Today I met up with Fran at the
Docklands for
Wine at Waterfront. Both of us had not been to the Docklands area before, so it was also an opportunity to check it out. Docklands is a former industrial area and port that has been redeveloped in the last ten years. There are tons of high-rise apartments buildings in the area and everything is brand new. It is kind of strange to be down there because the architecture doesn't fit in with all the historical buildings throughout the city. You wouldn't think that you were in Melbourne.
We had lunch at the
Vic Harbour Kitchen and Bar and then headed to the waterfront for the wine festival. There were representatives from almost 50 wineries throughout the state of Victoria. Each region has its own specialties, so we had a wide variety of wines to sample. There were a lot of people who turned out for the event. The other big draw was all the yachts from the
Volvo Ocean Race. Melbourne is the stopover city for Leg 2 of the race. Tomorrow they will set out for Leg 3, which goes to Wellington, New Zealand for a quick stop, and then onto Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for Leg 4. Fran and I wandered through the racing village to get an up close look at all the yachts in the race. The masts are so tall that to get out of Victoria Harbour and under the Bolte Bridge they have to do the "Bolte limbo," where the yachts tip over as far as they can to one side. I'm sure it would be pretty amusing to watch.
I knew the black skies were an ominous sign, but I didn't expect that the thunderstorms would dump enough rain to turn my street into a lake! The sidewalks on either side of the street are full of water, and I am currently very happy that my apartment sits above ground, even though I am on the first floor. I guess it's a good thing that my parking spot if/when I eventually use it is in another building on higher ground. I'm sure the water has entered the parking garage underneath me. There are at least 6 inches of standing water on the road at the moment, and rain keeps coming.
