Melbourne: Godesses and Gardens

While I had thought that I'd never done the ferry crossing from Tassie to Victoria, although I'd done it in reverse after my 2 terms of teaching in Corio North, a vague memory surfaced of having driven out of the old terminal and through Melbourne, presumably on a skiing trip sometime in the '80s.

The trip on the ferry was interesting: very noisy but most of it was while noise, but around 4am this incredibly metallic noise commenced, something like a sliding door. There were also the reverberations of the engine, sometimes constant, sometimes not so. It was at the 'not so' times that I could feel them through my mattress, which was not particularly comfortable. It was those times I would wait for more variation in the reverberations and also be aware of the movement of the ship, which earlier had been pitching and I'd be aware of my orientation in relation to the horizontal - tipping slightly towards my feet then towards my head. In the later hours there would be the occasional feeling of either tipping towards my head or towards my feet in a more random manner. It was an odd feeling but I acknowledge that it is the first time I have slept on a boat this size and Bass Strait is notorious for it's weather! It is also the first time since the 1980's that I have done the crossing of Bass Strait. I did get some sleep, judging by being aware of dreams from time to time. Despite the challenges, I was incredibly grateful for having a cabin to myself and being able to horizontal (more or less) for the night.

It was a wet welcome to Melbourne and after needing to pull over very shortly after disembarking, to access Maps and directions (starting with: left or right turn) I made a planned diversion into Corio to purchase a Myki card from a 7-11 store. Store located with added directions from 2 very helpful young men,

Marilyn Monroe's dress in Some Like it Hot, 1959

As I was headed to Christine's place, it occurred to me that I had not driven in Melbourne for 7 years, wasn't too bad until I got to the general area of the Westgate Bridge and assorted roadworks had me a bit flummoxed then closer to Brighton a couple of unplanned diversions meant driving in circles and doing a U-turn across several lanes of incessant traffic.

I arrived outrageously early as the weather was such that diversions were not appealing and it was too early for the shops.

It was delightful to see Christine and Brian again, and after a very good coffee Christine and I set off into the city to visit the Goddess exhibition.

Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blonds, 1953

Just fabulous! Not so much about the cinema and about the costumes and much more about the boundary breaking that some of the most famous names indulged in: Marilyn Munro wearing outfits that would have shocked many of the day and walking out after finding out the the male lead was offered 70% more in salary than she was!

Left: Marlene Dietrich' trouser suit

Mae West commencing her career at 40! Marlene Dietrich shocking US congress by wearing trousers! From an article in a magasine of the day 'Congress, faced with the dismaying spectacle of trousered women on the streets of the national capital..'

Quentin Crisp's Queen Elizabeth I dress in Orlando

An elderly Quentin Crisp being cast as Queen Elizabeth 1 in Orlando in 1992 when 'promoting homosexuality' was illegal in England. Then there were the negro actresses who rebelled against being cast in only the mammy/maid roles. And so much more. Strong women, all of them. It took us 2 hours to take it all in.

Then we adjourned for a sushi lunch before returning to Christine's place and a nana nap, before I cooked my favourite abalone dish for dinner.

Christine and me:
ready to explore the Cranbourne botanical garden

The following day (Sunday) there was much discussion about options, but a visit to the Cranborne Botanical Gardens was decided upon. Cranborne rather than the gardens in the city, as Cranborne hires mobility scooters to those in need, so having procured one of those for a 2 hour booking, we had a quick bite to eat and headed down the paths.

Dendrobiums of some description

Progress was slow as there was much to look at, along with speculating upon the identification and broader classification. As the 2 hour limit for the booked scooter drew close, we returned to the visitor centre and inquired about taking one out again, if there were not other bookings. So the second part of the afternoon was spent doing more of what we had done earlier, much to our mutual delight. A loose plan to go down the Mornington Peninsula to some hot springs was ditched.

Pterostylis baptistii

We had a most delightful afternoon. The range of Banksias in flower was fabulous; there were orchids to admire, the reproductive habits of cycads to speculate upon, weird and wonderful plants to marvel at and a native rhododendron to amaze us - yes, Australia has some!