WALKABOUT

A dog taking itself for a walk! - Well, not really, its owner was a few metres behind.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

PSALM SUNDAY

Psalm 97 King James Version (KJV)
1 The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.
2 Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
4 His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.
5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.
7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.
8 Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O Lord.
9 For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.
10 Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

This post is part of the Psalm Sunday meme,
And also part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme,
And also part of the Nature Footsteps Waters meme,
And also part of the Sunday Bridges meme.

AN ORANGE KAYAK ON THE YARRA

A very quiet Easter Saturday on the banks of the Yarra River, close to the Princess Bridge. An orange kayak shines out. I couldn't resist the temptation to selectively alter the colours and make the scene a more spectacular orange sunset!

This post is part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme.

SPRING SHOWERS

Melbourne Spring is often accompanied by rainy days. The view here is fomr the Capital City Trail close to the City. As they say:

"Spring showers,
bring forth fragrant flowers"!

There is always something to do in Melbourne, even on rainy days. Here is a list of Rainy Day activities.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

WALKING BY THE YARRA

A winter's night and walking by the Yarra River, a young couple oblivious to the cold and rain.

This post is part of James' Weekend Reflections meme,

and also part of Madge's Weekly TopShot meme.

PRINCES BRIDGE, MELBOURNE

Princes Bridge, originally Prince's Bridge, is an important bridge in central Melbourne, Australia that spans the Yarra River. It is built on the site of one of the oldest river crossings in Australia. The bridge connects Swanston Street on the north bank of the Yarra River to St Kilda Road on the south bank, and carries road, tram and pedestrian traffic. The present bridge was built in 1888 and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. Because of its position, Princes Bridge is often a focal point for celebratory events in Melbourne such as the Moomba Festival, New Years Eve and many celebrations taking place on the Yarra River where it flows through the city.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Sunday Bridges meme.

MELBOURNE, FUN CITY

Whatever time of the year you visit Melbourne, there is always something going on. Whether it's a sporting event, a cultural do, a gastronomic delight, fun and games, a musical show, theatre, art exhibition, it's all happening pretty much all of the time. This is one of the advantages of living in a big metropolitan centre, especially one that prides itself as the cultural and sporting capital of Australia.

A few weeks ago we had the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and these eccentric ladies were entertaining the crowds by the Yarra River.

This post is for Madge's Weekly TopShot meme.

BRIDGES ON THE YARRA

The Queens Bridge is a historic road bridge over the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia. The bridge was built in 1889 and has five wrought iron plate girder spans, and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. The bridge was built by contractor David Munro, and replaced a timber footbridge built in 1860. The bridge is a very flat arch, and has five spans constructed of wrought iron plate girders. The bridge rests on iron cylinders filled with concrete, in groups of eight, with arched bracing between. It connects Market Street and William Street on the north bank to Queensbridge Street to the south. Trams on route 55 also cross the bridge.

Queen's Bridge, looking towards the Southwest, with the Crown Casino on the centre right

Standing on Queen's Bridge and looking to the East one sees the old Rail Sandridge Bridge, now converted to a footbridge

The Sandridge Bridge is a historic former railway bridge over the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia, which has been redeveloped in 2006 as a new pedestrian and cycle path featuring public art. It is the third bridge on the site and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. The bridge is 178.4 metres long and is made up of five spans, measuring in length, from the south bank to the north bank: 36.9 metres.

The Sandridge Bridge

In 2001 the State Government held an expressions of interest process for refurbishment of the bridge, seeking commercial ventures, but the process was not successful and in 2003 Melbourne City Council and the Department of Sustainability and Environment took over. They committed $15.5 million to restore the bridge, create a plaza on the Southbank side and make connections to walkways on the Yarra north bank. In 2005 it was announced that artist Nadim Karam had been commissioned to create ten abstract sculptures in a piece titled "The Travellers", which represents the different types of immigrants who traditionally arrived by train over the bridge from Station Pier. Nine of the sculptures move across the bridge in a 15-minute sequence, moving on bogies running between the two bridge spans. The white arc of the newer Southgate Footbridge can be seen behind the Sandridge Bridge

Crossing the Sandridge Bridge

The Southgate Footbridge

Back on Queen's Bridge looking towards the West, and the Melbourne Exhibition Centre ("Geoff's Shed" commemorating former Premier Geoff Kennett). The King Street Bridge can be seen, taking King Street over the Yarra. The bridge continues south as an elevated viaduct, with the Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex built around it in later years. Another footbridge runs parallel to the road bridge and can be seen in front of it

A temporary structure - a bar and café built for the duration of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. This is located on the Southbank end of Queen's Bridge

And another view of the Sandridge Bridge looking from Southbank towards the City

This post is part of Louis' Sunday Bridges meme,
and also part of the Scenic Sunday meme.

WINE TASTING IN THE YARRA VALLEY

The Yarra Ranges and adjacent valley is renowned for its beauty, wineries, national parks, forests and mountains. The Yarra Valley a popular day-trip and tourist area, featuring a range of natural features and agricultural produce, as well as the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail. The Yarra Valley is host to a thriving wine growing industry. The area's relatively cool climate makes it particularly suited to the production of high-quality chardonnay, pinot noir and sparkling wine. Here is a row of tasting glasses of sparkling wines produced by Domaine Chandon in the Yarra Valley. This is the same company that produces Moët et Chandon Champagne in France. You can view more of my photos from Domaine Chandon in my other blog. This post is part of Pat's Thursday's Things in a Row meme.

PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE OVER YARRA RIVER, MELBOURNE

This nifty little pedestrian bridge takes walkers from the Flinders St Station in Melbourne's CBD to Southbank, seen here in the background. A great feature of the bridge is a café located on the south side (just above the brown light cover you can see in the lower right).


This post is part of the Sunday Bridges meme hosted by Louis in SF, USA.