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Published: June 13th 2011
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I do not know what I would be able to do in and around the city of Melbourne without Natalie. She has been such a great tour guide. She has taken the time off from school to show me around to all of these wonderful places for my entire time in Australia. If she were not here, this trip would cost a fortune. Luckily, she has the time and a car to show me all of her favorite places.
The City. As some of you may know, I am not a city person. I now attribute this to the fact that I have not spent time in any good cities. (Bogota, Colombia was pretty killer though) Melbourne has been a new world for me. Although Natalie has explained its intricacies to me over the years, lets be honest, I dont listen. It took seeing it first hand for me to understand. Yes, the coffee is good. Yes, Mebourne is an international food destination. Yes, its pretty. Yes, yes yes. It has been terrific. I think my favorite part is that no space is wasted. The alley ways are the most happening places. Small shops line the narrow alleys whether its
Latte Anyone?
This is one of many alley ways. a restuarant, coffee shop, or shoe shop. The restuarants spill into the alley because there isnt much seating on the inside. Put up an umbrella, heater, voila....outdoor restuarant. And everyone partakes. Its a way for everyone to relax and socialize no matter how busy they are. The other thing that stands out is the city's cleanliness. There is no litter and even better....no freakin bums! In a city of 4-5 million I have seen 4 homeless people. One of which may not have been homeless. 3.5 bums. Ha. Steamboat has more in a town of 10,000. Although one of the bums I saw was cleaning up on cash from some of these Aussie suckers. They didnt think twice before handing him money. Mom....Dad....I am moving to Australia to be a bum and it comes with a retirement plan and vacation benefits.
Other aspects of the city that seem fantastic are food and food variety. International immigrants have taken over and opened up shop. Since being here, I have eaten Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Vietnamese, Australian - Kangaroo mini roast, delish - Greek, Malaysian, and I am not done. No mexican though. bummer. Natalie's parents have been so kind as to
Sustainable Meat and Leather
His cousin was used to make my soccer shoes take me out to a few of their favorite places for traditional dishes, some of which were prepared by famous chefs. The peking duck was to die for. Figuratively and literally. So tasty and so fatty. I loved it. We spent yesterdays lunch chowing down on Yum Cha (dim sum). I am sure to gain a few pounds before leaving.
Our other exciting event was visiting the Healesville Animal Sanctuary. They use this name because Zoo will offend the animals - its like "Correctional Facility" instead of prison. Anyway. Its filled with only Australian animals, most of which were found in poor health and revived. So I got to see my first Kangaroo, Koala, and essentially everything I saw was a first. Minus the pelicans. Who hasnt seen a pelican? Ahh, but this place is like Texas where everything is BIGGER. Huge Pelicans. I even got to see a Lyrebird. This bird can essentially mimic any sound known to mankind. Quite impressive. Not only does it sound cool, but its plume is gorgeous. Natalie and I sat around for a while watching it do its mating dance as it made the sounds of a dozen other birds and one
1980s video game. Dont ask me where it learned this sound.
It was a great day of many firsts. Next up? Australian Football League game at the MCG!
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