On Wednesday, we had stopped at small gift shop in one of the little lanes that slip in and out of Melbourne’s bigger streets. Steve had noticed an interesting shop there on a previous day and wanted to find a particular item. While the incredibly nice owner didn’t stock it, she did re commend another shop in a multi-story mixed retail and office mall right next to the lovely Novotel hotel we had decamped to when the A/C situation had not been resolved in our accommodation and it and I were becoming impossible to live with.

Well, we found another nice shopping mall with many very upscale shops, but we couldn’t figure out where this “all-Australian made” shop was. We took an elevator up to the third floor and found ourselves in a warren of specialist doctors and solicitors offices. So, we went back down again, and tried another elevator and again, seemed to enter a Dickensian world where we expected that we might me the learned Messrs. Jarndyce and Jarndyce and their way to the Assizes. But we did not lose faith in our quest and continued down passages and found our way to the establishment. We found a delightful young lady to help us and several souvenirs to bring home. As we were preparing to leave, she mentioned that we might consider leaving by an alternate route to admire some stained-glass windows that had been left in-place in a stairwell used mostly by tenants of the building, but open to all. Below are 4 of the windows we saw as we walked down the three floors of steps.

This was just another example of the “cool stuff” we encountered during our days in Melbourne. Speaking of cool stuff, as we were on our “walkabout,” we noticed two more pieces of public art in the CBD.

As you can see, the first one was being enjoyed by some shoppers and I have not found any information on it. This art piece was commissioned by the Grollo – Ruzzene Foundation to commemorate Italian Immigration and all migrants, to Australia. It is called “The Reuniting Family. I was absolutely touched by it and its universality.

To close off the early part of the day, we crossed the Yarra River again found our way to Marvel Stadium, where what we and our Aussie cousins call soccer and their version of what we call football is also played. Visions of finally purchasing my Australia Sockeroos tee shirt danced in my head.

Foiled again, upon arriving at the entrance level of the stadium, we found it undergoing extensive renovations and the stadium shop long gone! We did find a place to buy a bottle of water, though and had a good think and a bit of a chuckle about our pick first and review the information later approach to “spur of the moment” choices. On our way down to a nearby tram station to take us back toward our hotel, we did notice a couple of impressive views across the river from the stadium.

There is always something worth looking at in Melbourne, even if it is not what you expected to see.

We had decided to make time for a bit of an afternoon rest since my deal friend Lesley who hails from the Edenborough Scotland region, but settled in Normandy, France had arranged for us to meet her friend Lita, a local lady from a Melbourne exurb. Lita had once been a member of a local government Council and had met Lesley when she worked for Caen City. For those who have not heard the tale, I met Lesley when I first started working on the Alexandria, VA-Caen, France Sister City Committee. As Lita and I will both attest, you meet Lesley and very quickly become part of her extended family and start making connections. Lesley and her two incredible daughters are certainly part of my extended family today.

Lita was a charming, funny, enjoyable and generous dinner companion that Steve and I both enjoyed. She met us at Kenzan Japanese Restaurant and the food there, like the conversation, was fantastic. We had some great laughs and I think both Steve

and I learned a bit more about Australia and Australians and I learned something more about single parents of adult children as that is something that my two dinner companions have in common, very successful adult sons. Lita and I agreed that we would love it if we could all meet next time in Normandy. I think I’ve convinced Steve that he needs to get there too, though I know it has been on his list. Sorry for no picture of the three of us, a bit too much Champagne I suspect. We’ll get one with Lesley next time we are all together!

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