Exploring the city

Hi everyone,

I slept better last night than I've done in a long time - my sister has a comfortable spare bed!  I'm not sure whether it was an especially mild morning in Melbourne or whether I've become acclimatised to the more bitter mornings inland, but I can say confidently that the morning felt cool but pleasant from my point of view.

I drove in to the CBD, to the offices of the Energy & Water Ombudsman of Victoria (EWOV) on the corner of ---------- and ------------- Streets.

The course was very good: engaging delivery and some insights into the back-end of EWOV operations that I'll be able to use at work.  And, I think I've made some good contacts at a few other water and energy agencies that could come in handy.  Yay!

The course wrapped up about 3pm and so I seized the opportunity to explore Melbourne a little while walking from EWOV to the Anytime Fitness on Queen Street.  This was the shopping arcade on top of the place where I parked:

Somehow the city seemed bigger and busier than I really remembered it.  More alive, I suppose, and the smells in the air seemed stronger.

I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore Toto!

This place is on Bourke Street.  I've always wondered when and in what circumstances a Public Benefit Bootery would have been created: from the architecture I'm guessing at the time of the Great Depression of the 1930s.  Thoughts?

I also walked through Hardware Lane, a restaurant strip near the legal precinct. In the Long Ago I had a lot of very nice lunches here. They always did wonderful pasta here and it smells richly of olive oil and garlic and calamari.  

I fitted in a good strong workout at the Anytime Fitness, although in some ways I think the gym up here is quite a bit better (it's certainly bigger).  I love the reciprocal membership!

By the time I'd finished if was getting on for 5pm and I couldn't see any point getting in the road in time for peak hour traffic.  Instead I walked around to the Melbourne City Baths for a swim.

I used to use the gym there and go swimming there quite a bit.  I certainly still love using it: it takes me back to a happy time in my life; I guess it reminds me how full of possibility the world still is, just like it was then.

I set a target of swimming a mile, which meant 54 laps of the 30 metre pool; this took a little over an hour.  I had to work to finish them!

I walked back to the parking garage down Swanston Street, detouring to walk though Chinatown on Little Lonsdale Street.  More exotic sights and smells: it's a magical part of the city!

I got on the road just after 7pm and was back at the farm by about 9:30pm. Oddly, a slip near the airport where I failed to take the right exit (leading to a 20km detour) made almost no difference to my travel time.

Back to reality tomorrow. Guess I'd better post this and then go have a shower and wash the chlorine off!

Have a great day people!