Australia's other great city is Marvellous Melbourne and yes they really spell marvelous with two l's! Briefly the capital of Australia while the planned federal capital of Canberra was being developed, Melbourne was where the national parliament met from 1901 until 1927. Personally, Melbourne feels very British with its Victorian-era architecture, dense network of hidden laneways, and strong cafe and arts culture; while Sydney feels more American. The city's grid layout makes its very easy to explore on foot, with many historic landmarks, shopping streets, and laneways concentrated within a relatively compact area. The Victorian gold rush transformed Melbourne into a boomtown during the 1850s, bringing wealth, migrants, and grand buildings that helped earn the city its nickname, “Marvellous Melbourne.” At one point in the 1880s, Melbourne was actually the richest city in the world!  A note from the writer: this is a pre-pandemic tale.

Australia is not for the timid! An old joke for tourists warns that "Everything in Australia wants to kill you"; from a list of over 89,700 species with every single one of them including the plants and cute marsupials actively conspiring to end your life, to the extreme environment. In fact, a huge portion (around 70-80%) of the continent known as the Australian Outback is one of the most hostile and remote environments on Earth! Nonetheless, the continent is blessed with natural wonders and a fascinating (and unique to Australia) native wildlife. Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park opened in 1972 and began as a small collection of Australian native animals before growing into one of the country’s major wildlife parks.  One of the park's great attractions is seeing animals that are surprisingly difficult to encounter in the wild; because spotting a wombat in its natural habitat isn't exactly as easy as spotting a pigeon in Sydney! A note from the writer: this is a pre-p...

Touchdown Australia! The country so vast, it's a continent of its own. Here are some shots of our trip there years ago. Sydney was founded in 1788 as a British penal colony, meaning many of its earliest European residents were convicts! It is Australia’s oldest and largest city , though not the capital (that’s actually Canberra). A note from the writer: this is a pre-pandemic tale. S ydney sits around one of the world’s largest natural harb ors:  Port Jackson; and has one of the world's most expensive real estate markets. When you have views like this, you understand why.