ate from my hand, which was amazing. Several of the kangaroos were even carrying their baby 'joeys' in their pouches. I then saw koalas up close, sitting in low-hanging trees. There were all the famed Australian creatures - dingoes, wombats, kookaburras, emus, Tasmania devils and an extraordinary creature called a cassowary - the oddest looking bird I have ever seen - part ostrich, part dinosaur, I thought to myself!
Part of Steve Irwin's legacy has been to ensure that many animals in his zoo were rescued from dangerous situations - and the emphasis throughout the park and from the zookeepers was very much on conservation, animal welfare and protecting endangered species. There is also a huge, protected wildlife reservation in the north of Australia in Steve Irwin's name.

The journey back from Australia Zoo took me past the stunning Glasshouse mountain range again - and then it was back to Brisbane, in time for the evening 'Aussie Rules' football game.
The game was being played at the 'Gabba' - an impressive stadium in the heart of Brisbane, used in the summer months for cricket and in the winter for Aussie rules football. Amazingly, Aussie rules football was originally played by cricketers during their off-season (the winter) in order to keep in shape - which is why most cricket stadia in Australia double as the venue for Aussie rules games. It's a game that could not be more different from cricket! It evolved from Gaelic Football - and there are elements of both soccer and rugby in the game. But Aussie rules sometimes appears to have no rules and can be pretty rough, fast but refreshingly free-flowing. I quickly got the gist of things (6 points for a 'goal' and 1 point for a 'behind') and settled down to watch four 30 minute quarters, after which the home team - the Brisbane Lions - had beaten Geelong (from Victoria - near Melbourne) by an impressive score of 108 to 65.
I also had the chance to savor one of the local delicacies - a 'Four & Twenty' meat pie. A must at any 'footie' game. My friend, who took me to the game, told me that I absolutely had to come again - as Brisbane had not beaten Geelong (one of the best teams in the country) since 2005 - so I must be some kind of lucky charm! I look forward to explaining the rules of the game in more detail to my students next year. Perhaps we should even try playing it in P.E. class!