Friday, Saturday and Sunday

On Friday I tried yet a different place for my morning coffee, then walked along different streets to the Botanic Garden and ambled through more different paths. My destination in the city was a shop that advertised that it sold only gluten free cakes. It was very hard to find and had a limited number of products. It will not last long. I pottered in a wool shop, then the bookshop next door then went into St Paul,s, the Anglican Carhedral. There was a service going on,  in 1 small corner of the huge cathedral,  but the door man  still insisted in an abrupt tone,  I wait in a roped off area.  No thanks, another day. I pottered along Southbank to the far end, then came back here.

On Saturday I went by tram to Fitzroy. . I had read that there was an interesting  market with lots of antique and odds and ends stalls  near the fruit and veg markets.  But when i got there several stall holders setting up clothes stands said they didn't know where the fruit and veg market was. I wasn't in the right mood, so started walking back towards the city and found a place for breakfast. Then ,,when I was waiting for a tram, I saw on my phone's map that it was only 5 km from my hotel. So I walked back, but it was longer than 5 km because I decided to try and walk in parks only. Crossing roads was allowed,  as was walking along a path next to green space.only. I walked through, in order,  Carlton Gardens - (I didnot know the Exhibition building was so huge. They have a  guided tour of the Dome which i have added to my list), Parliament reserve, then , the greeN bit attached to St Patrick's cathedral, the Fitzroy Gardens( in East melbourne not Fitzroy),then Yarra Park ( where the MCG is ( it's huge)), then AAMI park then I crossed the Yarra into the streets of South Yarra. There was something on in the stadium in AAMI park. Many parents and young kids, mostly boys , over about 4 and under about 10 were all converging on  the venue. I could not think what. So I looked it up. 'Monster jam' is what the event is called. Huge trucks doing stunts. The cheapest adult ticket was $90. 

Today has gone well. I have decided I can stop trying to drink coffee or eat at new places around here. I can go back to nice places I have found. So after  breakfast ( for the first time I finished the crossword ( guardian cryptic) in 1 sitting)   I set of in the direction of Richmond, over the Yarra from me, but not far. I wandered through typical inner city dwellings  , lots of variety, - huge to tiny, to South Richmond, then to Richmond. There was not much open on Sunday morning. Nevermind, I found a place for a drink ( managing fluid intake and  fluid output hasn't got any easier  with the passing of another year)   and walked back to a different part of South Melbourne which was alive and thriving.  About 50m away from the shops I saw a smallish terrace house for sale. I looked it up. Very nicely renovated, 3bed, 2 bath,  only front 'garden'  , back for car space, $2.5m plus. . Then I walked back here. I am getting to know which bridges across the Yarra to avoid. The one closest to me is dreadful, as in 'fills me with dread'. I have never liked open tread staircases ( ones that you can see through the stairs to below)  But several bridges that I have crossed are next level dreadfullness. Each individual stair is open mesh and the sides are the same open mesh stuff, so you can see through the stairs to the ground, and sometimes edge of water below and out of the corner of your eye you look down , then when you are crossing the bridge you look through the mesh to the river below. I counted 20 steps on a bridge a few days ago.   I hold firmly onto a rail .!  So,  today, I went out of my way to cross a bridge that was ok rather than the closest to me. 

Walk along the Yarra on Thursday

The day was intermittently trying to drizzle. But sometimes all that happened was a few seconds of large drops.  I walked along the Yarra upstream for a while, crossed  a nice old bridge and walked further. It was really pretty and quite quiet.  Then i turned back, walked along lots of streets,  with the intention of visiting Como, a big old national,trust house. I had intended on going on a tour, but muddled my times.. ,I wasn't  prepared to hang around there for over  an hour. I did nothing of note for the rest of the day.

