"Richard, give me some money!"

Hello everybody. Back in Melbourne. I really do like this city. In comparison with Sydney, this town is somehow more "pedestrian-friendly" and the downtown area is far more accessible. The statement about Melbourne being more European and cultured than any other city in Australia is not very far from truth if you ask me. The YarraRiver runs across CBD adding to its splendour.

The reason I came here this time was naturally the F1 Grand Prix in Albert Park. I have been a fan of F1 racing for a long time but never really had the chance to see a race live. This time it was too close to miss…and to be honest, the German Sponsored free accommodation didn´t hurt either! Also, I flew with Virgin Blue this time and guess what? The flight was not only on time but landed in Tullamarine, which is the Melbourne city airport, instead of Avalon. No more Jetstar.

After a LONG night out with Alex&Brigid and some friends of her´s, we got up quite destroyed on Sunday and made our way to Albert Park, which is no more than 5 km from the CBD. We both had bought a "General Admission" ticket which means that there were no allocated seats or admission to the main area around the pit lane. I have to say that if I could go back in time, I would probably get an upgrade because you didn´t see much from around the track. We found a decent spot right before the last curve but with no big screens nearby, it was hard to know what the situation was. Didn´t go too well for the "big" teams but the race was a huge success for Ross Brawn´s drivers. Also as a sidenote, the F1 cars are quite LOUD.

After the race we invaded the circuit along with thousands of other fans and squeezed our way into the fences around the pits. It was at that time right after the final ceremony when Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin Group and one of wealthiest men on earth walked past the crowd in the pit lane surrounded by gorgeous models and reporters. Alex cracked up the crowd by loudly yelling: RICHARD, GIVE ME SOME MONEY! Well. He didn´t. What a cheap b******.

A couple of days left to enjoy the Victorian capital. I will be doing it while sick. That´s right. I had been surprisingly healthy for a long time so I suppose this was inevitable. Sore throat, feeling like s***. The usual. Oh well, there´s always pills you can take. Check out the new pics and keep the flag flying high!