Getting to Melbourne from the US is a long trek. From Florida it’s 5-6 hours to LAX, then 15 hours to Sydney followed by 1 more hour to Melbourne.

After this long haul travel odyssey, my sister and I walked the downtown area, trying to stay awake and acclimate to the new time zone.

Our first impression is that Melbourne is very livable, with a lot of green spaces, trees, water, and a free tram service within the downtown city block area.

There is a mix of architectural styles from Victorian, to Art Nouveau, to Art Deco and contemporary. The streets are pretty clean and there are a lot of food options.

Our first meal was at a place called Taxi Kitchen, recommended by Fodor’s. We were not disappointed.

I had read somewhere that the best views of the city are from the ladies room on the 35th floor of the Sofitel. So we had a look. Not bad.

On the morning of our first day, we hopped the free tram and headed 7 stops up to the Queen Victoria Market. Partly open air, partly covered, it had seafood, meats, veggies, eggs, and clothing items. It reminded me of the markets in Barcelona and Helsinki.

We had lunch at Mabu Mabu, a restaurant in Federation Square serving indigenous food with a contemporary twist. It was very fresh and tasty.

Right next door to Mabu Mabu we toured a Koorie art exhibit.

The best croissants in the city are reported to be at Lune, just one block from our hotel. The line was so long in the morning that we skipped it. In the afternoon the line was shorter, so we stopped in for coffee and a pastry. It was very good.

After a short rest in our room, we ventured out in the afternoon to the Fitzroy Gardens. The temperature today reached 36 c, (97 F) with high winds in the afternoon.

Walking towards the park, we passed a few lanes (also called lane ways – alleys) where we saw some street art. Some was good, some just looked like graffiti.

We walked through the park and toured the conservatory.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral sits on the NW corner of Fitzroy Gardens.

Walking back from the park to our hotel we passed Bijou, a bottle store & bar. A small place, we ducked in to try a local wine. We enjoyed a Pinot Noir from Moorooduc Estate in Moorooduc, Victoria. We were offered tastes of a few other local wines, but liked the Pinot Noir the best.