Melbourne

At the end of the Great Ocean Road is the beautiful city of Melbourne. It has a very European feel to it. There are tram cars travelling up and down the city streets and small sidewalk cafes are everywhere. The city itself has a bit of an identity crisis. Melbourne is always compared to Sydney, but they are really quite distinct from each other.

Melbourne has an interesting mix of classical and modern architecture. There are narrow little alleys with interesting shops and restaurants. We spent an entire day walking through the Melbourne Museum. Hannah really enjoyed all the kid-friendly activities and our visit to the Imax. We watched a 3-D movie about Africa where we had to wear special glasses. The resulting motion sickness received a one on Hannah's vomit scale.

The city is considered the culinary and sporting capital of the country by most people not living in Sydney. While we were there, the Australian Tennis Championships were about to start and contestants in the Volvo Ocean Yacht Race were beginning to arrive in the harbour. Weatherwise, it is an interesting place. One day it can be 42 degrees C and the next in can be rainy and 19 degrees.

On our last day, we left Melbourne and travelled to Geelong which is in reality a suburb of Melbourne. There is an alternate airport there catering to domestic flights. We spent an enjoyable afternoon walking along the ocean boardwalk, riding on an ornate carousel, and eating some of the most delicious seafood at a beachfront cafe. Soon we were at the airport awaiting our flight back to Brisbane and planning our next trip.