Melbourne Weeks 1 & 2

Arrived into Melbourne Tullamarine at 9am on the 22nd, twelve hours after my scheduled arrival, thanks to the snow in London.  Picked up by Matt and went back to his apartment in Port Melbourne, with great views of the Melbourne's Central Business District

A spot of footie on the beach was followed by a beer on the balcony, before checking into the slightly dubious looking hostel in central Melbourne. In the evening we went to the Queen Victoria night market, but with all the people, and loud music it wasn't really the place to be when jetlagged, so I gave up and went to bed at 9pm.

Spent most of Thursday at Middle Park Cricket Club watching Matt's team play against the Barmy Army, which produced some good banter and 'inspirational' music from the Barmy Army trumpeter.

Much of Xmas Eve morning was spent wandering round Melbourne's many shops in search for Zoe's 'secret santa' present. Having found something suitably tacky I headed to Federation Square, next to Flinders Street Station, with its strange architecture.

That afternoon we walked down South Melbourne beach to a beach-side bar to meet Caroline's parents for a drink. In the evening we headed back to Fed Square to watch the screening of a carol concert.

Surprised to see so many shops open on Xmas Day, plus the trams and trains running. Luke and I set an early pace by winning Trivial Pursuit after breakfast. That was followed up by a BBQ'd lunch, with chicken, turkey an shrimp.

Boxing Day was the start of the Test match at the MCG, so we headed off early to get there for the start. Had a good view, sitting on the top tier just to the left of the pitch. England obviously had a lot of success, which made for a good day.

A lazy day followed, watching the 2nd day of the Test on TV, followed by some drinks on the Southbank with Liam, Andrew and Cheggs, who had come over from Perth for the cricket.

Back to the MCG for day 3 of the match, sat towards midwicket this time, but still a great view. Another dominant day for England, setting up for the win on day 4. Headed down to Swan Street for a drink at the Post Office with the Thomas' and Matt's friends Oli and Karen, before going for some Mexican grub and then going to the Little Creature's brewery for a few more drinks.

Decided to go to day 4 of the cricket, knowing that England only needed 3 wickets to retain the Ashes. Paid the $31 entry fee, only to find out that they were letting people in for free after the first wicket of the day fell. Great atmosphere, sat on the bottom tier just round from the Barmy Army.

The next day saw us going to the MCG yet again, this time to do the stadium tour, where we got to look behind the scenes of the impressive stadium, followed by a look round the National Sport Museum.

New Year's Eve was exceptionally hot, pushing 40 degrees at some point. We spent some time on the beach, but the strong winds put paid to that. In the evening we went to town to watch the early fireworks by the rivr bank, before going back to Matt's to watch the midnight fireworks that were let off the top of the tall buildings in the city.

Caroline's sister arrived just before New Year, so we spent the day showing her round the city, walking through the Botanic Gardens and up to the World War 1 memorial shrine, followed up a meal at the World restaurant on the Left Bank.

Went to the Gaol on the 2nd, where Ned Kelly was imprisoned and hanged, before going to the MCG yet again for the start of the domestic 20/20 competition between Victoria and Queensland.

On the 3rd we did the long drive down the Great Ocean Road, towards Port Campbell, where the 12 Apostles (rock stacks off the coast) are located. Stopped for a while in Lorne and Apollo Bay for some food.




On the 4th we went to Phillip Island, 2 hours drive away from Melbourne, to see the Little Penguins come on to land after sunset. Not able to take any photos of them though, as it would disturb their route back to their nests.