St Kilda

I walked through Fawkner Park near here to a place that opens early for coffee, then, after finishing most of the crossword I walked on  around part of Albert Park lake to a little cafe in St Kilda West for an omelette for breakfast. Then I walked along the waterfront and out to the end of the pier at St Kilda.  I wanted to confirm the times of the ferry to Williamstown. I walked further along the waterfront  but then decided to come back here. To get to the tram stop, I walked past about 10 cake and coffee shops in Acland St . They were all well patronised. When in Rome... I chose  a cafe and ate a delicious piece of cake and good coffee. The cafe had not changed much in more than 50 years. I got onto a tram that I thought was the right one to connect with my regular tram but no, it wasn't, so I had further to walk than I was expecting. But enjoyed seeing more of Albert Park Lake.  My phone died just as heavy rain drops started ( I had been carrying my rain jacket all day because of the forecast) and I had to rummage in my daypack for my portable charger. I was not impressed , but the rain drops soon stopped.

In the supermarket near me I bought some soup for lunch. There is  a microwave here, but no container to put food , like soup, into.  There is a 2 hob gas stove and a saucepan. But I could not work out how to use the stove. It lit but then stopped. I will ask tomorrow  for a microwave container. Though cold pumpkin soup is OK. 

Monday and Tuesday

Both quite quiet days. It has taken me longer than I expected to go through the info I have collected and work out a rough priority of things to see and do.

Yesterday I pottered around many of the back streets around here, stopping for coffee , then breakfast , then late lunch ( with left overs for dinner).  Today  I walked  to the Toorak Village ( as far as I can gather just a fancy name for the shops on either side of the main street. There was a scupture exhibition  - about 60 sculptures,  smallish, 1 or more in each shop window. Then I walked back here then tram into the CBD. I went to the wharf where the boat that does trips up and down stream goes from. just as well I did. The website is misleading. Then to the NGV to look at an exhibition on kimonos. It was very interesting. Lots of old ones and info on the making, how and when they were used etc etc.

Then I walked through lots of backstreets to the bus back here

Grand final day and Sunday

 Many years ago, in the early 1980's we moved to Melbourne for a few years. I knew next to nothing about Aussie rules football.  I knew absolutely nothing about any of the teams. I went to a pharmacy for something soon after we arrived and was asked, after I made the purchase, "what glass did I want?"   " Er, what.?" ?Turned out they had a promotion on and I could choose a glass  with a club's logo on it.  I told him I wanted the glass on the end,  the one with more than 2 colours, quite colourful.  The guy serving me already had a dim view of my intelligence. My choice confirmed this to him.. I took the glass home and discovered it was the Fitzroy lions. They were on the bottom of the ladder and stayed there for a few years.  I have not followed them since,  ( but did know they had moved to Brisbane) till yesterday, when I discovered they were one of the teams playing. 

Yesterday I walked into the city. I walked mainly along Toorak road - great big well kept old houses in a variety of styles ( do real people live in them?), big old apartment blocks, lots of big old trees. My progress was often slowed by groups of  many joggers  , over 30 in 1 group. The Melbourne marathon  is on in a few weeks. 

I caught the  old tram that goes around the rectangle that contains the main CBD.  It has a commentary but there was too much traffic noise and passenger noise for me to hear it properly .  I gave up half way round and wandered around the new Dockland area then walked back stopping at a nice place on the waterfront for lunch. 

Arrived in Melbourne

 Firstly a brief explanation.  Many of my friends knew that from February I had been planning on 5 weeks in France ( Marseille, Rouen and Paris)  in October.  In mid August , I decided that France was not a good idea because of my ongoing thyroid issues and possible difficulties with insurance.  In late August I booked to go to Melbourne for 5 weeks but still had to wait for a cardiologist appointment a bit less than 2 weeks ago before I could definitely say I was going.  I am here now, but far less prepared than usual when I go away for a month or so. I have yet to finish compiling my list of where i would like to go.  Maybe tomorrow.

I am staying in an aparthotel ( apartment hotel - only small apartments, no room onlys) in South Yarra ( close to river, not far from bay, walking distance to the cbd ) I have a small balcony and overlook the South Yarra train station.  There are a huge variety of buildings that I see - very old, middleaged and new- all around . I donot feel hemmed in by a building over the road.

Yesterday I went to the South Melbourne Markets, a large covered space taking up most of the block with about 6 rows and 4 columns( those are  the wrong words, but I cannot remember the right words) of little shops selling all sorts of things as well as fruit and veg stalls. I have decided to relax  a little my preference for non gluten products this trip. I bought and ate a most delicious croissant that was made with French butter, but local flour. I savoured every last flake. 

