I noticed these helpful signs at every pedestrian crossing. Because everyone knows that when a pedestrian is hit by a car it's because the pedestrian was not walking with care, right?
If only they had signs like this at every vehicle intersection!
My first destination was the Royal Botanical Gardens, about 5 km from my hotel. I started by walking across and then along the Yarra River.
The river was a busy place, with small cruise boats, rowing boats, and families of ducks.
I walked past a row of rowing clubs and watched the coach (or whatever he is called) riding along on a bike, yelling orders through a megaphone.
And then I found myself at the entrance to the botanical gardens. I came in at the corner opposite the visitor centre, so I snapped a photo of this map and began my tour.
Rose Garden jumped out at me, so I decide to start there. It was a little disappointing.
After making the rounds of the botanical gardens, I crossed the river and made my way to Fitzroy Gardens.
There were a few interesting sights here, such as this scarred tree...
Captain Cook's cottage...
and a model Tudor village. Both the cottage and the model village came from England.
There were also a couple of lovely fountains.
I saw this church, which turned out to be St. Patrick's Cathedral, just outside the park, so I decided to walk over and see it. There was a wedding in progress, so I couldn't go inside, but I admired its exterior and the beautiful garden.
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| The Windsor Hotel |
The Old Treasury Building - designed by a 19 year old architect as a storehouse for gold bullion during the gold rush.
When I got back to the hotel, it was about 2:30. I knew there was a bike rental shop not far away, but I also knew that it closed at 6:00. I asked myself whether it was worth it to rent a bike for such a short time, and immediately answered "yes". So I walked back down to the river and picked up a bike. On first sight of the bike shop and the rental bikes I was a bit skeptical, but I took a test ride and it turned out the bike was great. It was a Dutch style bike, and I've learned that these are usually wonderful, but very occasionally, they can be a nightmare. Fortunately, this one was wonderful.
The guy in the shop assured me that the beach was only a short ride from there, and that there was a bike path all the way.
Well, I'm sure he was telling the truth, but somehow I missed the bike path. I knew the general direction I had to go, so I made my way along various streets.
One of the streets I rode on had houses with the most amazing cast iron balconies. I was intrigued and wanted to take a closer look, but I also felt somewhat pressured to get to the beach so I could make it back to the bike shop before closing time, so I told myself I'd come back another time.
Finally I found a street that led straight down to the ocean.
I passed a stretch of these quaint cottages, and came out on the oceanfront.
The weather was not good -- it was about 18 degrees and very cloudy and windy -- but the ocean was magnificent!
I saw that people were riding bikes on this pier, so I rode out to the end.
Signs indicated that this is a place where penguins come every evening to feed their babies.
To return to the bike shop, I took another route that the bike shop guy had mentioned -- through Albert Park. This was lovely, as the bike path went along a lake with dozens of black swans. After I exited the park, there was a bike lane on the road all the way back to the river.
After returning the bike, I wasquite hungry, so I thought of a kebap shop I had seen near my hotel. I wasn't sure if it was the kind of place a woman could go alone, but when I got there I saw a Turkish woman sitting alone, so I decided it was okay. The food was delicious, and quite cheap, so it was a great way to end a day of walking and cycling.
