Blogs from Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Oceania

Hi everyone, well after getting home very late friday evening, early hours of Saturday evening, we then had to get up at quarter to 5 am to go the Dawn ANZAC Service being held at the Memorial Shrine in Melbourne as it was the 100 year anniversary of Gallipoli. We drove part of the way but so much traffic so ended up walking a lot of it. It was raining but loads of people turned out for it, infact I read afterwards 85,000 people showed up. We couldn't hear very much of it, as where we were stood the speakers were muffled and we didn't have access to a tv screen, however we were there and that was the important part. After the service we then went for breakfast at a lovely little cafe, this is ... read more

It was fun to be back in Melbourne for Christmas. The previous three in Hong Kong had been wonderful, but this year was a chance to release Georgia and Byron on an unsuspecting wider family. Georgia and Byron helped Simone set up the tree. It was modest in size, but not in importance. It was a magnet for gifts that started to accumulate for friends and family, adding to the anticipation of a happy Christmas morning. Byron took to singing Christmas carols in his sweet little voice. Simone responded by shelving any restraint she may have had in relation to the number of gifts he and Georgia deserved. Georgia loved Myer's Christmas windows, which were usually surrounded by happy families. We resorted to early morning raids to beat the crowds and trips to DJ’s where reindeers ... read more

G'day again from down under! although this is listed as being in Melbourne i'm actually back in Sydney, it's just i spent so long at melbourne park i thought it deserved a mention! ok since my last blog i have been pretty busy and covered around 3000km, which is pretty far in 2 and bit weeks! i'm making use of the free internet and getting all done now as these will be my last blogs in Oz - so apologies for the long read, but at least you didnt have to write them!! Ended up visiting canberra twice, one on the bus to melbourne and on the way back. i found it to be a rather strange place. it was a purpose built capital city, so it was all nicely laid out and very green but ... read more

Dad loves tennis so we decided a tour of the home of the Australian Open would be interesting. We got to check out the press conference room - much smaller and more intimidating than I first thought! Interesting to check out the change rooms and find out that lesser-ranked players get smaller lockers! The day we went, a crew was setting up for a concert that night so we weren't allowed access to the arena - anyone thinking of going should check this before they go. We were still allowed to sit in one of the corporate booths and watch them set up. Good tour for anyone interested in a behind-the-scenes look, but I definitely recommend going for the Australian Open, the atmosphere is amazing!... read more