Yay!!! After 2 years when our flower festivals were closed due to the dreaded virus, they are back. The big one is Floriade, in Commonwealth Park, but I prefer the one at Tulip Tops, just over the border into NSW. Because there is a small entry fee to the garden the crowds are smaller. This means that the Oldies can get photos without having to wait for gaps in the people traffic. Another big advantage is that the garden is flat so my ageing Oldies find it much easier to walk around. As well as flowers there are lots of trees in blossom. I like to smell the blossoms but have to be wary of the hordes of bees that are busy harvesting the pollen. There is a cafe with good snacks and free tea and coffee. And yes, there are lots of trees for small bears to climb.
Labels: Canberra, climbing, gardens
Two weeks ago we had a short stop in Melbourne. The Oldies both caught COVID so I have had to wait until they recovered to get my ghost-writer to post this. Melbourne was hit hard by COVID lock-downs and many of the little shops we used to like are gone. Looking for a new experience, we decided to take the ferry across Port Phillip Bay to Portarlington. The Melbourne ferry terminal is next to Mum's favourite sculpture "Cow Up a Tree". The bay is huge and from Portarlington you can just see the higher towers of the Melbourne CBD (but not in photo 3). Portarlington is a small town that has a large fishing fleet and several mussell farms. We only had time to walk (struggle) up the hill to the main street, take a walk past the shops, have lunch in the historic Grand Hotel, and slowly go back to the jetty to catch the ferry back to Melbourne. My "find of the day" is the Pier St cafe, near the piers. The best coffee, scones and jam of the Melbourne trip. I was also impressed by the trees near the town; the all looked like they had been trimmed across the top. I will get back to Portarlington sometime, there is a lot more to see there.
