Three planes to be exact with a couple of short stops at LAX and Seattle. I'm in my hotel in Anchorage now and I can't believe I'm not asleep. But my eyes are awake even if my body is tired. I took some photos out of the window of two of the planes. I was both happy to see how pretty the view was and really tired of that view – both at the same time. This is just after dawn near the end of the 14 hour flight from Melbourne to LAX.

There's a story that goes with this flight. We were late taking off because we were waiting for 2 passengers who never showed up. Guess where they were sitting? That's right – I had 3 seats all to myself. I was very excited until I looked around and realized that these were probably the only free seats on the plane. I knew I could claim them but then I'd feel guilty sleeping on 3 seats while everyone else was sitting up. So I did claim the window and the middle seats (see I'm not completely altruistic) but I asked the flight attendant if he knew of some poor soul stuck in a middle seat with long legs. He found one (I knew he would). I felt a little less greedy and I still got to put my feet up and Ted (the lucky recipient of the aisle seat) was happy too. And I'll bet the people next to his old seat were happy.

By the time I took this next photo that story was a fuzzy memory. I took this before getting to Anchorage.

Tomorrow, if all goes well, I fly to Valdez early and go on a ferry ride of the bay. I'll take more photos. Now it's time to call it a night!

This will be my last post from Melbourne. Tomorrow morning I fly to Los Angeles, then on to Seattle and Anchorage. Time and distance are strange. I leave Melbourne at 10:10 AM and land at LAX at 7:20 AM on the same day. I'm gong to get back that day I lost on the way over and it's too bad that I'll be spending it traveling.

Several of the ladies in my classes brought treats for class. Here is Carol's date cake. Notice the rotary cutter… we didn't actually use it to cut the cake.

Fi (owner of that great pincushion in my last post) gave me one of her handmade pins. I will wear it with pleasure! You can find Fi's web store here and her blog here.

I can't believe how tiny the hexes are…

I shopped in Melbourne. To be honest, maybe more than I should have BUT I shopped for things that you can only find here. Like these resin bracelets from Dinosaur Designs…

I have a very small wrist that usually looks stupid in a bangle. These are the first bangles that I have ever worn that fit me. The shapes vary and I love them. The only US outlet in in NYC, a place I rarely get to.

I walked this morning and saw some new flowers like this fuzzy red one:

And I found a gum tree (better known as a eucalyptus in the US) in flower:

Many of the houses here have fences around the front yard. Some tall, others not. Most are interesting to look at. Here's a view down the street where I've been staying. I was surprised to learn that the trees planted nearest the street are planted by the city and don't belong to the home owners. In fact, the city chooses the type of trees that are planted there. They often plant the same type of tree down the street. I'm having trouble imagining US homeowners going for this idea.

I particularly liked this gate – and the fence that surrounded it. I like galvanized metal, the large timbers in the fence, and the river rocks below the gate. (Steve, if you are reading this help me remember this idea for the next time we have to build a gate.)

I went to a boutique grocery store – with mood lighting! The veggies were beautiful…

Here's a detail of turnips which really do look good enough to eat…

Gayle, my hostess, feeds the magpies at her house every morning. These are smart, interesting, graphic birds that I've seen everywhere I've been. I got this shot:

The photo below goes with the black and white magpies. There is a lot of wrought iron in Australia. I took this photo near our hotel in Melbourne. The shift from black to white trim in these… what are they? town houses, condos, apartments, houses? Whatever, it's nice to look at.

I've been thinking today about what I will miss the most once I'm back home…

• Australians. They remind of the people I like best at home – warm, friendly, interesting.
• I'll miss the look of Australia. There is a thread of good design that runs through this country. Even the traffic signs are stylish.
• The public art. It's everywhere.
• The food. It's hard to find bad food here.
• The bakeries! Oh my, I wish we had even one bakery with bread and cookies and cakes in Sherman that compared with those here. It's probably good for my waistline that there isn't one but I sure do wish there was.
• Footie – also known as Australian Rules Football. I'm a Cowboys fan and very much enjoy 'gridiron' football but footie is a great game and I'd certainly watch it if it were in the US. I have to admit that it makes our football look slow and sort of boring – and I really, really hate to write that.

