It's a gang, street art, random oddities

It seems I'm slowly building a ghost hunting gang. As well as Jess, the friend who told me about the Robur sign in Fitzroy North, another Twitter pal told me about one in the city which has been revealed by the demolition of the adjoining building. 

Corner of Lonsdale and Russell Streets

Celebrated specialist!

I had seen a photo of this sign (I think on Finding the Radio Book), but I didn't take note of where it was, and I like to see and photograph a sign myself. So thank you, Cherie! 

I think Jess has caught the ghost sign bug. She tweeted me photos of two other signs today, one of which she jumped out of her car in traffic to photograph! She tweeted:

Becoming slightly obsessed with spotting #ghostsigns in Melbourne for @FriskyLibrarian. It's kinda fun.

Heehee.

As well as the ghost sign photos from Anzac Day, I took photos of some other amusing, strange, quirky and cool things I encountered on my expedition. 

 Teeny weeny house!  It's near where Cromwell Street

 turns into McCutcheon Way in Collingwood  

As you can see from the plaque above, it's old and heritage-listed. I can't get over the fact such a small house was designed to house workers and their families - it's smaller than my bedroom! - and that people lived in until 1977. Wow. 

 Oh-kay 

  

This place  - the People's Market on Stanley Street in Collingwood - looked cool. Music, food, art and markets stalls...but unfortunately I came upon it the day before it closed down. Maybe it will pop up again somewhere else.

   Homage to the Beastie Boys

Rarrr!

Giant concrete spray can

Collingwood...Wellington Street, I think 

Same artist. Fitzroy Street, Fitzroy Street

The bell at the front gate of a house on Queen's Parade, Clifton Hill

A dude in North Fitzroy 

Pointy building on Brunswick Street, 

completely covered in street art 

This was one of my favourite non-sign discoveries of the day. It was in the window of an old shop - possibly now a residence - on Brunswick Street, just over Alexandra Parade. (Apologies for poor photo quality.)

I had to stretch up to take this shot (yes, that's my forehead) and the last bit is hard to read. It says: The octopus has 3 hearts, yet no skeletal system. They can fit into tiny spaces + love a lot.   Of course I greatly approve of sharing octopus facts, though I'm not sure what they're getting at with the "love a lot" bit.  

The best part of this is that several people have taken up the offer to educate the occupiers. Apart from the octopus facts, there was one about beer and a list of which countries have nuclear weapons.  

Just off Fitzroy Street, Fitzroy

I ended up walking all the way back into the city. I spied a group of workers taking a break in an alley behind a Gertrude Street restaurant, with the dome of the Royal Exhibition Building in the background. 

I arrived at the Carlton Gardens at the perfect time. The Hotchgurtel Fountain and the Exhibition Building were aglow in the late afternoon sun. 

My Saturday in photos

The fog still lingered over the city when Luke and I walked along the river this morning. I took a photo of ducks (surprise!). It's so cute the way they tuck their beaks into their feathers to sleep. 

There was a rainbow in the spray from the Hochgurtel Fountain in the Carlton Gardens.

Here's a close up. 

We went to the Finders Keepers Market at the Royal Exhibition Building, although the opportunity to photograph the building's beautiful interior was the biggest drawcard. The market only took up one end of the building, with the rest of it screened off. But there were gaps  where the screens joined so we squeezed through and snapped away. It's not that often you get  the chance to take photos inside the Royal Exhibition  Building without hordes of people getting in the way. 

Click here for more pics

Luke spotted an old sign on a building opposite the Exhibition Building.

Bantown House? 

We popped into the Botanic Gardens on our way home. The Ornamental Lake is covered in a thick carpet of algae. 

It's a swanvoy

I took more photos of ducks (and the algae).

The ducks were funny.  I saw a gap in the algae where the surface of the water was disturbed. 'Ooh, there's something in the water over there!' I said to Luke, just as a duck popped up in the gap. 

