Sunday 19 June 2011

DWTDS and Heide Museum of Modern Art

Penny had a quiet day today, while I sat at the computer looking at the THIRTY-ONE entries for Honey's dancing competition - Dancing With The Doggy Stars or DWTDS.

However, there was still time enough for a walk, of course. I couldn't decide which of the many lovely places to visit, so I thought I'd just head off towards the Yarra and see what nice spot we came across. And we got lucky! I headed down into Banksia Park, thinking we would have to walk on lead, and noticed a sign pointing to a 'dog friendly' area at the rear.

It was quite small, but beautifully designed, with one looping path, strong fences all around, and clumps of undergrowth to break it up into smaller areas so the dogs wouldn't have to be all in one place.



It even had a special entry with double gates, like a kind of 'air lock', to protect the dogs from the cars in the car-park,



and drinking bowls with taps.



After we'd walked around for about thirty minutes, I gave in to Penny's wishes - she had headed to the gate each time we passed it. I thought she must be tired. However, once I put her on lead she seemed to get a fresh lease of life and we headed off to explore, even though it was getting dark.

To my surprise I discovered we were just behind the Heide Museum of Modern Art and dogs were allowed into the gardens.



We wandered around, Penny using her nose to explore, and I using my eyes to enjoy the massive sculptures, and then we even went into the kitchen garden.






By this time it was quite dark, which by the way explains the terrible quality of the photos. Also, I only had my phone. Next time I'll take my camera. We will definitely be exploring this spot again.

9 comments:

Slavenka said...

Parlance can you enter into the museum with a dog?

Amber-Mae said...

I have watched your dance video & in my opinion, you did wonderful! You were happy the entire routine & you used some very interesting props. Well done!

Arran, Arthur and Mum said...

Sounds like a lovely walk. I came over from Honey's to congratulate you on your dance routine!
~lickies, Ludo

parlance said...

Slavenka, we could only go into the sculpture garden with a dog. We couldn't go into the building.

parlance said...

Thanks, Amber-Mae and Ludo. I loved your routines also.

Mary said...

Parlance, I have been wandering around Paris for he last few days and have seen so many dogs being taken for walks, some on lead and some not. Quite a few have reminded me of Penny. I think she is much better off in suburban Melbourne than a city like Paris, even though the dogs are being taken for walks and seem quite used to the crowds and traffic.

parlance said...

Mary, hello! I hope Paris is living up to its reputation as the city of dreams. Oh, to be in Paris in the springtime... I think it's springtime there until the 21 June?
Dogs off-lead??? In parks or on the footpaths?

Mary said...

Both on footpaths and parks. We were in the gardens of the Louvre today and saw quite a few dogs around, all on lead. But two of them were on lead together and no one was holding the leads. The older dog was taking the puppy around, I am not sure who was with them, I hope they were meant to be like that. We occasionally see a dog on lead with a muzzle but we often see dogs walking with their people, off lead. This morning we had a dog in the cafe while we were having breakfast - something you wouldn't see in Australia. We have seen quite a few dogs on the streets, all looking like they belong with a person.

parlance said...

I remember that back in my pre dog-owning days, I saw dogs in many German cafes and restaurants and thought it was not good. Now that I'm used to having a dog in my own kitchen all the time, I see that it's not a problem.