从美术馆到纪念碑 – From the Gallery to the Shrine

11/11/2025 星期二 Tuesday, The 10th day of our Down Under to Eastern Delight trip

早上醒来，又在下雨，看来又是一个又冷又湿的日子。不得不处理一下工作的事，和同事通了一个小时的电话讨论。

We woke up this morning to find it raining again — looks like we will be served another cold, wet day. I had to take care of some work emails and spent an hour on a call with a colleague discussing things.

雨停了，我们去了维多利亚国立美术馆，是澳大利亚历史悠久的一个美术馆，建于1861年，馆内藏品都是免费开放参观，只有特殊展览可能收取入场费。

The rain stopped, and we headed to the National Gallery of Victoria, one of Australia’s oldest art museums, founded in 1861. Its permanent collection is free to visit, with admission fees charged only for special exhibitions.

这么长大拇指是为什么？What’s with the long thumb?

今天我们看的主要是欧洲和亚洲的艺术作品，从古典油画到现代装置，种类很多。我们在欧洲展厅停留得最久，写实派画作的色彩与细节令人沉醉，耳边回荡着柔和的钢琴曲，让整个空间都充满了浪漫的气息。亚洲展厅有很多近代的作品，包括中国、日本和东南亚的一些传统艺术品。

Not finding any Australian exhibits, we mainly viewed European and Asian artworks, ranging from classical oil paintings to modern art. We lingered the longest in the European gallery, captivated by the colors and details of the realist paintings, while soft piano music played in the background, filling the space with a romantic atmosphere. The Asian gallery featured many modern pieces, including traditional artwork from China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

两幅毕加索的作品 – Two of Pablo Picasso’s paintings.

下午我们去了墨尔本战争纪念馆。这座纪念馆建于20世纪30年代，为纪念在第一次世界大战中牺牲的澳大利亚士兵。整座建筑仿照古希腊神庙的样式，庄严而对称，灰色花岗岩的外墙在阴天里显得格外肃穆。从纪念馆的阳台上，可以俯瞰到远处墨尔本的摩天大楼——一边是纪念与沉思，一边是现代与繁华。

In the afternoon, we visited the Shrine of Remembrance. Built in the 1930s to honor Australian soldiers who died in World War I, the monument was designed in the style of an ancient Greek temple—solemn and symmetrical, with grey granite walls that appeared especially somber under the cloudy sky. From the balcony, we could overlook Melbourne’s distant skyscrapers—on one side, remembrance and reflection; on the other, modernity and prosperity.

巧的是，今天正好是11月11日，第一次世界大战停战纪念日。虽然现场没有任何仪式，只有零星的游客，但空气中依然有种安静的庄重感。

By coincidence, today was November 11th—Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I. Although there we didn’t see the ceremonies, only a few scattered visitors, there was still a quiet sense of solemnity in the air.

在纪念馆旁的皇家花园里漫步时，偶然发现了一种可爱的小黄花。问了 ChatGPT 才知道，它叫金纽扣花，是澳大利亚和新西兰特有的金黄色圆球花，象征着阳光与快乐。照片里或许不明显，但它真的就像一颗小纽扣，精致又讨喜。

While strolling through the Royal Botanic Gardens next to the memorial, we stumbled upon a lovely little yellow flower. After consulting ChatGPT, we learned it’s called the Billy Button—a bright golden globe native to Australia and New Zealand, symbolizing sunshine and joy. It may not look it in the photo, but in person, it truly resembles a tiny button—delicate and utterly charming.

在墨尔本，经常能看到色彩艳丽的鹦鹉在草坪上悠闲觅食，就像别的地方常见的鸽子或乌鸦一样随处可见——真是太奢侈了！

In Melbourne, brightly colored parrots can often be seen leisurely foraging on the lawns, as common here as pigeons or crows elsewhere — what a luxury!

晚餐又回到哈德维尔巷的一家意大利餐厅。菜式平平，却是观察人群的好地方。巷子里来来往往的人流，是墨尔本夜晚很有烟火气的一角。餐厅菜单上有袋鼠肉，但自从在悉尼动物园抚摸过那群温顺的袋鼠之后，我们是不了这个口的。

For dinner, we returned to an Italian restaurant on Hardware Lane. The food was ordinary, but it was a great spot for people-watching. The steady stream of passersby in the laneway gave this corner of Melbourne’s night a lively, down-to-earth charm. The menu offered kangaroo meat, but ever since we petted those gentle kangaroos at the Sydney Zoo, that’s something we can never bring ourselves to eat.

夜色渐深，雨又一次落下。
在连日的阴雨中，我们的墨尔本五天行程就这样结束了。明天，前往新西兰——一个全新的国度，一段尚未展开的旅程。

As night fell, the rain began once again.
After days of grey skies and drizzle, our five days in Melbourne came to an end. Tomorrow, we head to New Zealand — a new country, and a journey yet to unfold.

还记得那根大拇指吗？小熊记得 … Remember that thumb? Bear does …