Melbourne

Back to Australia! When I was planning the Melbourne portion of the trip, I was seeing what made the most sense from a flight and the Australian Open point of view. It looked like there was a high possibility of having a layover in Australia when flying from New Zealand to Denver. So I figured I'd have it extra long and stay for the Open. So back to Australia I went.

I was also visiting an old friend from high school. Robbie moved to Australia years ago, met his wife Claire, and has since made Australia his home. I got to spend time catching up with him, and getting to know Claire and their adorable kids. And the first thing on the agenda was going to the Australian Open.

It was questionable for a minute whether I was actually going to be able to go. I thought about buying tickets months ago, but didn't have a solid plan on when I was visiting Melbourne. And then weeks ago, I looked into it again, and yet again didn't buy tickets. I finally arrived in Melbourne and still didn't have tickets. But no worries. We were able to secure last minute tickets. Literally an hour before the session started. So we got ready and headed to Rod Laver Stadium. We had the day session tickets and it wasn't too crowded. Also, the weather was a bit questionable. But I didn't care since since it meant the tickets were cheaper. And the stadium could be covered. We walked around the grounds and grabbed lunch before Serena Williams played Agnieszka Radwanska from Poland. Timing worked out as it started raining right before the match.

Serena crushing it.

I've never seen Serena played, even though I've been to the US Open a few times now. I've only seen guys like Murray and Federer. It was great to see her play, and of course dominate. Serena blew through the 1st set. The 2nd set was a little more interesting but Serena pulled through with the win. Pretty amazing to watch her in action.

We took a break and I got some rose to drink. It was the Open and the sun had come out at that point. So rose time. We then watched the 2nd set match where Angelique Kerber from Germany faced Johanna Konta from Great Britain. Well if anyone was paying attention to the Australian Open, they know Kerber won this match. And then of course went on to beat Serena in the Championship match. We almost left before the 2nd match, but so glad we didn't. We ended up watching the future winner of the tournament. Even though I was rooting for Serena.

Kerber for the win.

Throughout the coming days, we'd watch the various matches on TV and watch Novak to go on and win for men's singles. Pretty exciting and it would have been amazing to go to any of one of those matches, but the prices just skyrocketed. I'm glad I got to watch at least a couple of matches, and they were semis.

Up next on the Melbourne agenda was a run and a brewery tour. The following day, Robbie and I went for a run on the Tan, a track that goes around the Royal Botanic Gardens. It was cool and a bit drizzly, but perfect for running. I wasn't sure if Robbie was going to be able to maintain my normal pace, and surprisingly he did. And he didn't even run track with me in high school. We actually had a pretty decent run. 

Running the Tan.

And since we went running, we had to get beer. They go hand in hand. So we hit the Carlton Brewery. We had the 2pm tour so we grabbed lunch at the brewhouse and then started our tour. Just like in NZ, we had to be sure we were wearing our closed toed shoes and safety vests. 

Always safe.

The tour was very comprehensive and actually took a while. The property is pretty large, so we took a bus to the various spots. We started at the beer fermentation plant and then made our way to the bottling plant. During the tour, there were many questions and hence the longer the tour. It was all very interesting and a bit better than other tours I've been on. Finally it was finally time to try some beers. We made our way back to the brewhouse and got the lowdown on all the beers offered. We then were able to choose 6 tastes from the selection. To be honest, the beer wasn't my favorite. Although I'm still glad I did the tour and tried some more Australian beer.

Carlton Brewhouse.

The next day was a little low-key. I needed to do laundry and Claire was so helpful. So while we (her) did laundry, I relaxed and eventually went for a long run. Yes, long run. The first longish run since the marathon. It was a good run and decided to extend it while I was out there since I wasn't in any rush to get back. I found myself in Yarra Bend Park and ran on the trails along the Yarra River. Of course when I headed out, Claire warned me about the snakes. I'm like, 'wonderful'. Fortunately I didn't come across any. I have to say I may have run a bit faster in certain places, just in case. The park was very beautiful and it was fun running on some of the narrow trails. 

