Melbourne - 25th Feb to 1st March

After a long couple of nights we finally arrived in Melbourne central around 8am. Tired and weary from two overnight buses we made our way to the train station to head across to Caulifield Station. As we arrived we were pleased to see Jeff waiting outside to pick us up and take us back to his place. As we approached his the houses reminded us straight away of a set from Neighbours, which perhaps was no surprise as it is filmed there. As we sat down catching up with Jeff on his trip in Asia we soon realised that the day was probably going to be a bit of a write off and before we knew it we both awoke around 5 in the evening. Feeling slightly refreshed we got in contact with a couple we met in Thailand and arranged to meet them for dinner. We headed out and jumped on the train to Richmond where on arrival we could hear someone shouting at us from the end of the platform. At first I ignored thinking they were two crazy people shouting obscenities across the station but soon we realised it was Leon and Lisa who had come to meet us. They took us to a place called the Corner Hotel, just outside the station, where we indulged in a popular Melbourne dish of Chicken Parmanara which consists of breaded chicken wrapped in ham, cheese and a salsa sauce. The verdict from 'Chef Steve' was 10/10. As the evening wore on and the Aussie pint or 'Pot' as it's called (our half) flowed I soon reached my limit... of three… so we decied to make our way back. We jumped in the car and the guys took us around a bit of the city pointing out the 'must see' attractions and a little bit of history of the area before dropping us back off at Jeff's place.

The next day we got up relatively early and headed into Melbourne Central where we first visited the Victoria Markets, a big market district packed full of clothes, souvenirs and food. It reminded me a bit of the big food market in Barcelona, loads of fresh meat, fish and other delicacies just crying out to be eaten. Although very tempting we left only with an apple, banana and nectarine. We then headed across to Global Gossip where we caught up on the recent happening in the world before taking a quick look around some of the city sights. The local news was going crazy over the return of a guy known as Cousin… yep meant nothing to me either, basically he was a AFL player, one of the best, who had been arrested for drugs. Two years ago the guy had been chased by police across the river and down miles of road and eventually caught, high as a kite and loaded full of cocaine. He was banned from AFL for 2 years and he was making his big return tonight. Well naturally with such an event on our doorstep we could do nothiung else but buy tickets. As the evening drew in we met back up with Leon who was also heading to the game. We got off the train at Southern Cross and headed for the Ethad Stadium to see Collingwood v Richmond. Once in the arena we grabbed beer and took our seats and thankfully Leon was there to explain the rules otherwise we would have had no idea what was going on. In fairness it's a game created and played by Aussie's and if you ask me it's just a lazy way of playing football, catching it, punching it and coaches running on every second telling you what to do. No, seriously it is a good game and one which we did enjoy once we understood it and as for this drug addict on the pitch, well with 2 years out of the game his fitness was somewhat poor… maybe it's due to a lack of 'speed'.

After an eventful night at the so called 'football' we took a more chilled out approach and spent the day with Jeff in St Kilda on the beach. With the sun out and huge fire warnings in force due to extreme temperatures we headed away from any trouble and relaxed for the day. As the sun beamed down and the water choppers passed frequently we watched the day pass before heading past a true Blackpool theme known a Luna Park, famous only for its entrance of a clowns face where you walk through his mouth. After the obvious photo we headed to the liquor store to prepare for the evenings event. Later Rachel cooked up some Nachos and then we headed to Finder's Street Station in Melbourne Central where we met up again with Leon and Lisa. They took us to a open air cinema in the Royal Botanical Gardens known as 'moonlight films', where the cinema screen is inflatable, (Bigfun) and everyone brings their own booze and food. The film being screened was Marilee and Me, a film about a labradoodle growing through life, a must see for dog lovers although it is a little bit sad come the end and especially for me as after losing Bella it was a bit hard to swallow. The experience itself was great, sitting in a park under the stars watching a film and drinking a beer, the Melbourne culture was fast growing on us. At the end we headed into the city for a drink in a back alley bar, another popular thing that Melbourne offers! A gap in between two building so, they install a bar, wrap a fence around it and cover the walls in graffiti and suddenly it becomes more popular than a drugged up AFL player. After a few drinks we decided to head back as the public transport was soon to finish for the night. On leaving the guys for the last time we attempted to get a train but had to settle for a tram which thankfully took us in the right direction and we eventually found our way home at around 02.30.

On our final day in Melbourne before driving the Great Ocean road we did the true Asian tourist thing and walked around the city, camera's in hand and snapped away at Melbourne's sights and attractions including Hoiser Lane which is a place in the heart of the city just away from Flinders Street Station where graffiti is legal. The street walls are covered in urban language and art which gives the street a personality like no other in the city. After sitting for lunch outside the cathedral, bathing in the sun, we headed back home for a romantic evening in watching a film and having some time for ourselves. In the morning we had a few hours to kill before collecting the car to set off on our road trip so with the food supplies brought we caught the train in and wandered into Europcar to collect our chariot 'Hyundai Getz'. This was to be our home for the next three days and nights. Our road trip was underway and the Great Ocean road was our destination.