Melbourne

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I was all excited this morning. I was all set to go on a one hour hot air balloon ride which overlooked the city and included a champagne breakfast. I had booked the day before and was told to meet in the lobby by 5:30am. So im sitting there waiting half asleep....waiting....waiting....waiting!! By this stage 45 minutes had passed and still no sign of anyone. I talked to reception who kindly rung them to find out what was going on. Turned out the trip had been cancelled due to strong winds but somehow had forgotten to inform me!!! I was pretty bummed as i had been really looking forward to it. At least i could go back to bed to catch up on some much needed sleep.

I had arranged to meet my friend Belinda in town on her lunch break. I used to work with her in a ski shop in Whistler, Canada. My hotel was within walking distance to the town centre but decided to jump on a tram instead. Melbourne is one of the few cities that still use trams and is renowned for them. I met up with Belinda and went to one of the local food courts for lunch. Im so lucky with my job that i get to travel around and catch up with old friends. Afterwards i walked around the centre of town for a bit and then made my way back through Centennial Park back to the hotel. The park is really nice and especially when the weather is nice there are always people sitting out there on their lunch breaks. In the centre of the park they have a garden conservatory and also the original cottage of Captain Cook as a memorial to the man who discovered Australia. A word of advice......beware of the possums!!!! They are pretty harmless enough but when you least expect it, they run out of nowhere and run right up to you!! You don't know if they are trying to attack you or what! I almost crapped myself! But don't worry as soon as they realise you have no food for them, they scurry off.

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