Friday, November 25, 2011

Riding on the Freeway

Just a quick hint before you start reading - click on the you-tube clip at the bottm of the post first and then start reading - I did!
Thursday morning I had to call on a client in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell. Further down the road is the Monash Freeway that runs almost to my office in Tullamarine, not far from Melbourne Airport. In fact my office, I'm sure is right under the landing and take off path. It's a little unnerving to here some international airliner thundering over your office sometimes to the point that I feel I need to hide under my desk. I digress!!

So back to the Freeway - I thought this would be the quickest path back to the office - WRONG!!!
With my little pocket Canon camera sitting in one hand resting on the steering wheel, I took these shots travelling from one side of Melbourne to the other.

The on-ramp at Toorak Road is where I hit the freeway - they have these lights flashing from red to green so that only two cars at a time can gain access to the freeway in peak times. It's a good time to read "War & Peace".

Along the way there are some nice bridges with a bit of history to them.
This is not one of them.

But this one is. It joins the north of Melbourne to the south - residents of the south claim it should be pulled down so northerners can't gain access.
It's a snob thing.

The old silos had these neon signs exposing the products of Nylex Plastic Products. Nylex the company is a mere shadow of its former self but the historic boffins claim that the sign is a Melbourne icon. And so it stays!!!
I wonder what would happen if the silos needed to come down, hmmmm!!

Now this building was going up over a period of time as I used the freeway.
Would you believe that its a soccer stadium??

Just after the soccer stadium you come to the Domain Tunnel. I remember when it was initially being built. It actually runs under Melbourne's Yarra River. Sorry about the fuzziness of the photo but I didn't want to use the flash in the tunnel and besides it shows how I was feeling at this stage of driving on one of Melbourne's most boring roads.

Now this is the Bolte Bridge tha spans Melbourne Harbour. It's named after one of Melbourne's most pugnasious and bombastic Premiers. Well that's not entirely true, Bolte was in good company before and after, but that's just a personal opinion of mine about polititians.

Melbourne's great ferris wheel is now being built, no, lets say "being rebuilt" as it started sagging and bending a little after being erected and was deemed unsafe. OOOOPS!!

I'm just a little confused with this canopy over the freeway as it changes its name to the Tullamarine Freeway. To the left is a 1960 high rise development that was built by the state housing commission. Its like a filing cabinet for humans.
Not sure if the canopy over the freeway is so the residents of the filing cabinet can't see the traffic passing by or maybe its so we can't see the human filing cabinet.

Melbourne's cheese sticks - yes, that's what we call these strange yellow things sprouting from the side of the freeway as we enter the Tullamarine Freeway to Melbourne Airport.
My apolgies if I sound a little morose on this post but freeways and traffic make me feel this way - I promise to be more jovial over the weekend - Oh, the weekend. Hope yours is full of good things.

Aretha Franklin has always lifted my spirits - hope this little you-tube clip lifts yours too.



Thanks Aretha - I feel so much better now.

6 comments:

  1. Enjoyed the drive as I have not been to Melbourne but I know what you mean about those stupid lights that only let through two cars and that is only if both are wide awake!!! As for the football stadium, I was sure that was a massive greenhouse that you could enjoy walking around.
    So glad I hardly see a freeway now we are in France :) Diane

    ReplyDelete
  2. Narrow freeway. It almost looks like the 110 freeway (the first freeway in Los Angeles).

    ReplyDelete
  3. When we are in France, we stay off the Tollways - not because of the costs but you miss so much of the lovely sights.
    Looking forward to more of your adventures in France and you are sounding so much better as well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nadege,
    You are spot-on. The Monash was in fact our first freeway in Melbourne.

    ReplyDelete
  5. LLM - Melbourne's sky today is grey with soft drizzling rain falling which means that I won't be mowing the grass today. Rain is good.

    ReplyDelete

Love to get feedback so no reason to be shy - have your say.