Sunday afternoon we took the train downtown to visit Chinatown & the gardens. At Town Hall we walked through the Queen Victoria Building. What an impressive building, with its stunning architecture, intricate tiled floors, domed roof, stained glass windows & elevator (lift), cast-iron decorative railings – not to mention the unique boutiques on each floor! The QVB was built in 1898 as a monument to the reigning monarch. There are jewellers, cafes, antique stores, Russian-made military miniatures store, model train & other ‘hobby’ stores plus a wide range of international boutiques (high-end brand $$$$). The clocks hanging from both ends of the mall are works of art – like in Prague or Vienna. We felt glued to the QVB & couldn’t resist checking out the 70% sale on the concourse level and the Aussie store for an authentic cow-hide ‘softie’ hat for Lewis. Oh if we could only get some of this stuff home without breakage! (Ashley Warehouse Sale+)! The most impressive place for the guys – the men’s urinals! First time using such an ornate P-spot! Unfortunately Elsa & I had to take their word for it, since they refused to take a photo! Couldn’t see why not, but neither wanted a black eye!
We walked to Chinatown but it was raining. We enjoyed a coffee & pastry (best value & taste); walked through a Chinese mall & Lewis found a great purchase at one of the video stores ... I will leave it at that! For dinner we ate the lamb dish Lewis had cooked overnight in the slow-cooker. Another fabulous meal! Too much food for late dining but what the heck....we are on vacation!
Monday, March 1 was cold (17 degrees) and raining. We couldn’t believe the temperature swing and wondered if the tsunami had an impact; from hot & steamy to wet & cold, but a good day to organize the next 2 weeks of our trip before Brisbane. We now have flights & car rentals organized for Melbourne to enjoy Lewis & Elsa’s timeshare in Mansfield (wine country in Victoria County) plus apartment, flights & car for the Gold Coast (Burleigh Heads Gemini Court Holiday Apts www.geminicourt.com.au). Regardless of the weather we will explore using the Ferries tomorrow!
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