It's Just Like Old Times

Day 20:
After the long coach ride the day before, the only thing that Jill and I wanted to do this day was to walk around. The good news was that it was a crisp cool day and the city was wonderful.

The first step was to walk around the CBD or Central Business District of the city. I generally like the place as the roads are wide, the sidewalks are wider, and there are trees everywhere. You know you’re in a city, but it’s almost like being in a forest as well.

After a bit of wandering around and a trip to the exemplary Visitor Information Center, we decided to catch one of the city’s trams around the city center and up to the Old Melbourne Gaol.

Now, I’ve never been to Alcatraz, but this is exactly what I imagine it to be like. Our tour started with us going through a typical booking and lockup procedure in the old watch house (which impressively was used until 1994) before being let loose in the prison part of the gaol. The prison itself was 3 levels of cells and even had the gallows that was used for executions up until capital punishment was outlawed in the 1970s. We both had a wonderful time there, and I easily could have spent a whole day looking at the exhibits and learning about the people incarcerated there (Ned Kelly had an entire end dedicated to him) but we were somewhat time-limited as we had a special dinner scheduled.

Our Christmas Eve dinner was on The Colonial Tramcar Restaurant that night. It might seem a bit kitschy, but it was certainly a whole lot of fun. If you ever went on the Sanford Dinner Train, it was a lot like that only slower and more urban.

We had the early seating which included a three course meal while the sights of Melbourne cruised by outside of your windows. The food was good, the drink even better, and of course I got to spend the evening all dressed up with Jill. Who could as for anything more?

Jill Update:
Jill was quite drunk and found a casino. This is always a recipe for putting her in a good mood. On top of that, it would appear that the casinos here are non-smoking, so that’s a plus.