We woke up today to the news about the terrible shooting tragedy that happened here in Australia at Bondi Beach. We had just been to Bondi a few weeks ago, and it was a lovely, relaxed, family place. On this first day of Hanukkah as celebrations were taking place there, some horrible people did the unthinkable and opened fire. My heart is broken for the people who were there, for the people who passed and their families, for people everywhere who are hated simply for being who they are and how they were born, and for all of us to live in a world where disagreement can equate to hatred, and the hatred can manifest in such terrifying ways. We don’t have to agree but we DO have to teach love and respect for others. We can do better. 😭💔

There were public Hanukkah events in Melbourne today, too, and we saw a really big police presence at the events. I am grateful that the police here are working so hard to keep Melbourne’s citizens safe.

The Happier Parts of the Day

Wedding Plans and Lucy Liu’s (no relation to the actress!)

Monday morning we had a wedding planning zoom with Jenna and Connor and our wedding planner extraordinaire, Stacy Bogert! We got some details for the big day talked out, and then Rob and I hit the tram to ride over to the CBD (Central Business District). We had the MOST fabulous lunch thanks to a recommendation made by new friends Bella and Emma who we met on our Adelaide wine tour (chef’s kiss to you, ladies, if you are reading this!). Lucy Liu’s is an Asian fusion restaurant located off an alley in downtown – sooo good.

ACMI

We decided to spend the next two cooler temperature days this week walking around outside and exploring more of the city. After lunch we hit the ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) Museum (another Bela and Emma recommendation) to check out their interesting exhibits in the history of movies and television, especially in Australia. Definitely an interesting place! They gave us these discs that you could use to scan the things you were interested in at the museum, and then when you got home they would email you a summary of all your favorite things. Cool idea!

Merry Melbourne by Day

From there we did a big walk through the city looking at more of the Christmas light displays, including the Myers department store and the Crown Hotel to enjoy their lavish decorations.

Yarra River Christmas Cruise

All of those festive sights today put us perfectly in the mood for our evening activity, a sail down the Yarra River at sunset to look at the Christmas lights displays. In addition to the tons of amazing decorations put out by the city, there is a nightly Crown Christmas Fountain Show with colored lights and holographic images put to music in the fountains on the river. A really fun way to see the show as we sailed by in both directions.

Here are a few minutes from the Fountain Show:

Arts District

Our walk home tonight took us by Melbourne’s beautiful Arts District. They have this cool building with a spire that looks a lot like the Eiffel Tower. They also have some really cute light up (moving!) bird displays. Enjoy the video!

Thanks for adventuring with us!