Next up, Alaska!

I taught at Amitie today. This is yet another great Australia shop, owned by Jenny Kingwell. The shop has lots of great fabric, some from the US and a lot from Japan. I'm buying (more) fabric that I never see at home – like these spots with the leopards.

More Cloth – wish we had this in the States, but it would be expensive. It's hand printed on linen – love it.

I did break out my camera in class and got some lovely shots. This is Kerry at the end of the day. She was both happy and tired from a full day of work. Her red Bernina case is brilliant.

And Carol is loads of fun – not that everyone wasn't loads of fun – but check out her outfit!

The back of her leggings first caught my eye… and then I paid more attention to the fronts. With the shiny black shoes – I really wish I had this outfit! I've looked online for more of the leggings (made by P.A.M.) but haven't found them. I'm not sure I could pull this off nearly as well as Carol does so maybe it's better that I don't find them.

Fi's pincushion came from a Flikr exchange. I want one like it but to get it I'm going to have to make one. Look at the tiny hexagons pieced together on the top. Really pretty.

Last but not least I found the photo I took of the (not quilt life-sized) Mick Jagger poster from the lobby of the Bloomfield Albany hotel…

…and I found this photo of schoolkids at the Hall of Remembrance, a memorial to Australian soldiers that is somber and lovely. I saw many, many school kids in uniform out and about in Melbourne. Older students were on their own or traveling in groups, off to lunch or going from one place to another on the buses and trams. Other, younger, school kids were in groups on outings with teachers. It's spring here and, if it's like the States, the time for outings.

…which is pronounced 'Melbin' – say it fast and swallow the 'r'. I've almost got it. We flew in, took a taxi from the airport, and checked into our cool hotel. The Bloomfield Albany is a boutique hotel I found online. The hotel has a retro-cool 1960s vibe. There's a huge poster of a young and very thin Mick Jagger in the lobby and this one in the stairwell that take me back to my youth.

There are black and white prints of 1960s photos, enlarged and used well throughout the hotel. The headboard of our bed is made from one of these prints:

Some of the people I recognized but who is this woman? I love her face…

(After hearing from several of you I think it is possible that this is Claudia Schiffer – except that she was born in the 1970s. If they chose images from the 1960s it's not her. Perhaps it is Natalie Wood as others suggested.)

This floor is from an older part of the hotel. It would make a nice quilt:

Here's a detail:

The hotel is south of the city center near the Botanic Gardens – a nice
walk for us into the heart of Melbourne. Here's the street our hotel is on. A lot of Melbourne looks like this. The city center is a city with old and new buildings and lots of people. I've seen more men in business suits in the last 3 days than I've seen together in a long time. Dark gray business suits. I'm kicking myself for not taking more photos but, in my defense, I was busy enjoying the moment and didn't want to see everything through the lens of a camera.

Steve carried the heavy camera for hours and the best shots I got were of a graffiti alley. I believe there are several of these designated spots throughout the city.

I love the scale, the energy, and the colors on these walls.

We walked Melbourne for 2 more days, with the smaller camera. Didn't take as many photos but we had a marvelous time! And we ate (and ate) well. There are an amazing number of small restaurants here. The painted column, below, is from the restaurant near the hotel where we ate breakfast every morning. Cafe Domain has the best porridge (oatmeal) and multi-grain toast I have ever eaten.

By and large, Australia is full of art. Every city we have visited has art on the street, in the buildings, and of course in the museums. I wish art was as much a part of the city I live in. Did I take pictures of it all? No. But I did snap this chalk Venus on the sidewalk by the river. Even the sidewalks here can make you smile.

As I write this Steve is on a plane heading home. I'm about to go for a walk before being picked up to go to my next stop here in Melbourne. I'll be teaching for three days at Amitie – and then I head to Alaska for the Valdez Quilt Festival! I'll take more photos and keep you posted…

We spent 4 1/2 days in Sydney. I taught a 2-day class to a very fine group of ladies at Material Obsession and I wrote a wonderful post about that experience – and my silly computer appears to have eaten it! Oh my.

I rarely have time in class to take photos but Kathy Doughty (owner of Material Obsession and a class participant) took some great shots and wrote wonderful things about the class on her blog. Click here to read and see.

