G'DAY!!!

We LOVE Melbourne!

So, we thought we knew all about cities... then we arrived in Melbourne. 4 lane highways. Skyscrapers. A metro system. And trams. And buses. And parks. And shops. And bars. Restaurants. Beautiful people wandering round in clothes that cost our monthly travelling budget. For the first time in 3 months our faded t.shirts aren't suitable....(NOTE: Martin's faded t.shirts. Kara got her mum to bring out fresh clothes for her but Martin rejected this idea...!!)

Melbourne is bustling, sunny, laid back, and energetic all at the same time. There are more art galleries and museums and theatres than you can shake a stick at. Tiny alleys full of cafes and bars and restaurants. All kinds of food at all kinds of prices (the backpackers fav - all you can eat $8.50 Chinese buffet). Shops ranging from market stalls to kooky boutiques to second hand to designer couture to high street... if you love the arts, food or shopping head here! (note for gents - bring a stick to beat your wife away from the expensive shops, or take out an extra mortgage) (note for ladies - soooo frustrating to be in this city on a backpackers budget and with sulking husband in tow muttering "we can't afford this, I'd much rather spend it on skydiving". Upsettingly, my common sense took over and I bought nothing).

So, how have we spent our time here?

• we headed to Federation Square, a funky modern square next to the river with a huge TV screen showing the Winter Olympics. There's something satisfying about watching people on snow while sat in the blazing hot sun.
• we did a walking tour, looking at the alleys, arcades, buildings, and just soaking up the atmosphere. There were other tourists getting excited because on one street there is some art by Banksy. Being from Bristol, we were less so....
• we went to a Contemporary Art Gallery (note: Martin's second art gallery in the week as we went to one in Christchurch too. Though he did leg it out quickly at that one to join his dad in the bar. That was not an option here!)
  
• We then headed to ACMI Australian Centre for Moving Image. Geek heaven. Computer games ranging from pac-man to HALO, the original car from the 1st Mad Max movie, more Cate Blanchett trivia than even the most obsessive stalker could desire, and best of all...
• Make your own matrix action scene. Check these out, and remember that we are old and out of practice before you get all critical. You need to copy and paste them into your browser.
  
• http://www.acmi.net.au/timeslice/Timeslice.htm?file=ts-20100217-cb98eec252ff4ad461ad819a417c64f5.flv
• http://www.acmi.net.au/timeslice/Timeslice.htm?file=ts-20100217-4fc6a9b2755131e8137cc6900a028089.flv
• there is a free hop on hop off tourist bus, so after checking out the amazing Memorial Building, we hopped on and enjoyed the free commentary before hopping off in little Italy and eating... Turkish food...
• ... we also enjoyed a relaxing hour ambling round a mere quarter of the massive botanical gardens.

Melbourne is also running and cyclist heaven with loads of paths. We ran the 3.8 km track round the perimeter of the botanical gardens, called the Tan.

Now we're in the suburbs, staying with our lovely couchsurfing hosts, Elisa and Josh.

Much to the amusement of Kara's parents, we're having a lazy day today ("What do you mean today? Haven't you been lazy for the last 5 months?!?!" - they have a point!), heading into the city later to check out an exhibition, then going back in for a night of bar crawling with Elisa and Josh later... we're gutted we're leaving tomorrow but also looking forward to Tasmania...

We see Kit in less than a week!!! Would be better if he was bringing Rosie, but just Kit will do... :-)