Heasville Sanctuary and Dandenong Ranges

Hi- I have added new pics to this post. The first are from our trip Saturday to the De Bortoli and Sticks wineries in the Yarra Valley. The cool dude in dark shades in the first picture took us all around the Sticks winery and showed us where and how the wine is made. The winery is huge- check out all the barrels I am standing in front of. The picture of M, M and I with the green hill in the back is also at Sticks. From atop their gangplank above the barrels you can see for miles in the valley. The view is spectacular. The other shots on the ground are at the De Bortoli winery.....Great wines and we stopped for lunch there.
Before all of that though, we went to the Haelsville Wildlife Sanctuary in the Dandenong mountain range area. The sanctuary is home to Koalas, Kangaroos, Tasmanian Devils, Wombats, Walaroos, all sorts of birds, reptiles and other wildlife. Enjoy the pictures! These animals really are precious and amazing. Alexis

Fabulous Wednesday in Melbourne

Wow- What an amazing day I had today! First- look at the Yarra River and the building s of the CBD in the gorgeous sun! (Mark and I were at an apt on the 60th floor of the very very tall building in the first picture. Stomach turning for both of us (get that from Dad.) Then, I crossed the river, past the performing arts center (the building with the white spire) then on to the National Gallery of Victoria. The NGV had Guggenheim works on exhibit (from NYC, Bilboa, Venice), fashion and textile exhibits, and an impressive hall of contemporary art including: Warhol, Rothko, Krasner, Pollack, Hockeney, ect. I was there for several hours, had lunch, then went on to the Royal Exhibition Hall (pictures with fountain in front) and Melbourne Museum. This enormous museum has everything: Dinosaurs, Aboriginal art and history, Victoria history, an indoor rain forest, human body exhibit, bugs, native animals (stuffed), fossils, marine life, industrial art display.... the works. I still have a few more museums to hit but these were really inspiring.
Love,
Alexis

Sunday in St Kilda

We hung out today in St Kilda, just short walk from our apartment. The weather is beautiful! And getting warmer. Yea!

Saturday Night- Cook Out at Johnny's in Prahran

We played tennis later in the afternoon on
Saturday and then headed to Johnny's for a cook-out. Johnny is the one with the cool specs. We also made some new Aussie friends. Mitch is quite a dancer......

Saturday, South Melbourne Market

Mark and I hung out today at the South Melbourne Market with our friend Mitch- a fellow native Texan. He is a Visual Effects Editor on "The Pacific".