The theme for this weeks Weekly Photo Challenge is Focus. We are encouraged to take a photo that demonstrates the concept of focus. I chose to use a photo I took at Geelong earlier this year. These little statues are miniature but I got down to their level and focused on them, ensuring the background was out of focus.
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/weekly-photo-challenge-focus/
On August 30 is Melbourne’s birthday and this year the city is 178 years young.
If you’re in Melbourne and want to check out some of the events here is the link to the official website http://melbourneday.com.au/. You can also learn some of Melbourne’s rich history.
Happy Birthday Melbourne.
![IMG_2391[1]](https://deliciousfoodandtravel.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/img_23911.jpg)
Yesterday Melbourne was crowned the World’s Most Livable City for the third year in a row. In fact four Australian cities made the top 10. Congratulations should also go to Canada which had three cities in the top 10.
The top 10 most livable cities are:
Melbourne, Australia
Vienna, Austria
Vancouver, Canada
Toronto, Canada
Calgary, Canada
Adelaide, Australia
Sydney, Australia
Helsinki, Finland
Perth, Australia
Auckland, New Zealand
One hundred and forty cities are ranked based on five categories: stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
As you will know if you follow my blog, I’ve spent a lot of time over the past few months walking around my beautiful home town, exploring many different parts. It’s such an easy city to get around. Infrastructure is great within the city; plenty of buses, trams and trains to assist.
When I was researching this fountain I read that it was very controversial when it was installed in 1982 in the gardens. Apparently the site was deemed unsuitable. I can’t see why. To me it’s a wonder piece of art. There are many different animals lying on the rocks and in the water of the fountain. It’s the kind of art where the more you look, the more animals you see in the nooks and crannies and the water or, more obviously, just lying on the rocks.
These magnificent old trees have such interesting trunks. The trunks on the trees in this photo were lying parallel to the ground. Although these trees are native to New South Wales and Queensland they grow really well in Victoria. I’ve also seen them on Norfolk Island. They are amazing.
The foundation stone for this simply stunning cathedral was laid in 1870, just 35 years after Melbourne was settled. It is located in East Melbourne, an area that is not the most familiar to me. The best way for me to get to know an area is to walk around so I set out to discover more about that side of the city. St Pat’s was the first place on my list of buildings to photograph.
The interior is simply awe-inspiring. It really makes me wonder how they could build such churches given the lack of technology. Compared with today when we have the technology but don’t even try to replicate the architectural detail of these old buildings.
This Women’s Suffrage Memorial was created by two artists to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Great Petition which in the end, successfully gave women the right to vote. The premier of Victoria said he would introduce a bill into Parliament if it could be proven all women, not just the suffragettes, wanted the right to vote. During the six weeks that followed, the women’s movement got 30,000 signatures. The signed pages were stitched together to form a ‘monster petition’ that was 260m long. In 1908, after many bills were debated in Parliament, women were given the right to vote. The sculpture symbolises the petition and looks like a giant scroll. It sits in a park on the eastern side of Melbourne. I haven’t spent a lot of time in that part of the city and hadn’t noticed it before.