 I  enjoyed my walk back, through back streets of South Melbourne -  old Terrace houses next to a new gym, next to a supermarket  next to an office block etc, very mixed, then around the edge of the shrine of remembrance, then through the edge of the botanic Gardens and some back streets of South Yarra. The fruit in my day pack was getting a bit heavy by then. I got to a nice looking cafe at about 11.30.  Near enough lunch time. It was packed, but there was a spare table for me.  I took my time eating, but realised at about 12.45 the place was almost empty.  Everyone had cleared off to go to the game. Not me.

Bed time. To be continued tomorrow.

2025 trip. Not France but Melbourne

Just a trial to see that this blog space still works.

10 31 and onwards

I am currently sitting in the lounge at Singapore.  On Thusday I pottered around where I was staying. 

Friday was All Saints day, La Toussaint here and a public holiday. Apparently quite a few people make it a long weekend, lots of the others go to church to give thanks for dead family members. I had planned an outing based on things from my Secret Paris book  and Ian, the Australian I met several days before, came too. We were in the 14th arrondissment.  First we went to a building which had a facade made using sgraffiti , a technique for buildings,  pottery etc : paint in 1 colour,  paint another layer in a different  colour, the  scratch a pattern in the top later so some of  the bottom layer can be seen.  Interesting. Then we went looking for some hanging gardens. This took a little while. I had not read the instructions carefully enough.  We were in the right place but were looking up for gardens above us hanging down, but they were named hanging because the gardens we were in  were suspended over the railway line below us. But we did find some interesting  meteorology measuring equipment.

Next was a church Saint  notre dame de Travail ( work in english) .It was very plain and with exposed metal beams and uprights.  It was built in a working class area and tried to create an environment the locals would be comfortable in. . We arrived as one service was finishing and left just as the next one was starting. I really must sort some photos out soon. I have never seen anything like it.

We went searching for a menhir ( bronze age standing stone) that was supposed to be in a particular park, but we couldnot find it. That was the only fail for the morning , so not too bad.

We went along a pretty, small cobble- stoned street near the park Montsouris that just had small 2 storey houses, all attached to each, but all pretty, well cared for and different from their neighbours. Then we wandered around in the park and saw a black swan that could have been the 1  Ian had seen on a previous trip.  A very pleasant day that included morning coffee and lunch.

Saturday I went for a walk and a sit in the Luxembourg gardens, had a nice lunch and sorted myself out to go to the airport.  The first uber could not get to me. About 50 m away from my apartment was a 5 road intersection and apparently 1 of them  was blocked, creating chaos. I could see him going all around me in the uber app. Eventually he rang me and asked me to cancel. Another guy also had difficulty. He talked to me to ask if I was in a hurry. No I wasn't.  So he eventually got to me. Turned out he lives near the airport and it was going to be his last job.

I am now in  a Melbourne airport lounge.

10 29 tuesday and 10 30 wednesday

Tuesday was a very quiet day. I pottered.

Today was different.

I had plotted on  my map 6 things of interest. I set off 9.30ish and walked to the furthest away by a slightly circuitous route ( 5km rather then 4).  This was a monument but blocked off. All the green area in front of the eiffel tower, where there must have been all sorts of Olympic things , was blocked off.  There are doing regeneration stuff. Next was morning noisette  and croisant, but i wanted a pain au chocolate,I have got used to one of those for moring tea and they had run out. I did get the last croissant though.

Next thing on the list was a statue of something which said it should be visible through a fence, but that was blocked off too. Then a pagoda - yep, it was all covered up with construction stuff everywhere. The fourth thing, a small park dedicated to some resistance fighters,  was there, but I had been there before. It was on one of the days that i forgot to record on the map where I went. The fifth thing, a statue of a man and a horse combined,,i had seen before too. But it was still an interesting day.  There are lots of family groups around, school holidays. Ar some point i had a very nice cabbage thing with chicken stuffing and lots of veggies, which i have not been getting enough of.

10 27 Sunday and 10 28 Monday

On Sunday I pottered most of the morning. I sat and read my book at early morning coffee and croissant, mid morning coffee and something and lunch.

