Captain Cook's Cottage

This pretty piece of history is located in the Fitzroy Gardens, in the heart of Melbourne. The gardens are just another big park in the city, which make it a remarkably great place to live. Seriously! What is unique about parks in Oz is that they often attract more wildlife than any park I have ever seen in the US. I am sure it has to do with the fact that in general, US cities are more crowded and wildlife has been pushed far from them long ago. In the Fitzroy Gardens, flocks of yellow-tailed black cockatoos fly in at dusk to settle into the tall trees. They are easy to recognize due their size and the loud, cheerful calls. Anyway, Captain Cook's Cottage and garden are the historical highlight of the park although the Captain may never have lived in it. No kidding! It’s only by luck that the English cottage made it Down Under, a hundred or so years after Captain Cook! Yes, it’s the home of Cook’s parents in England and it was sold to in 1930s to the Australians, who deconstructed it brick by brick, packed it and shipped it to Melbourne. It was then erected in the Fitzroy Gardens and we are so happy to stroll now through its rooms and herb garden! This beats even American history museums…