We flew into Melbourne on the day of the Melbourne Cup.  I heard that 80% of the country places a bet on their favorite horse  and I believe it.  What I liked best was the lovely "race hats" that all the ladies wore - imagine the Ascot race scene from  My Fair Lady and you'll get the idea.   We took a city tour that included a cruise on the Yarra River, a bus trip to see (and feed) the parrots in the Dandenong range of hills nearby and ended with dinner in an antique tram restaurant that took us out to St. Kilda  beaches and all around town.  The weather was quite warm and the haze was due to the nearby bush fires that were a result of the  severe drought.  We went to the fabulous open air Queen Victoria's Market - left all the didgeridoos there, but did buy a Yarramunua rain maker for my sister. I did shop for hats, but ended up buying a sensible Helen Kaminski (but expensive!) straw, rather than a fancy race hat.  The Melbournites think it is never too early for a lady to appreciate a lovely hat! (see below).

Yarra River Tour	Bus tour took us to the Dandenongs
	Feeding the wild parrots
View of Melbourne from the Dandenongs	The Restaurant tram was wonderful!
New friends we met on the tour
The Yarra River at night.	Queen Victoria's Market
A lady is never to young to want a Race hat !

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Photos © 2002, Linda J. Goff