In the afternoon I walked to St Germain des Pres, 1 of the 2 colourful churches that i like and listened to 3 /4   of an organ and soprano recital. I am not aware of every listening to the combination of organ and voice, but I thought it was odd. I am sure both musicians were very good, but I would have preferred just the organ. I left early because i realised I had forgotten to factor in the time for a coffee stop ( or more importantly the loo stop that a coffee provides) in the time it would take me to get to the next church. 

So then I walked in the direction of the church with 2 congregations, StvEugene and st Cecile,  the modern and the latin speaking congregation ( not sure which is which). This was 5.15 ish. The main streets were full of people but the in-between streets were very empty, quiet and dark, so i decided I would definitely get a bus home. I luckily found a place for a coffee , - have I said here that i have discovered noisettes? A short black with milk, more milk than a machiato in Australia. The milk often comes in a little jug. I have never had one that needed sugar because it was too bitter.

The pewsheet said there was a vespers service  at 5.45 on Sundays in the gregorian tradition with organ. When the service started, 12 robed men processed in ( maybe 4 were choristers (extra chanters not singers)) the rest clergy. Therr were about 25 in the congregation. The whole service was on  a printed booklet I was given, but it certainly did not start at the beginning of the booklet, so i had no idea. It was chanting in Larin , the music was in the booklet, but old style with only 4 lines and funny markings, The organ fitted in  with lots of bits in between and the chanting would start on the note the organ finished on. Sometimes just 1 of the clergy, sometimes all of them. Maybe this is a fairly standard RC service, I have no idea.  I was unimpressed with how often the people in the congregation were expected to get up, wait a bit while something short  was said, then sit down again. Only about half the 25 were older than me. Quite a few people in 30s and 40s. Maybe they teach Latin in schools.

I left after about half an hour.  I knew I had a few dark  empty streets before the bus stop. So just outside the church I was looking at the map on my phone making sure I set off in the right direction. There was a man on the other side of the road who saw me and said in English Are you as lost as I am?  I said i'm not lost, I know where I am going. I was a bit undecided about him and what to do. . Anyway, i helped him and realised he was going in the same direction as me so we walked together , chattering away. He was Sean from Ireland. We stood on a corner for quite a while talking till I said I better go. I was annoyed at having to wait 20 minutes for a bus tho. He told me he was a journalist and  author and one of the books he has written ( I looked him up afterwards) looked interesting.

In Paris there is an old no longer used elevated freight railway line that has been converted to a long thin  park. It is quite pleasant. You walk along looking at the upper stories of buildings and are closer to the often very interesting roof lines. There are occassionally chairs, ponds, lots of trees and flowers.  I had walked about a kilometre of the 4 1/2 km  and was watching the guy in front of me walking at much the same pace as I was. He had a jacket with a logo on the back of the neck that i thought was either Kathmandu or Mountain design. Suddenly a bird appeared and   he turned around  and said ' there's a sparrow, there are hardly any sparrows in Sydney left. '. He stopped and realised he didn't  know who I was at all.. I replied ' I wouldn't  know, I live in Canberra' . So he  was Ian from Sydney. We chatted for a bit and then walked on together to the end , stopping to take photos. It is about his 6th trip to Paris. He comes for about 2 months a year, usually with his wife. She frequents the wool shop i went to twice. We got to the end and I told him of the church I was going to visit that was about a km  in the direction he would have been walking  , so we kept chatting as we walked.

The church, Eglise saint esprit was very impressive. It was built in the the 1930's in a poor area of Paris. The nave is square with a huge dome on top. It was inspired by the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Inside it is covered with Byzantine style frescoes , but quite plain but lovely marble bits , like the altar rail.  ian was pleased that i had taken him there . He had never been or heard of the church. But my secret Paris book knew of it. We had lunch together and then I came back here. 

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10 26 Saturday

Today was a good day, despite only crossing 1 thing off my list.  I set off to go to a coffee shop / bookshop/ odd bits and pieces place in Belleville, a bit less desirable area than I am currently  in. There are lots of different ethnic groups, some run down bits and some bits that are getting new life . It is close to where I stayed last year for a week.