Watching out for snakes.

We headed into downtown Melbourne for dinner and had some delicious Thai food at Choo Choo's. The kids came with us and they were so good. I think the promise of ice cream helped. Yes, we got ice cream after at Max Brenner. I didn't realize there were other locations outside of NYC, but maybe I should have. It turns out it started in Israel and the first cafe opened in Sydney, Australia. I guess it's a good thing we went since there are more locations in Australia then anywhere else. I got a cookie and ice cream. Of course. 

Max Brenner dessert.

We spent one day visiting Mornington Peninsula outside of Melbourne. Unfortunately Claire had to work, but Robbie, the kids and I headed out for an outing. It was a little bit of a drive, but not so bad. We stopped at a few places along the coast to check out the view, and I got flake (gummy shark) and chips for lunch. My last fish and chips in Australia.

Flake and chips.

We continued on our way and went for a walk to check out the Cattle Jetty in Point Nepean National Park. It was really beautiful as we got closer to the coast and the walk was pretty. Melbourne was way in the distance. If we had more time, I would have liked to get on the ocean side, but the bay side was still beautiful. 

Cattle Jetty.

We wanted to hit up some wineries, but we were running out of time. We were only able to stop at one, T'Gallant Winery. We were able to taste a nice selection of wines before they closed up. Their pinot grigio was pretty good. I wish I could have brought some home, but I really can't travel with wine. I just need to remember where I went and keep an eye out at home.

T'Gallant Vineyard.

On Monday, I went into work with Claire. It was kind of fun to see how Melbourne residents do their commute. Totally doable. A few days prior, I had gone into Robbie's office really quick and it was definitely a little weird. Going to Claire's was even weirder since it was more similar to my old office in NYC. Working in an office for over 10 years and then going into one for the first time in over 4 months was a little strange. I felt like I needed to sit down at her computer and check my email. I didn't stay long though so the feeling passed. I checked out the view and then went out to explore Melbourne.

The Eureka Tower and Port Phillip in the distance.

I started off my tour of Melbourne with a walk down Hosier Lane. I heard about all the graffiti art, but happened to come across this as I was walking and spent about 15 minutes photographing. I love that they encourage graffiti art, especially down various alleyways. It makes them less boring and threatening. There was a group of Asian students on vacation as well. You know what that means. Selfie sticks galore. But seriously, you can tell they were excited to be exploring the city and were having fun with the graffiti art.

Hosier Lane.

I wandered around and made my way to the Royal Botanic Gardens. I ran around it, now it was time to explore. I didn't get a chance to explore much of the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens, so wanted to spend a little bit of time in this one. I checked out the cool lakes, the beautiful flowers, and spectacular views of Melbourne.

Botanic Gardens.

I then walked to the Shrine of Remembrance. The memorial was built for the soldiers lost in World War I, and serves as a memorial for all Australians who have been at war. I walked around a bit and went up to the balcony to get more views of Melbourne. 

Shrine of Remembrance.

I was going to check out one last view of the city from atop the Eureka Tower, but decided to hold off. I was getting hungry and I needed food. I went to Arbory right on the river, per Robbie and Claire's recommendation. I asked about the New England lobster roll and needed to make sure the lobster wasn't coming from New England. It wasn't. So I ordered it. It was pretty good, especially with some beer.

New England Lobstah Roll.

I then went to do what most people do when they go visit a large city. Go shopping. Yup. I bought a few more things. I rationalized that since I was headed back to States soon, I could ship some stuff home for not very much and I only needed to carry it around for just a little bit longer. I bought a few warmer pieces of clothing that I figured I'd need in Denver and then parts of South America (well the cold parts that is). And the US dollar is doing well. 

After spending probably too much money, I met up with Claire and we headed back home at the end of the day. It was a pretty good day of sightseeing, but I was tired. I also needed to figure out my plan for Apollo Bay, where I was headed next.