We have just returned home after a very decadent twenty four hours away just in Melbourne, our own city.

Aiming for a quick break, we checked into a city hotel yesterday and had a very leisurely time strolling through the city. We did a little shopping but the biggest attraction was the Myer Store Christmas Windows. Myer have been dressing their windows fronting Bourke Street with a Christmas theme since 1956.

This year, the windows are based around a children’s book by the American author and Illustrator Jan Brett. In the story, they main character is looking for friends and happens across a bakery, where he dances and prances in front of a sugar cookie girl, trying to make friends. But she just stares and doesn’t say a word, like all the other sweet treats he tries to meet. Discouraged, the Gingerbread Baby runs home, chased by a long line of hungry creatures , where a surprise awaits him – many gingerbread friends that fill a giant fold-out page.

It was hard to take good pictures with the crowds and all the reflections. but this is my best shot at the first window.

At dinner, we were able to enjoy a very pleasant meal and a glass, or two ,of wine without any of the worries about having to drive home. We only had to find the lift to the 11th floor!

This morning, we caught a couple of trams to the tall Eureka Tower (Melbourne’s tallest building at 297 metres). This is the second tallest building in Australia. The sky deck observation floor on the 88th floor offers 360 degree views of the city and across the suburbs. It is a little daunting with its floor ceiling windows, but the views on a clear day are fantastic. It is possible to go out on to the open air terrace on calm days and be able to take photos without reflections from the glass.