MEL

Of the three cities visited on this trip of Australia, Melbourne would be my pick, with its cooler climate than either Sydney and Adelaide and higher deployment of light rail.

Quick Tips:

Resources: MD Travel Health, City of Melbourne, CitySearch Melbourne, Gaytravel, and Google Search=gay melbourne. 

Ask your hotel for suggestions, attractions, and any discounts available.

Best Way To Get Around:

The hotel chain uses swipe cards for keys. Of the two cards issued, one didn't work and had to be reprogrammed at the front desk. The hotel staff was pleasant.

The shower in the bathroom here is clear glass, enclosed up to the ceiling, and the rest of the bathroom doesn't necessarily get steamed up. On the downside, ventilation for the rest of the bathroom was poor. The shower head has a hard-pulse feature, and it is a removable handheld on a European-style mount that is vertically adjustable along the wall.

A small horizontal desk space is available for writing/laptop use. An electric hair-dryer, electric water kettle, small electronic room safe for an extra charge, and mini-fridge are available for use. It is A$.90 for each local call made from the room. Internet is available in the lobby at $1.50 for fifteen minutes. Ice is available through the restaurant, and there are coin-operated drink dispensers. Their own restaurant offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the buffet is just under AUD20 from 6pm to 9pm.

The beds were comfortable, so sleeping wasn't a problem. The TV reception was of a rather poor quality. There was complimentary coffee and tea for two each day.

This hotel uses a metal key for entry to the room and the toilet/shower. Only one key is issued, and it is recommended to turn in your key when going out. There is only a single shower stall in the facility, but fortunately it wasn't very busy, so there wasn't any queue when I needed to take a shower.

There's a coin-operated laundry, Internet café, rooftop gym, pool, sauna and spa, restaurant and bar, and foreign exchange and safety deposit boxes.

The room was rather small, with a minifridge, electric kettle, vanity sink, and no desktop workspace.

Of the two twin beds, mine was softer than the other, but even I had trouble sleeping. It has a great central location. The receptionist, Alice, who checked us in, was very nice and had a pleasant personality.

Email: stay@victoriahotel.com.au

His order came promptly, as he handed his order to the maitre d'. I, on the other hand, came along maybe five minutes later and ordered through one of the waiters, and my order didn't show up till much later, when my partner was just finishing up his meal. A glass of red wine was about $6.

The steak and salad were good, the service was very slow, and the outdoor seating was too cold, as I starting shivering. Though there were heat lamps outside, we were sitting too far from the nearest one to feel its effects.

We dined at the Dragon Boat Restaurant.  We tried to minimize the amount of fried foods in our selection. The prices were found on the food bill ticket-it adds up.

Ginger pork dumplings, steamed barbequed pork buns, tofu stuffed with shredded duck rolls, fish cakes, tofu stuffed with pork rolls, shrimp dumplings, shark fin dumplings (I didn't taste any distinct difference from other dumplings), and the mango pudding were all good, but not great. The dim sum standard was $3.70, the special was $4.70, and the deluxe was $5.70.

Someone in your party needs to be a member of the club, as we were asked to sign in on a register as we entered.

Email: contact@sfsc.com.au

Hours coincide with the shopping centre: Monday to Wednesday 9am to 5:30pm, Thursday to Friday 9am to 9pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm, and Sunday 10am to 5pm.

Bus

215 Deer Park West - Braybrook - Highpoint
223 Williamstown Road - Footscray - Highpoint
406 Footscray - Highpoint - Keilor East
408 St Albans - Sunshine - Highpoint
468 Essendon - Highpoint
407 Milleara Road - Avondale Heights - Highpoint

Tram

57 West Maribyrnong - Ascot Vale - Melbourne CBD
82 Footscray - Highpoint - Moonee Ponds

The movie is very good, with Tom Hanks playing several characters, and probably will become a classic. On its first day of the first showing, there were only a handful of people watching this viewing, but in the city of Melbourne, the movie is being heavily promoted, which, I would guess, would bring in lots of viewers. I'll be getting a copy on DVD when it becomes available.

