Melbourne Cricket Ground

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In the morning we went to central Melbourne and walked through the old shopping arcades. It is a nice area of the city and we had some coffee and cake at one place. We did mainly window shopping but had a good time. Around eleven o’clock we met up with Jason Boyed and his son Jordan. We decided to have lunch with them on the south side of the river Yarra. Alex also came with her kids and we had a simple but very nice lunch. At quarter past one we walked over to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the largest stadium in Melbourne, able to seat 100.000 spectators, to watch a game of Australian Rules Football or footy. It was an important game between the Hawthorn Hawks and the Collingwood Magpies. The game had pulled a big crowed (85.500) for a mid-season game and the atmosphere was fantastic. Footy is a fast moving game played on a cricket oval with a rugby type ball. Although less physical than rugby it is still a tough game but what makes it attractive is the fast pace and dynamic play situation with few stops and much and fast playing of the ball. It was a super afternoon with good weather and fun sports to watch. The Hawks won the game and we walked back to the city and had a glass of wine and some dinner with the whole group. The boys also got a team-shawl, one of each colour and they are now fierce rivals with regard to footy. It was a very nice mild winter evening in Melbourne and we walked back to the trams together and said goodbye to everyone. Promising each other that we would not wait another 25 years before we meet again.

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