Melbourne - What's Not To Like?

I've often said that people (including me!) usually don't want to hear about the good and the beautiful of another's trip -- they relish in hearing the excruciating detail of travel challenges and discomforts. Wonderful sights, amazing food, interesting people, blah blah blah -- but tell me again what you didn't like: weather, prices, seeing a rat in the restaurant, scary flights/landings, bad smells -- the list goes on.  Well, so far Australia has not been serving up any stories people will want to hear!  But I do have one gripe -- rather insignificant when compared to the wealth of wonderful that is here -- but it does allow me to hold my homeland in higher esteem by comparison -- so perhaps it's blog worthy! Prepare to be disappointed:  the only thing I've been able to complain about is that the extensive and wonderful public transportation system in Melbourne doesn't run to the airport!

It seems to this traveler that one can get anywhere and everywhere in Melbourne by public transportation except the airport.  So it gives me a little pleasure to know that my hometown of Portland with its $2.50 fare ($1.25 for seniors!) all the way to the airport from distant suburbs has something better than Melbourne.  Here in Melbourne the airport transportation (other than taxi) is a privately run SkyBus that cost $15 USD each way.  That being said -- the SkyBus is clean and speedy and timely and even has free wifi -- but it's pricey. I suspect the problem is that the SkyBus offers "free transfer/transport" in smaller vans from it's Melbourne terminal to hotels -- so those of us who just need it for point-to-point transportation from the airport to downtown (city or train) are subsidizing the hotel guests - but hey, I can't find anything else to complain about!  What a wonderful city Melbourne!

My last day in Melbourne was spent at the superbly interesting Immigration Museum ($14 but free to "concession" seniors).  I spent hours in their research room engrossed in the details of the Swiss Italian immigration that brought my great great grandparents and great grandparents to the gold fields (today about an hour drive from Melbourne) in the 1850's.  I have always been fascinated with learning the "whys" of my ancestor emigration first to Australia and then to California -- and with the help of a Museum employee, I got to dig deeper into the possible reasons.  Of course, it is impossible to know the primary reason for any person -- and there might not have been a "primary" reason at all (adventurer, gold seeker, leaving famine conditions in Switzerland, a new start, opportunity to own land, etc) but at least I now have resources to learn the many reasons and the logistics including ship rosters.  More on all of this in a future post..