We saw swans making a love heart. Unfortunately they were rather inconsiderate swans and didn't hold the pose for more than a nanosecond, so my photo is fuzzy. 

We took some more photos and then headed for home. 

Choccy sampling, calf-patting and PM chatting

Well! I had a great day today. I emerged from under my doona at about 9.00 am and set out for the Organic Expo in Carlton at around 11.30. The wind was cold, but the sun was shining.

Passing through Fitzroy Gardens on the way to the Organic Expo

A brief stop in the grounds of St Patrick's Cathedral

As I approached the Carlton Gardens, I saw that the fountain in front of the Royal Exhibition Building was in full flow and sparkling in the sun, a sight that gladdened my heart.

The Hochgurtel Fountain

Wow. I'd forgotten how stupendous the interior of the Exhibition Building is. I spent as much time looking up as I did sampling organic food (mostly chocolate, but also tea, cordial, vegetable chips, relish, nuts and goji berries) and skincare.

I also patted a calf in the mini farmyard set up to entertain the youngsters (not that I've never touched a calf before - I've seen them being born). The kids with their tiny little horns were really cute (the goat kind, not the human kind.)

I loved the Bert's Bees beeswax products and bought myself a lip gloss and a pack of miniature hand, nail and footcare products in tiny little pots and tins.

A close up of the ceiling

I was also really impressed with a product called Onya Weigh, which is a little pouch containing 5 reuseable nylon drawstring tulle bags to use instead of plastic bags when buying fruit and vegies. I bought one of those.

I had planned to go to the Pompeii exhibition, but I was too weighed down with goodies, so I just popped into the gift shop for a quick look. I bought myself a copy of Melbourne: Then and Now, a book of photos of how Melbourne buildings and landmarks used to look and how they look now.

Then I headed for Brunetti's for a hot chocolate pit stop.

One of several pairs of sneakers suspended from power lines in Pelham Street, Carlton

Waiting for my Italian hot chocolate at Brunetti on Faraday Street, Carlton

I dropped into Readings bookshop for a browse. And who should I see there, but Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. I knew he was in the area because I'd heard someone point out his car parked beside the shop. I was looking at some books and then I looked up and he was standing right beside me. As I was taken by surprise, I just said, "Oh, hello. I didn't realise I was standing right next to you." Yep, inane. He just smiled. (After I got home I realised I had smudges of hot chocolate on either side of my mouth. Inane and grubby! How embarrassing!)

The PM's visit was very low key. A few people approached him and he chatted with them briefly. He posed for a photo. He bought a pile of books and then left. Half the customers in the shop probably had no idea he was even in there. Still, he's not Barack Obama.

A bad photo, but I didn't want to be too obvious!

After buying a book (Ethical Eating by Angela Crocombe) and texting a bunch of people to tell them I'd just talked to Kevin Rudd, I walked back into the city and caught the tram home, very, very weary after covering about 12kms.

It was getting dark - the sky was a deep blue and a smiley moon was hanging over the city. A gleeful end to a gleeful day.

Waiting for my tram

The new soccer and rugby stadium is looking good

Crossing the Yarra

Ah, Fridays....

I love Friday nights, that feeling of being on the brink of the weekend, with two whole days ahead of me without work.

But what I really love is when I don't have to be anywhere at any particular time on Saturday and I can go to bed without setting my alarm. That's how it is tonight. I have quite a bit of stuff I want to do tomorrow, but all of it I can do at my own leisurely pace.

I'm going to the Organic Expo at the Royal Exhibition Building, partly to look at organic stuff and partly to look at the inside of the World Heritage-listed building. I've been inside a couple of times, but not for a few years and it's always worth a look.

Then, since I'm right next door to the museum, I thought I'd drop in and check out the Pompeii exhibition...and then, who knows? Maybe a hot chocolate at Brunetti's...a poke around Readings bookshop...

Maybe I should set an alarm anyway.