Another lazy sea day. There is not much to report. We went to a talk about fjords, glaciers and volcanos. Most of the lecture was about Milford Sound which we missed because of bad weather. I went to a fitness seminar about relieving back, knee and joint pain. It turned out to be a sales pitch for orthotics. I learned that my sciatica could be caused by bad foot alignment. I told the presenter that I would check with my doctor before I bought orthotics. ​

The rest of the day was spent reading, napping and eating. We skipped the evening's entertainment because I was not feeling well.

We were up at 6:00 and had an early breakfast on the Lido Deck. Our ShoreTrips tour, Melbourne City Highlights, started at 9:00. The Bensons were going with us, but Ellen was feeling poorly and they gave their tickets to the Matutes. We left the ship and found ourselves in a huge confusion terminal. Walking all the way through it, we did not see our tour bus. I finally called Anthony, our driver, who met us outside the terminal in his 7-passenger Mercedes van. Two ladies from the ship joined us. ​

Our first stop was at St Kilda Pier where we walked to the end to see penguins nesting in the rocks. Most of them had left the nesting area for the season, but there were a few still hanging around.

Our second stop was at Dendy Street Beach where the Brighton Bathing Box Association leases several very colorful and popular bathing huts for beach goers. ​

After driving past some very expensive houses in exclusive neighborhoods, we stopped at Queen Victoria Market. I am a big fan of local markets especially with the produce, meat and seafood sections. We did not have much time to spend here so we focussed on produce and wandered past some impressive stalls. My favorite part of the market, however, was the American Doughnut Kitchen. Yummy snacks! ​

Leaving the market, we parked in the downtown area. It was a vibrant area with lots of stores, cafes and beautiful old buildings. We walked through an alley with amazing artful graffiti. "Melbourne is known as one of the world’s great street art capitals for its unique expressions of art displayed on approved outdoor locations throughout the city".​ ​

This was an interesting tour and very worthwhile. ​

Back at the ship, my cold was getting worse. I had a bowl of soup for dinner and went to bed.

St Kilda Pier

Dendy Street Beach

Queen Victoria Market

Queen Victoria Market Doughnuts

Queen Victoria Market

Cafe Alley

Graffiti Alley

Downtown Building