Our first full day was Sunday so to get to know the city better we decided to do the Free Walking Tour (tips are expected at the end). It was a really interesting walk, made better by our tour guide Matt who was very insightful, telling anecdotes and funny tales about the history of the city. The walk took us past the Old Gaol, the Carlton Gardens, China Town, the Greek Precinct, the State Library, Federation Square, Yarra River, all the street art, some cathedrals, the Princess Theatre and various other sights. So we got to learn a lot about the culture and how the city came to being - especially after the Gold Rush back in the late 1800s and how that financial boom had effected the growth of the city. We learnt a little about a criminal named Ned Kelly, who is like the Australian Robin Hood. Not quite as good but did help the poor out albeit murdering and thieving along the way too... Overall the walk took about 3 hours and was a great way to find out more about the city without paying a fortune or being stuck on a dodgy hop on hop off bus. We had some lunch near South Gate on the river which was lovely before we decided to head back to the State Library to check out the original Ironman. Ned Kelly in one of his battles with the police forged a suit of iron for protection which strongly resembles the basic Ironman suit in movie one. Obviously not quite as high tech but you can tell where Marvel got its idea! The library also held lots of original photos from the 1800s and early 1900s which were interesting to see. They almost look staged, like it's just actors in costumes. We later met up with one of my Dad's friends who now lives out here and went for a drink at The Rooftop, a rooftop bar if you hadn't already gathered... Had some pretty nice views although it was a tad windy up there. For dinner we went to Chinatown for some yummy dumplings and other Chinese delights. Some fresh green tea too. Yum!

Our last full day in Melbourne we spent the morning wandering around the Laneways. Popping in and out of quirky boutique shops and had some nice morning tea. Bought a gorgeous scarf! Going into the wrong season now for it though... Ah well. Then we decided to revisit the Old Melbourne Gaol for a tour. There were lots of different pieces of information in all the different cells providing information on the criminals that stayed, various crimes committed, the hangings and death penalties (even seeing the original scaffold) and how the jail was run back in the day. Also found out that the death penalty was only ceased in 1975! Not that long ago. We also got to have a tour of the WatchHouse where they mimicked what it would have been like to have been arrested and locked in the cells. A tad scary and it was so dark that you couldn't see anything! It was mid afternoon by this point so we grabbed some food from Sumo Salads and headed back to the hotel (Alto on Bourke). In the evening we went for a stroll before grabbing some dinner at a nice restaurant.

Melbourne was a lovely city. Could definitely be a place I would live, it was voted most liveable city in the world so! There was still so much more to do but just not enough time in only 2 days!