A day around Melbourne

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I played tour guide to mom and dad today and took them into the CBD (central business district) of Melbourne. We caught a tram right out front from our hotel into town and got off at Federation square. We had a little walk around there which is a big square and attached to it are some neat architectural museums. It's also right on the banks of the river so we had a little wander down there. From the bridge over the river you can see down to the big MCG stadium (Melbourne Cricket Grounds) They play cricket there but also play some AFL.

We hopped on the free city circle tram that took us over to Waterfront city. It's a new area that has been built up and is still building in a harbour. They have a huge Costco there and lots of outlet shops to shop at but the biggest attraction for me and my parents was the Ice rink haha. When I first came to Melbourne I went to an ice hockey game here with my friend Leahanne. I had to show mom and dad the Icehouse. There are 2 olympic sized ice rinks inside, one for hockey, one for recreational skating and sometimes curling.

We had our lunch in the outlet mall area and then headed back into the city. I wanted to take mom and dad to the Queen Victoria Markets. However, I didn't do my research and the markets are closed on Mondays. I was so disappointed for mom and dad but what can you do. So we went over to Melbourne Central which is a mall built around an old brick tower. It's kind of need to see this big old shot tower in a very modern building. We stopped for a coffee and cake.

We then walked over to a big cathedral that mom and dad wanted to go inside. Stopped at the Parliament building as well but it was already closed for the day to the public. Dad really wanted to see the Rod Laver Tennis arena and the MCG which are side by side so we caught a tram out to them. There was a cricket game being held at the MCG and the lady at the door just let us in for free. We were amazed to see that all of 5 other fans were in the stands watching but it was a monday afternoon.

We decided to head to the asian area of town for a cheap Vietnamese dinner. We had a super yummy dinner for $10 each....trust me thats cheap in Australia!!!!! Mom really wanted to see some fairy penguins and I knew of a pier in St Kilda where we were staying that was free to see them come in at night. So I took them out there as the sun was going down and we were lucky enough to see a few of them in the little homes in the rocks already. We didn't see any swim in. All in all I think it was a pretty good day and mom and dad got to see some highlights of Melbourne.

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