Kubbing to Getcha

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(This one got a bit stuck in the ether ... sorry about that)

Perth really is a long way from the rest of Australia. We had been told this before (when we were also told about Bali being its nearest city) but it took the 5 hour flight out for all that to sink in. That flight also enabled Marissa to catch up on some much needed kip and me on some much needed movies.

And so we landed in Melbourne. Our hosts for this week: the lovely Tom and Suzy. Although it wasn’t quite that simple. They were away for the weekend so Tom had devised an excellent mission for us in the style of the Krypton Factor - all swing bridges and crocodiles. The prize … the keys to their flat. We thought his challenge to make it to their friends mailbox without a map of the city was just too easy. So for extra points we decided to ignore the suggestion to take a taxi and do it using a combination of public transport and on foot. Also ignoring the facts that our bags have now gained at least 8Kg each and Marissa’s arm is still not at full strength. "Foolish" I hear you mutter … well yes it was, but it did save us a tenner and only took 3 hours.

Melbourne is a great city - we totally loved it. I think it is all because of the trams. I really like trams. Loads of cool cities have a tram network: Amsterdam, Zurich, Manchester, Blackpool … OK, OK so it wasn’t all down to the trams. It was really because of some more excellent hospitality and a jam packed week of activities. It was great spending a week with Suzy and her crippled other half - when we saw his jaywalking technique we worked out why he was on crutches for the 2nd time in 6 months. 😱

So what did we do? Well Melbourne is all about sport. There are some iconic sporting arenas in the city (the Rod Laver, the MCG …) so we thought we should check out some of the action. First on the menu was some beach volleyball and water-ski jumping for a public holiday event. Next up the Grand Prix; you could hear the cars zipping round the track from all over the city, so we decided to drive down during qualifying and take a look over the fence. Seeing and hearing those cars close up was such a buzz, I really have to get myself inside next time. No visit to Melbourne would be complete without an Aussie Rules game and conveniently there was a pre season cup final on. Tom briefed us quickly on the rules (it’s about kicking, catching and punching - that's the ball and your opponents) and off we went to the Telstra Dome so see local boys Carlton beat Brisbane. Brilliant stuff, much better than we were expecting and a fantastic atmosphere to boot (those puns just come out of nowhere sometimes).

The sporting highlight of the week however, had to be Kubb. I won’t bore you with the details, the Wikipedia link can do that, but in summary it is where 2 teams of people throw sticks at blocks of wood with the intention of knocking them over. It is played outside and works well when accompanied by an ice box full of beer. Think of it as Scandinavian croquet. We will definitely be investing in (or even making) our own set on our return to Blighty.

It wasn’t all sports. We also squeezed in some excellent meals, a trip to the Yarra Valley for yet more wine tasting, Melbourne’s excellent Zoo, the observation deck of the Rialto Tower to watch the sunset over the city, a visit to St Kilda for a glimpse of Lunar Park (remember that from Neighbours?) and a great night out on the town in some of Melbourne’s tucked away bars. All good, all really good. 😊


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This Weeks Likes:


Our Friday night out in Melbourne's back streets. Without a doubt the best music we have heard since we left.

Melbourne graffiti: urban street art hidden down every side street.

"If you drink then drive, you're a bloody idiot" - The Victorian government's no nonsense approach to drink driving.




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This Weeks Dislikes:


The job hunting has started. Our lives as slackers are about to be put on hold for a while.

Being cold for the first time in aaaaaaaaages - a dip below 25 degrees!

Our first night pizza. Yes that is right, Melbourne was so good the only thing we have to criticise is the fast food.

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Photos

Kubb
"Hit it with the stick!"

Melbourne Cityscape
New behind old

Lunchtime Reading
Suzy takes the opportunity to brush up on some housekeeping

Graffiti
"Down the backstreets, down the backstreets ..."

What have we here?
Tom is excited by his new prick

The Yarra Valley
Taking a break from yet more wine tasting.

Kangaroo
This joey is street - word up

When at the zoo, head for the frogs
James takes the sign literally

Meerkat
Its nothing like a mere cat. More like a chip monk really.

Marissa gets the horn
The Bundaburg rum kicks in

Comments

[Joools]

I was beginning to worry ...
... that something dreadful had befallen you - but glad to hear you're both well ... but all this talk of photos of people with their pricks out is making me nervous - it's been a while since I saw "that" photo! ;-)