There was one major reason for wanting to go to Melbourne. Here it is:

Of course, we did do other things while we were there as well. :-) But the first day, from when we arrived, was pretty much spent getting prepared to see Man of La Mancha that evening and to meet Anthony. We did a bit of CD shopping (I spent too much, as usual), had supper, and then went off to the theatre! I was just a *little* excited. :-) The show was really good, and Anthony, of course, was brilliant. We did get to talk to him afterwards as well, and it was just a wonderful experience overall.

So now that that was out of the way, we could get on with seeing a bit of the city. The next morning we went to Melbourne Central and did some more shopping as well as having breakfast. From there we walked over to the Old Melbourne Gaol, and spent nearly three hours going through the exhibits there! There was a special exhibit about Ned Kelly, and that was really interesting.

From there, we took the tram down to South Melbourne, to drop off a form for Margie, and walked through the South Melbourne market on the way. Coming back up, we got off at the Crown Casino complex and took a quick look through there, stopped by the river for a bit of a rest, and then walked back into the city. We also took a quick detour down to the Victoria Arts Centre, where Margie's brother-in-law was performing, before heading back to the Regent Theatre for another performance of Man of La Mancha.

 

Our last day in Melbourne, we spent the morning in Fitzroy Gardens, which actually had a surprising number of attractions! We saw the Conservatory, Cook's cottage, the fairy tree and the model Tudor village, and had lunch in the little restaurant there. From there, we hopped on the free City Circle tram and saw a bit of the city that way, getting off at the Victoria Art Gallery for a look around there. That evening was Mamma Mia!, which I've just a couple of times before (;-), but which we both enjoyed very, very much. And just like that, it was time to move on!