It's really nice to make a good friend when traveling. I believe that Kathy is one. We had such a good time together. She took Steve and me on a beach walk to Bondi Beach. Here we are:

And here is one of the beaches we passed. Notice the surfers…

Real estate is valuable here and they use it all. Lots of windows are looking out at these great views of the water.

We walked in a lovely seaside cemetery. Each grave was set apart with stone or concrete walls. In most cases more than one person was buried in each grave site. The headstones noted everyone below. Now, this may not be what anyone else would think but I think that is a great use of space.

I took some wonderful photos at Material Obsession. They were in the post my computer ate. I wanted to put the photos here but I cannot find them!!! There are days when my computer makes me a little cranky. So, please do go to Kathy's blog. She posted a second post about the class (click here) and in it you'll see bits of her wonderful shop and some of the fantastic quilts from her Tuesday class.

I gave a lecture on color at Quiltsmith in Annandale, outside of Sydney. The quilters in the room were easy to talk to and had a variety of interesting questions afterward. I enjoy giving this lecture because people tell me how much they get from it.

Melinda Smith, who owns this fine shop, gave me a treat – a package of Australian candy! There is a nice variety of flavors and Steve and I are enjoying them. I am supposed to be giving up sugar so that I don't have to take medication for high cholesterol so I'm trying to just have a tiny bite each day. Australian candy is different. It seems less sugary – but perhaps that's my wishful thinking.

I have a collection of candy wrappers from my previous trips to both Australia and New Zealand. I want to use them in a quilt, but haven't yet. These will be added to the group.

Steve spent two days in Sydney when I was teaching and he came back with some good photos. Here are a few:

Luna Park is visible from Circular Quay. It's even better when viewed from a ferry. Aren't those eyelashes something!

The Opera House looks good from the ferry as well.

This is a grevilia that he saw somewhere along the way. It reminds me a a woman's hairdo from the 50s.

And this is something I spotted on a sidewalk near the beach that seems perfect for a Friday post…

We’re in Sydney where I’m teaching at Material Obsession. I love this shop! I read Kathy Doughty’s blog and it’s great fun to meet her and the ladies who frequent her shop.

We came in on the day before class started. Steve and I had that day to wander around Sydney. We walked out onto the Sydney Harbor Bridge. A very nice lady offered to take our picture so here we are:

Sydney is a harbor city. Lots of water. The famous area with the bridge and the Sydney Opera building is very walkable. We walked to the center of the bridge and over to the Opera itself in less than an hour. This is the Opera as seen from the bridge:

As we got closer to the Opera I realized that the white parts are not really white, they are more creamy in color. And as we got even closer I realized that all of that light area is made from tile!

Here’s an even  closer look:

Who knew!? I don’t know what I thought the Sydney Opera Building was covered with but I’m sure it wasn’t tile. I does, however, make sense once you think about it.

We shopped – well I shopped and Steve was patient. We found some presents for folks at home. I bought a green bangle bracelet made from resin that I love. It was too expensive but I knew if I didn’t get it I’d regret it. I didn’t buy any of the lovely designer clothes I saw. I tried to buy some blue jeans but Australian jeans don’t fit me any better than US jeans do. Oh well. I have a lot more luck buying fabric at the quilt shops!

We went to dinner at Cafe Sydney which is on the top/5th floor of the old Custom’s House. The Sydney Public Library is on the 1st and 2nd floors. Very nice. This building is right on the Circular Quay. If you stand at the front of this building and walk right you go to the Opera, go left you go to the Harbor Bridge. There is a train station in front of the Custom’s House that blocks the view of the harbor – but you can see over the train station from the 5th floor.

We had to visit ‘the facilities’ that are part of the library area early in the day. This is how the doors are marked:

Perfect for a library!

Our table for dinner was outside. It was cold and windy but they have propane heaters and blankets on each chair that kept us warm. The food was really fine. A very nice woman and her son were sitting nearby and she offered to take out picture. They were from Connecticut and it was there last meal before getting a the flight home. The lights out in the harbor and across the way were really pretty. You know, sometimes it’s worth it to spend more money on a fine meal in a spectacular place!