Melbourne

We flew into Melbourne on Friday, picked our rental car and headed for the coast. The first part of our trip was a drive along the Great Ocean Road, which runs along the southern coast. The views are unbelievable, driving right beside crystal blue water and beautiful white sandy beaches. Along the way we saw our first koala bears. We stayed overnight in a B&B perched on a cliff, with a balcony facing right over the water - they recommend you leave your door open overnight to hear the waves crashing on the beach.

As soon as we arrived in Melbourne we ran over to the MCG (famous stadium seating 100,000) to watch our first AFL game aka. Australian-rules football aka. "footy". It was a game between 2 big rivals - the Carlton Blues and the Collingwood Magpies - a battle of the uppercrust versus the working class man (or so we were told). Aussie football is very similar to Gaelic football, except although they say you're not allowed to tackle, it looked to us as though you can do just about anything to anyone and not get in trouble. At one point there was a big brawl, and one of guys got his head split open. The medic for the team ran onto the field, stapled the guy's head shut and the play continued! Despite it being a rough game with very committed fans (there were 80,000 in attendance!), there's generally no fighting in the stands.

Melbourne is supposed to like Montreal, compared to Sydney which is said to be similar to Toronto. Overall I think we would definitely agree. Melbourne has a much more European, artsy, bohemian kind of feel. It's supposed to be known for great shopping (lots of designer outlets), hidden bars and cafes in alleys, great food and a more laid back atmosphere. We spent the rest of the weekend exploring the city - shopping, eating a ton at great restaurants, and just walking the streets.