In the air again, this time to Melbourne, our last stop in Australia. We were staying at the "Novotel on Collins", right in the middle of the bustling downtown shopping district. The entrance to the hotel is a narrow doorway off the street - you take an elevator up to the lobby on the sixth floor. Our room, on the thirteenth floor, had a spectacular view of the inside of the multistory shopping arcade next door.
For several days, we had been reading about two things in Melbourne - the opening of Federation Square, and a portrait mural of "Dame Edna Everage" done in slices of toast (burnt as necessary with a propane torch and then dipped in varnish) on the side of a building. Of course, we had to see these...
Federation Square had just opened, (or been dedicated), a couple of days before our arrival. It was said to be Melbourne's architectural statement to rival Sydney's Opera House. (Melbourne and Sydney have a rivalry that goes back many years.) Like the Opera House, Federation Square's construction was mired in controversy and cost overruns, but it's nearing completion. At least I think it is... Here's what it looks like...
As you can see, the style is somewhat, um, eclectic. Various parts of it (the buildings, the "rope coils", mosaics in the walkways) represented different things. Again like the Opera House in Sydney, Melbournians are sharply divided about their new "statement".
Across the street from Federation Square is Flinders Street Station, a magnificent train station.
By the way, the name Flinders comes up a lot in Australia. Turns out it's the name of the man who gave Australia its name.
© 2002 Steve Lionel - - Home