Today we enjoyed a walking tour of the hidden laneways of Melbourne. Our tour was led by three knowledgeable guides who introduced us to the special sights and atmosphere of Melbourne’s beautiful laneways and historic arcades.   We saw the quirkiest cafes, independent designers, street art, architecture, and heard many historical tales about the area.   Melbourne was named Batmania by its founders.  Queen Victoria didn’t like the name and renamed it Melbourne after the Prime Minister of England at the time.

The oldest pub in Melbourne is ‘Chloes’ and it is named after a prostitute whose real name was Marie.  The artist painting of ‘Chloe’ is now worth 5.4 million dollars.  Marie died tragically when she poisoned herself.  Here is a picture of the pub sign and also a picture of ‘Chloe’.

Here is a famous soup kitchen called The Soup Place.   Patrons buy themselve a bowl of soup, and if they feel like it, donate an additional $3 for the homeless who come around 4 pm to have a cup of soup.   Donators write their name on the wall on sticky notes.

Here is Gog and Magog who are the protectors of the northern and southern hemisphere.

We had tea and hot chocolate at Kokoblack

Hozier Lane is famous for it’s graffiti art.   The government offices wanted to paint over the graffiti until the Lonely Planet book mentioned it as ‘a place to see’.   Wisely the government chose to leave the graffiti alone.

It is our final night in Australia.

This evening we had a special dinner on board a converted air-conditioned 1927 tram that has become the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant.  It was a delightful experience and

highlighed our wonderful tour of Australia.  Some of our travellers unfortunately have to head back home tomorrow.  We will miss them!   The rest of us will travel to New Zealand tomorrow.   Thank you Australia, Women’s Travel Network and Worldwide Quest for a delightful adventure!