COUNTRYSIDE AROUND MELBOURNE

We are very lucky in Melbourne to be surrounded by beautiful countryside, only a relatively short driving time out of the City. Just half an hour’s drive from Melbourne, the Yarra Valley is home to around eighty of Victoria’s best small wineries. Wine country starts in outer suburbia north of the Maroondah Highway just before Lilydale. North of Lilydale, one can check out wineries along or near three routes – the Warburton Highway to the east, the Maroondah Highway to Healesville, and the Melba Highway, heading north past Yarra Glen.

This post is part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

LOOK UP!

Walking in Melbourne's CBD, one may sometimes feel dwarfed by the tall buildings. Especially so if walking in some of the narrow lanes. On a Winter's morning, walking down a rather sinister, dark lane one only has to look up and see the light!

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme.

PRINCES BRIDGE, WINTER MORNING

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 Skywatch Friday meme.

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 77 - POTATO BUSH

Lycianthes rantonnetii (blue potato bush) is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae. It is native to Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay. It is cultivated as ornamental plant the world over.

The blue potato bush is one of about 150 species in the genus Lycianthes, which are found mostly in tropical regions of the Americas, and others located in the Asia-Pacific region. Lycianthes is apparently closely related to the chili peppers (Capsicum). However, it was long confused with the nightshades (Solanum), and several little-known Solanum species presumably should be included with Lycianthes. The species is named for Barthélémy Victor Rantonnet, a 19th-century French horticulturalist.

This plant is noted for its superb display of richly coloured and lightly fragrant flowers over a long season, provided it is grown in full sun. Water and feed regularly for the best display. Cuttings will make good-sized bushes for the following summer. The small red autumn berries are poisonous when ingested.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

YARRA RIVER SUNRISE

Early morning along the Yarra River is quite special, with the water providing an extra dimension and plenty of photo opportunities. The mornings have been getting quite nippy, with Winter finally seeming to be beginning.

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

NEIGHBOURHOOD CAFÉ

Red Door Corner Store is a neighbourhood café in Northcote, an inner suburb. It is quite delightful and provides a great place to meet friends, have a bite to eat and enjoy great coffee. All the more convenient for the neighbourhood as it is close to everyone's house and one doesn't have to venture out to a shopping strip or shopping centre!

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

FITZROY MURAL

This mural in Fitzroy is found on the wall of a Yoga establishment. The theme of being in harmony in nature, new age ideals, wellness and health has been worked into the representative components of the mural.

The mural is the work of Chuck Mayfield & Julia Palazzo (http://mayfieldpalace.com/), and this is what they say about this work:
"We painted the external wall at this new Yoga studio in Fitzroy. They wanted bright, earthy colours and natural imagery which reflected the nature of their service and was also eye catching. We painted a female portrait with an american indian head dress and an array of animals. We included a subtle graffiti pattern to deter taggers from destroying the artwork."

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Monday Murals meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.

PUFFING BILLY, EMERALD

The Puffing Billy Railway is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge heritage railway in the Dandenong Ranges near Melbourne, Australia. The primary starting point, operations and administration centre, main refreshment room (also selling souvenirs) and ticket purchasing are located at Belgrave station. Journeys may also be commenced at out-stations of which some have limited facilities for the purchase of tickets, refreshments and souvenirs. Tickets usually may also be purchased from the conductor aboard the train.

The railway was originally one of five narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways opened around the beginning of the 20th century. It runs through the southern foothills of the Dandenong Ranges to Gembrook. Being close to the city of Melbourne and with a post-preservation history spanning over 50 years, the line is one of the most popular steam heritage railways in the world, and attracts tourists from all over Australia and overseas.

The Puffing Billy Railway is kept in operation through the efforts of volunteers of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society, although intensive year-round operations have led to a few dozen paid employees to keep things going behind the scenes. The railway aims to preserve and restore the line as near as possible to how it was in the first three decades of its existence, but with particular emphasis on the early 1920s.

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,

and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme.

RMIT REFLECTIONS

This is a view down LaTrobe St, towards the West. The old RMIT University building with its distinctive Victorian tower can be seen. RMIT University (officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and simply referred to as RMIT) is an Australian university of technology and design based in Melbourne, Victoria.

RMIT was founded in 1887 by grazier, politician and public benefactor the Hon. Francis Ormond, as the Working Men's College of Melbourne. It is the third oldest tertiary education provider in Victoria, and is the eighth oldest provider of tertiary education in Australia. Its foundation campus is located in Melbourne City, and is a contiguous part of the northern area of the city centre.

The reflection is in a watering trough used by horses - once common in the City, but now the only horses are the Mounted Police one occasionally sees.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme.

WINTER SUNSET

Views from All Nations Park in Northcote.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.