Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Beginning of the Day - End of the Day


Beginning of the Day
In real terms, I guess Melbourne does have rather mild winters. Never do we have snow and rarely do we get down to zero. Melbourne has a great climate. I'm talking about Melbourne - Our Home by the Bay.

This morning was one of those close to freezing days - when I went to the car at 7.00am it had possibly risen to 4 degrees C. Its the first frost on the car for this winter. I even had to get the hose on the windscreen and start the demister and heater before driving off to work.
The morning sky was magically clear with a puff or two of fluffy white stuff hinting at a great day ahead of us in Melbourne.

The first morning frost in Melbourne since returning from France

I was greeted by a clear blue morning sky to start my way to work.
End of the (working) Day.
That same clear sky showed me the way home at the end of the working day. I had to see a customer near home so I left the office earlier then expected. As I started crossing the Bolte Bridge which takes you over the Docklands Precinct and the Yarra River we were delayed by gridlock. At this time of day it was very unusual. The traffic had come to a standstill and while sitting there listening to the radio, I soon discovered that there had been a pile up involving a truck and two cars.
As frustrating as that may seem, the situation had a silver lining - you never get the opportunity to look over Melbourne on the Bolte Bridge as most times you are travelling at 100 kph.
On this occasion, people were getting out of their cars and wandering to the edge of the bridge to get a great view of Melbourne.
A clear sunny sky revealed Melbourne in its best light and confirmed its reputation as one of the worlds most livable cities.
Despite the inconvenience of the gridlock, people were chatting to one and another and commenting on the fact that we were rewarded with a moment in time that normally would not be presented to us.
I had a great conversation with a lady that involved a discussion of the great cities we had the good fortune to have visited but we both agreed how fortunate we were to call Melbourne home.

View from the Bolte Bridge overlooking Melbourne's Dockland's Precinct.

People took the opportunity to enjoy the best of an inconvenient moment.

Another view over Melbourne.

Eventually one lane on the three lane bridge was cleared and the traffic started moving again. My travels took me to my customer's business via the Beach Road that skirts Port Phillip Bay. I saw cyclists making the most of the sunny winter afternoon. The Bay was a millpond, so still was the water.

What a great day it was.

Photos take on my Samsung Galaxy II

8 comments:

  1. Some days are diamonds ! A time to for city-folk to interact and enjoy the wonderful views of the worlds most live able city.

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    Replies
    1. Yes - it was a really nice interaction between the drivers considering the inconvenience possibly for some people needing to meet appointments.

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  2. Remember one summer we got tied up in a gridlock on the Autoroute near Beaune. Everyone got out of their cars and had a chat or sought some shade [it was roasting] at the side of the road.
    Sadly there was nothing like the lovely view you had from the bridge. Melbourne looks great.

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    Replies
    1. N&A
      Spent some time in Beaune and in fact just had a white wine from Beaune this week.
      We really liked the town.

      Delete
  3. When ever I get stuck in traffic thee is never anything to look at! How lucky can you get? Great photos of a different view. Diane

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  4. There is interest everywhere if you look around. Even in a traffic jam.

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