More Melbourne

M took this picture of me after dinner last Monday at NewQuay in the Melbourne docklands. When we saw the letters “CW” on the footpath we knew immediately what (who) they were referring to! Dinner with the Thali and a couple of other Australian library bloggers was excellent. The food was very tasty and the company superb. I just wish we could get together more regularly.

After the conference we wandered around the Melbourne Central Business District enjoying the street art (also known as graffiti). I love the creative vibrancy of the works, and the fact that such art is impermanent. I believe Melbourne is renowned for the quality of its street art. In Perth the majority of graffiti is of the “tagging” variety, which imho is not very aesthetically pleasing.

M and I went to the Royal Botanic Gardens with Kathryn on Friday afternoon. I loved it – experiencing all those plants from all over the world (including the bamboo grove pictured) was just wonderful.

Even in a hotel room I often develop a pile of books on my bedside table. This picture shows the books I bought while in Melbourne. We visited China Books on Swanston St a couple of times, and I found a few interesting titles (including the recent novel Gaoxing by Jia Pingwa). We also went to Book Affair, a large secondhand bookshop off Lygon Street in Carlton.

I’m still pondering what I learned and heard about at VALA. I don’t think I will have the time to post all my notes but I would like to at least summarise all the major themes and issues that were talked about.