Melbourne: First Stop in Oz!

Walking with fellow Canadian Ashley in downtown. It was 41 degrees on this day. Ouch.
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So arrived pretty early to Melbourne from Singapore. Bright and early at 7am. I was greeted to nice Aussie weather, accents, and tans. My friend Jess (from my Contiki tour) picked me up from the airport - so it was nice to see a familiar face on my trip.

I got a quick tour of the city on the way to her place. Melbourne is a nice city located right at the bottom on Australia. Last year it held the Commonwealth Games and it has a huge Cricket stadium that holds 100,000 people! Didn't think that many people could sit through a cricket game without falling asleep. Just kidding!  But, I honestly expected Australia to be a lot greener - but it is going through a massive drought right now - so pretty much everything is brown in the city - except the trees. Plus, there are lots of water restrictions on as well.

Time for some tennis!

My first authentic Aussie BBQ! They love sausages at them so I have noticed.
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The first few days included meeting a bunch of Jess' friends and helping celebrate one of their birthdays. Another friend from my Contiki tour came down from New South Wales - Nicole - so it was nice to have a mini-reunion down in Melbourne.

Nicole and I were pretty busy. We hit up the Queen Victoria Market in downtown Melbourne, braving the heat and checking out the local produce vendors. Talk about a great variety of fresh fruit that is really affordable.

We also visited Phillip Island - just about 2 hours away from central Melbourne for a night. One of Jess' friends offered to take us there and let us stay at her cabin. Sweet! We saw the penguin parade which was adorable.

Jess, Nicole and I getting ice cream along the beach in Melbourne. Just like the good ol' days in Europe.
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On Monday we checked out the opening day of the Australian Open. I enjoy tennis, but have never really seen a live game before. Well, it was super fun. We spent the entire day outside taking in 3 tennis matches. One exciting game included seeing American Andy Roddick in the big tennis centre on the Melbourne grounds. There are about 20 permanent tennis courts - including 2 large stadiums. It was fun to attend the tournament as it is part of the Grand Slam - so it is one of the big 4 annual tennis tournies around the world.

When Nicole and I went to Queen Victoria Market - I stumbled upon a bunch of knock off hockey jerseys. Quite random to see I thought in the Australia - so it was definitely worthy of a pic!
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Thankfully I went to the tennis on the Monday - because on Tuesday the temperature soared to 41 degrees!!! Yikes! It was a hot day. And, many of the players had to finish intense matches out in the sun! I just bounced from air conditioned venues as I explored downtown.

One night I caught up with Ashley, a friend from home who is living in Melbourne for a year. So, it was nice to see someone who understands just how cold our weather is in a typical January. So, the 2 Albertans enjoyed our night out walking along the river...in shorts and tank tops. Not to rub it in!!!

Getting ready to go out and celebrate Emma's birthday in downtown Melbourne.
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I visited Melbourne's Botanical Gardens with some girls I met on my tour in Europe. I then was treated to an Australian BBQ. Seriously - that's all they seem to do around here. BBQs!!! They love 'em! Especially in summer. (Even though you could BBQ year round here!). I had a fun time tasting local 'lollies' as well (Australian candy) as it was considered a must for me to try their sweets.

I took a tour down the Great Ocean Road one day - which is basically a beautiful coastal drive west of Melbourne. And, apparently one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. I thought it was just super. I had a great day taking in the sights.

Time to celebrate! I finally got to have pancakes AND bacon!! I was really excited as it is virtually impossible to get them together. All the Aussies were disgusted by the fact that maple syrup may be mixed in with the bacon. Not a traditional thing here.
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But, Melbourne was a super nice city - I had a crazy busy week there, but I saw lots and enjoyed touring around Australia's 2nd largest city.