I planned on getting the bus there , but yesterday afternoon had difficulty with google maps and my brain. Long story but the result was that it only took me 40 minutes to get there when I thought it was going to take 55 minutes, so I had plenty of time to wander round this particula part of Bellevile. I found where I was going, it wasn't open when it said it would be, I  wandered some more and found several of the new breed of pastry/ bread / coffee shops with a few table and chairs  ( these shops are nearly always painted white walls the light timber furniture.) ( and the few that I have asked donot have loos) But I did find  a modernised corner bistro and had a decent coffee and piece of cake. The shop I was going to go to was open when I went past. But I am not making another trip.

Then I just wandered back towards the wool shop, 11km .  There was definitely a slower, weekend , pace, not the bustle of weekdays. When I was almost at the wool shop I started to look for a lunch spot which I found. I had a whole fish. Normally I never choose this, but I fancied a glass of wine so thought I could take my time over the fish. I was sitting inside but had a good view of the passing parade. Then , to flaunt all my rules at once, I had a desert and then a coffee. ( i only occassionally have a desert and only occasionally wine and certainly never both at the same meal)  I think i was there for almost 2 hours, but the staff didnot mind.  Then I went to the wool shop, then I sat in the nearby huge church ST eustache for a bit.  I started walking back here by crossing the seine on 1 of the foot bridges and stopped to listen to 1 of the bands that play on the foot bridges on the weekend. I started to move off, thought what's the rush and stayed for ages. 8 piece brass mainly - 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, 1 Sousaphone, 1 drums, 1 sax. They were clowns too. In one  oft played theme song to a war movie that I recognised but cannot name, 2 of the trumpet players  were walking around  as if creeping through the bush holding their trumpet as a rifle. 

A bit further on  I was a bit annoyed, I wanted to walk up a street that I had not been along before but there was a protest of some group, most of them older folk, but there was still several police vehicles,  quite a few police. This group got to the street before me and they were going fairly slowly., taking up the whole width of the street. Some disgruntled car drivers.   So there was a group of people who were walking very slowly  behind the police, me included, all chatting in a variety of languages . But after a while I got past the protesters by walking 3 sides of a rectangle.   I left home at 8.50 and got back at 4.45. A longish day for me, but tonight France goes off daylight saving and I get an extra hour in bed.  

10 25 Friday ( and Thursday)

On Thursday i did very little other than experiment with butterflies and sit in 3 separate bar / cafes for early breakfast, morning tea and late lunch and plan today's outing.

Today I walked over to the other side of the river again to go to the Jaquemart Andre museum.  This apparently is a very fancy house with a very rich couples art collection.

I didnot have a ticket and, according to the sign on the queue, it would take me 30 minutes to an hour to get in. I didnot fancy waiting so went to the next place on the route,,the Parc Monceau. It was quite nice wandering around.

Next on my route was the Alexander Nevsky cathedral , a russian orthodox church. I found out about this in the Secret Paris book i have, nowhere else have i seen it mentioned. It was consecrated in 1861. ( as an aside i remember that john and i in 1976 stayed in a hotel on Nevsky prospect ( street) in St Petersboug ( except it was Leningrad then) it was then the main street of the central city area) Alexander Nevsky was a great leader , wise ruler, successful military commander and devout Christian, so the book says. Apparently  it is the archdiocesan seat of the Russian Orthodox Church in Western Europe..  in  2019 i went to another russian orthodox church , next to the seine, much newer. It was supposed to be important too. Maybe there are different flavours of russian orthodoxy.  Todays one was circular, lots of domes and taller than it was round. Inside was quite dark with paintings of people and saints all over most of the walls. There were a few chairs and there were a few other people just sitting , so I did too. It was about very peaceful.

My route took me past the arc de triumph.  There were lots of tour groups , tourists, hawkers, a largish group protesting about something, etc etc ( including pickpockets i assume) . I quickly walked close enough to get a sort of photo then hurried away. There were 2 buildings on my list , I with  facade made entirely of pottery, the other  very attractive art nuveau building. I try to eat at small cafes but I had been looking for a while. They usually tend to be in back streets, not the main roads where the big bistros are. Today I went to a nice looking big bistro . Apart from 2 japanese girls, i was the only non French speaker. The schools are on holidays and there are lots of kids around. I caught a bus back to my apartment,  the first time this trip, that i have used public transport.