Last Sunday, I made the second step on my way from Australia to Europe. It was, like the first step, a tentative, gentle step. The trip today (no pun intended) went from the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown, just West of Melbourne city, to Abbotsford convent, along the Yarra to the North.

On my last leg, I had made it to Williamsdown, and so that is where I started out this time. Williamstown was alive, with a market in the park. Today’s journey started by having a hotdog in the park with my wife. We watched children running around chasing seagulls, and adults wandereing around the stalls. It is midwinter here, but this day was sunny and warm.

The plan was to get a ferry into the city. Tickets cost us $15 each, sold by an old man who looked and acted very much the part- definitely a sailor. My bicycle went on the roof of the little ferry, lying on its side, which I eventually, but ungainly, managed to put there. Our fellow local tourists and we shuffled on, complete with a domestic dispute between one of the men and one woman about the children. My wife asked if I thought they knew each other.

Soon the little ferry started, chugging through the docks and up the Yarra towards the city. You could be outside, or inside, and outside was definitely the place to be. It wasn’t so much a great sight, but I was quite cool getting into Melbourne this way. We took some photos.

Comining in to Melbourne, we were told that it was high tide, and so the bike might not be able to fit under one of the bridges. This meant we were let off early, and had to walk down past the casino, along south bank to get to the city. As we came to the city, one of my wife’s friends was walking the other way, so I left them to natter.

I wanted to get some photos of Melbourne to prove I’d been to the city. Here’s the obligatory photo.

These are some rental bikes on a stand in Melbourne. You can hire a bike from frequent points around the city centre. They just cost a few dollars (in fact they’re free if you return them fast enough), and helmets too (which are compulsory in Australia) are only $5. The bikes aren’t fantastic, they’re heavy and have only three gears, but if you were a tourist in Melbourne, it would be a great way to get around.

In the city there a second festival going on – “Budda’s Day” festival. I didn’t even know Buddha had a day, but apparently he does.

I rode down the Yarra, following the twists and turns. Past a lot of houses that I could never afford – most of us could never afford. People, including two older men, were rowing. Those two old guys were fast! There was a lot of short ups and downs, a lot of twisting and turning, but a nice gentle ride beside the water. I have been a bit sick -worn down and worn out- and so this little ride was just about all I could handle yesterday. I made it to Abbotsford convent with no trouble.

At the convent there was yet another little festival going on. This one was to promote human rights, and there was music, film and poetry going on to promote them. Three places, three festivals.