VIEW

 This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

RIVER VISTA

Along the Yarra River, looking towards the East, with Melbourne's tallest skyscraper the Eureka tower visible mid-right (second skyscraper from right). Eureka Tower is a 297.3-metre skyscraper located in the Southbank precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction began in August 2002 and the exterior completed on 1 June 2006.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

SMOKY SKY

Currently in Melbourne, we are experiencing very bad air quality, and there is a choking smell of burning with widespread hazy conditions as the smoke from the devastating East Gippsland bushfires drifts across hundreds of kilometres to reach the City. Here you can see the hazy outline of the city skyline across the Port Phillip Bay.

You can help the thousands of victims who have lost loved ones, property and the roofs over their heads, here.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SUMMERY YARRA

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

SOUTHBANK AT SUNSET

Looking out towards the Bay.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

AFTERNOON, EVENING, NIGHT

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.

ELWOOD

Elwood is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the City of Port Phillip. At the 2011 Census, Elwood had a population of 14,638. Elwood Beach is a popular bayside beach destination during summer, where the beaches are used recreationally for windsurfing, cycling, cricket and walking. The suburb has experienced ongoing gentrification, known for its mix of Edwardian and Interwar architecture character, its beaches and its leafy streets, many of which are lined by London Plane trees.

We lived in this suburb for quite a few years and this is where I went to High School, so I have some very good memories and it's always nice going back for a wander in its streets (yes, it has changed quite a lot...). Bike and walking paths by the sea are a great idea and do induce people to get out and do some exercise.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

THE CITY

 Melbourne City Centre (sometimes referred to as "Central City", and colloquially known as simply "The City") is an area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the area in which Melbourne was established in 1835, by founders John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, and its boundaries are defined by the Government of Victoria's Melbourne Planning Scheme. Today it comprises the two oldest areas of Melbourne; the Hoddle Grid and Queen Victoria Market, as well as sections of the redeveloped areas of Docklands and Southbank/Wharf. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne.

It is the core central activities district (CAD) of Melbourne's inner suburbs and the major central business district (CBD) of Greater Melbourne's metropolitan area, and is a major financial centre in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The Hoddle Grid in the City Centre is home to Melbourne's famed alleyways and arcades and is renowned for its distinct blend of contemporary and Victorian architecture as well as expansive parks and gardens which surround its edges. The City Centre is home to five of the six tallest buildings in Australia. In recent times, it has been placed alongside New York City and Berlin as one of the world's great street art meccas, and designated a "City of Literature" by UNESCO in its Creative Cities Network.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

CITY FROM TRUGANINA

The Truganina Coastal Parklands are located 15 km west of Melbourne CBD, on the shores of Port Phillip Bay, stretching from Altona to Altona Meadows and adjacent to the Cheetham Wetlands and the Point Cook Coastal Park. They were formed through the 'recycling' of more than 300 hectares of parks and former industrial land and are now the largest cluster of parks on Port Phillip Bay, interlinked by cycling and walking trails and featuring a surprisingly high diversity and abundance of landscapes, natural environment and recreational areas, including beachside recreation, picnic & barbecue facilities, grassfields and wildlife conservation areas. The wetlands form part of the Cheetham and Altona Important Bird Area.

The view of the CBD from the Parklands is quite spectacular, especially if you have a good zoom lens, whereupon you feel as though you're only a few blocks away. For a city of five million people to have such extensive parklands in the Metropolitan area is quite a blessing!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

SEAFARERS BRIDGE

The Seafarers Bridge is a footbridge over the Yarra River between Docklands and South Wharf in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The bridge connects the north and south banks of the river while providing a formal entrance to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The bridge main span is supported by steel ties connected to elliptical arches, with three arches on the north side and four arches on the south side. The bridge was named in homage to the ‘Mission to Seafarers’ centre located nearby on the northern bank of the Yarra River and to represent Melbourne’s rich maritime history.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

THE CITY

 Melbourne City Centre (sometimes referred to as "Central City", and colloquially known as simply "The City") is an area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the area in which Melbourne was established in 1835, by founders John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, and its boundaries are defined by the Government of Victoria's Melbourne Planning Scheme. Today it comprises the two oldest areas of Melbourne; the Hoddle Grid and Queen Victoria Market, as well as sections of the redeveloped areas of Docklands and Southbank/Wharf. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne.

It is the core central activities district (CAD) of Melbourne's inner suburbs and the major central business district (CBD) of Greater Melbourne's metropolitan area, and is a major financial centre in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The Hoddle Grid in the City Centre is home to Melbourne's famed alleyways and arcades and is renowned for its distinct blend of contemporary and Victorian architecture as well as expansive parks and gardens which surround its edges. The City Centre is home to five of the six tallest buildings in Australia. In recent times, it has been placed alongside New York City and Berlin as one of the world's great street art meccas, and designated a "City of Literature" by UNESCO in its Creative Cities Network.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

NIGHT BY THE YARRA

Having the Yarra River course its way through our city is quite marvellous as it affords beautiful vistas along its length. By night, some magical reflections can be seen in the City as the lights come on. These views are taken from Southbank, an entertainment and residential precinct.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

CITY FROM AFAR

One of the pleasures of flying in to Melbourne is when the time and flying approach path are such that one catches glimpses of the City from the plane window. The vast area Melbourne occupies (9,992.5 km2!) becomes apparent and also the high density of the CBD with its skyscrapers.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

UP, UP & AWAY...

Melbourne is a city that is currently going through an extreme development phase and an ongoing skyscraper boom. Considering the CBD and Southbank, especially, Melbourne looks to become a world-class, mega-tall metropolis. In the near future, Melbourne will compete with cities like Chicago, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo in terms of having a large number of buildings of 200+ metres tall. As the effects of this boom are becoming increasingly visible and the strain on the city's infrastructure is clearly evident, the controversy is raging regarding the benefits and drawbacks of hyper-dense, supertall overdevelopment...

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme.

CONSTRUCTING UP

Melbourne is a city that is currently going through an extreme development phase and an ongoing skyscraper boom. Considering the CBD and Southbank, especially, Melbourne looks to become a world-class, mega-tall metropolis. In the near future, Melbourne will compete with cities like Chicago, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo in terms of having a large number of buildings of 200+ metres tall. As the effects of this boom are becoming increasingly visible and the strain on the city's infrastructure is clearly evident, the controversy is raging regarding the benefits and drawbacks of hyper-dense, supertall overdevelopment with construction going up, Up, UP...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

CITY SKYLINE FROM FAIRFIELD

A view of the City skyline from Darebin Parklands, about 8 km NE of the CBD.

This post is part of the Weekend Green meme,
and also part of the Skywatch Friday meme,

and also part of the Orange you Glad It's Friday meme.

ELWOOD

Elwood is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the City of Port Phillip. At the 2011 Census, Elwood had a population of 14,638. Elwood Beach is a popular bayside beach destination during summer, where the beaches are used recreationally for windsurfing, cycling, cricket and walking. The suburb has experienced ongoing gentrification, known for its mix of Edwardian and Interwar architecture character, its beaches and its leafy streets, many of which are lined by London Plane trees.

We lived in this suburb for quite a few years and this is where I went to High School, so I have some very good memories and it's always nice going back for a wander in its streets (yes, it has changed quite a lot...). Bike and walking paths by the sea are a great idea and do induce people to get out and do some exercise.

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.