A day out with Val.

Last week, Val and I decided to go and view the Xmas display at the Johnston Collection in East Melbourne. Most people reading this will probably not know what the Johnston Collection is, and there is too much for me to explain, so click on the link if you want to know more.

The Collection is housed in a residential area of East Melbourne, which in its day was very "up-market". It got run-down for a while, but in the last few decades the area has again become prestigious, and increased in value because of the proximity to the CBD and the renovations of the original houses. We were not allowed to photograph the Johnston Collection itself, so I took photos outside instead.

We started off having an early lunch in the city at Australia On Collins - it was nice and quiet before the lunchtime rush.

Collins Street is one of Melbourne CBD's prettiest streets, with trees along both sides of the wide road, which provide welcome shade on a warm day.

The Johnston Collection is only open to the public on booked guided tours, which start from the Hilton Hotel around the corner. It is only a few minutes walk, but they have a little courtesy bus which takes everyone from the Hilton around the corner - which is handy for the many elderly people who go on the tour. Here is Val waiting to board the bus.

The building that houses the Collection was originally Mr. Johnston's own home.

Guess who? Not Mrs Johnston, that is for sure!


The following photos are of some of the buildings in the same street - fabulous Art Deco styles, stunning lacework verandahs, beautiful churches... Marvellous Melbourne lives on!










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We went back to Val's home afterwards, to show and tell our latest craft projects. Val gave me a copy of an article on making a card using papers to create a cup and saucer. I couldn't wait to try it - here is what I did the same night!