The screen is sharp, the audio sound is good, the popcorn was burnt, and the soda was all gone by the end of the movie.

Phone: 03 9744 8744

Admission on the weekend, $16

Phone: (03) 9602 4493

There's drag and men in the mix. It was crowded with customers, but I didn't care for it from the get-go. Stayed there too late for the last tram. Took a taxi for another $11 ride, but at least it got us somewhere.

Daily 10am to 5pm, except Good Friday and Christmas.

General Enquiries: 13 11 02 (within Victoria)
Bookings: 1300 130 152
Within Australia: 03 8341 7777
International: + 61 3 8341 7777

Going in the entrance, there is a display of a street artist from the Mission district of San Francisco. No photography was permitted inside the gallery areas.

On our way towards the gallery, there was a small cluster of street vendors, one of which was selling Aussie leather hats. We purchased one for $55. It's lightweight, portable, and waterproof.

Daily from 10am to 5pm; closed Good Friday, Christmas, and Anzac Day (April 25) from 1 to 5pm.

Phone: +61 3 8620 2222, Fax: +61 3 8620 2555
Email: enquiries@ngv.vic.gov.au

It has a nice view, particularly at twilight, as the sky starts to darken and the city lights up. It's better to go around the city prior to going up here so that you can recognize the sites you've already visited.

We ordered food and drinks there, but we didn’t need dessert for $7.50, which was overkill.

Afterwards, we rode back down on the elevator, where there's a gift shop with things we don't need, and watched a presentation nearby before leaving.

Admission: adults are $12.50, children are $7, and a family (two adults and up to four children between the ages of 4 and 15) is $35.

Phone: +61 3 9614 5888, Fax +61 3 9629 3936
Email: info@rialto.com.au

My partner went to withdraw some money from an ATM, but while the money was dispensed, he took too long to retrieve his cash and the ATM swallowed it back up. That'll teach him for being slow.

Monday to Wednesday 9am to 5:30pm, Thursday to Friday 9am to 9pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm, and Sunday 10am to 5pm. There is entertainment, including bars and cafés that are open late.

Trams: no. 57 West Maribyrnong to City or no. 82 Footscray to Moonee Ponds.

Phone: 03 9318 1699

Bus
215 Deer Park West - Braybrook - Highpoint
223 Williamstown Road - Footscray - Highpoint
406 Footscray - Highpoint - Keilor East
408 St Albans - Sunshine - Highpoint
468 Essendon - Highpoint
407 Milleara Road - Avondale Heights - Highpoint

Tram
57 West Maribyrnong - Ascot Vale - Melbourne CBD
82 Footscray - Highpoint - Moonee Ponds

The Australia Post has a post office and also serves as a museum exhibiting stamps of the past. It has a room displaying the printing technology for their stamps.

Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5:30pm, Saturday 9am to 4pm, and Sunday 10am to 4pm
Phone: 13 13 18

Phone: (03) 5470 5669

The town's surveyor, William Beyon Downe, designed this building in 1861, containing 22 stalls between the arches. His design proved to be so successful and popular that other nearby towns wanted to copy its design.

Castlemaine State Festival takes place over ten days in April in odd-numbered years. In odd-numbered years, Castlemaine’s district garden lots are open to visitors during the Festival of Gardens, which takes place during the Melbourne Cup week in November.

The building is available for booking functions.

Phone: (03) 5471 1795

Castlemaine Tourist Information Centre is resident here.

Open daily 9am-5pm
Phone: (03) 5470 6200; Toll free: 800 171 888 (within Australia only)
Fax: (03) 5471 1746
Email: visitors@mountalexander.vic.gov.au

It's full of Aussie adult humor along the guided tour, with opportunites to take photos along the way. The humor and the sculpture garden were low-grade and somewhat disappointing. Not for young children. The guide was friendly, and the lunch and dessert was decent. The older adult group we were with seemed to enjoy the entertainment more than my partner and I did.

Closed June & July. If coming from Melbourne, turn left onto Blackjack Road at the 119km post.

Phone/fax: +66  (3) 5474 2871

Phone (03) 9662 1980

Tel: (03) 9534 2972