Melbourne

23/02/13 to 28/02/13 – It was the weekend and we were able to spend some time with our friend Kavi.  We went on a tour of some wineries just outside Melbourne in the Yarra Valley.  We saw some very different countryside, with cows grazing in green fields and mountains in the distance.  The weather was much better now and we were glad to have our sunscreen on.  We spent the day tasting wines and had a nice lunch in the town of Healesville on recommendation from a very enthusiastic lady from one of the wineries (we think she was sober!).  Then that night we went out in Melbourne CBD, where there was an all-night ‘White Night’ festival taking place, with various performances, exhibitions and buildings lit up and animated with lasers.

We were glad of a good rest on the Sunday, and after a little lethargic sightseeing in the afternoon, we returned to Kavi’s to ‘throw a shrimp on the barbie’.  It was a nice warm evening and we ate so many prawns we didn’t really have room for the burgers.

On Monday we took a trip out to St Kilda, which is the nearest beach to Melbourne and has some nice cafes and small shops behind the beach.  It also has Luna Park, a theme park which has the world’s oldest working rollercoaster (all made out of wood!).  However, it was closed as it was Monday, so we made do with a walk down Neptune St (home to the ladies of the night!) and a sushi lunch before taking a swim.  The wind suddenly got very strong and sand was blowing in our faces.  This meant there were lots of kitesurfers who were doing their stuff in the harbour.  They were pretty good and were doing some pretty slick turns and big jumps, so we tried to pick up some tips to improve our technique.  Then we walked through Albert Park where the roads were being prepared for the forthcoming Australian Grand Prix.

We finished our sightseeing in central Melbourne, ticking off Fed Square, Flinders St Station and Queen Victoria Market before taking a nice walk along the Yarra river, with several schools taking part in rowing training in front of us and the Rod Laver Arena and the MCG in the background.  We met Kavi after her mammoth 8km run(?) for our penultimate night in Melbourne.  We went to Chinatown for Yum Cha (the Melbourne name for Dim Sum), before heading to Berliners, a bar divided and themed into West and East Berlin, which was pretty cool… but with a French waiter who, despite the stereotype, was not moody at all (unlike the Chinese staff who were practically throwing the food at us).  We had some interesting and very unusual cocktails, one tasting a bit like chicken korma and another like tea with a scoop of ice cream on the side.

For our last day we went to visit the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground).  We went to watch the final of the One Day Cup, where the home team Victoria were taking on Queensland.  The 100,000 capacity stadium was empty except for about 300 hundred cricket fans who’d come to brave the cold.  After a shocking start with the bat for Queensland the rain came down and we thought we might not see a proper match.  Later the game was reduced to 32 overs each, and Queensland continued to lose wickets for very few runs until Jason Floros came in and smashed a quick-fire 47 from the last few overs… this gave Queensland a chance, but Victoria only needed 5 runs an over to win.  Queensland got a couple of early wickets which made the game interesting and we were now supporting Queensland as they were the underdogs (sorry Kavi).

The run rate kept creeping up and got to 8 an over as Victoria lost more wickets.  The rain threatened to save Queensland on the Duckworth-Lewis method, but it didn’t come.  McKay came in to bat for Victoria and smashed a couple of sixes and fours to wrestle the game back in Victoria’s favour, and they needed just 4 runs from 7 balls.  Then, amazingly Queensland took another wicket to leave Victoria requiring 3 from 3 balls.  Fawad Ahmed came in and left England with nothing to fear in the Ashes as he got a golden duck, meaning Queensland had turned the game around for an unlikely victory and were jumping for joy in front of a now deserted MCG.

We enjoyed a great match in the end and went to pack our bags to leave Melbourne.  We’d enjoyed our stay and spending time with Kavi and we reckon we’ll be back one day (maybe for the Ashes or the tennis).