Christmas Lights

It very rarely happens, but on Tuesday Lindsey and I found ourselves at the flat in the evening.  I am often there on a Tuesday evening and also, often, is Ian.  Lindsey usually works through until 8 or 9. Last Tuesday, however, Lindsey had had the day off and Ian was up country somewhere.

It was a lovely evening, so Lindsey and I hopped on a tram and went into town to look at the Christmas lights.

First, a spot of dinner to fortify us.  We found a Japanese barbecue place, hidden behind a sushi restaurant.  The sushi restaurant had people from all cultures.  The diners in the barbecue section were almost exclusively Japanese.  This augured well :-D

The server was worried we wouldn't know what to do so showed us.
We didn't tell her we go to yakiniku restaurants in Japan!!

Then out through The Emporium

and out on to Bourke Street

to look at the Myer Christmas windows. Alice in Wonderland this year:

The Cheshire cat, chatting to Alice

The final window is always a nativity scene

We went down to look at the Town Hall, which we knew was lit up for Christmas.  I had seen it briefly on my way back from Brunswick last week, but neither of us had had a chance to look at it properly:

One of the city ambassadors asked if we had been to Federation Square yet.  We hadn't.  We didn't know anything was happening at Fed Square.  So we went to see.

Walking past Flinders Street Station:

 And then into Fed Square, which was absolutely buzzing:

The whole city centre was buzzing.  It was happy and festive and people of all faiths, cultures and backgrounds were having a great time. Multicultural Melbourne was out at play.

You wonder what those commonwealth politicians who have been categorically telling the whole of Australia that the good people of Melbourne are too scared to leave their houses at night for fear of rampant violent crime, would have made of it all.