melbourne v1.2

i got my first "g'day mate" yesterday.

busy two days in melbourne. note on the city: melbourne is a cosmopolitan city that both doesn't feel that way, nor does it have a landmark that defines it. trams run down the very wide streets, and modern artwork is everywhere. the downtown core isn't dense, and after our experiences in hong kong it feels deserted. everything in the city is modern and abstract as no two buildings or bridges are alike. a lot of melbournians have told us that they felt the city was a lot like toronto, but to me it seems more open and green. scullers clog the yarra river after work and school. everyone is tanned. greeks are everywhere. girls wear short skirts with little boots. everything is pretty quiet in central melbourne, and closes really early (like 9pm). it gives the city an older feel, and frustrates lyds and i when we are looking for a late dinner.

we first checked out the queen victorian market. it is an open-air market with hundreds of vendors who sell clothing and crafts. it was nice to see a place not specializing in b.b. guns, switchblades and knockoff watches and dvds for a change. definately worth a second visit before we go. next was the old melbourne gaol which was completed in 1864 qand housed 50,000 inmates in its 84 year history. the tour was self-guided. the walls were dark and dense, and iron catwalks linked the upper cells. in its time there were 24 hour silence restrictions, and when prisoners were moved they placed a mat down so no footsteps would be heard by other inmates. inmates were forbidden to speak to one another, and had to wear a hood when leaving their cells so no one would recognize them. all that was provided to them was a bible, which was not a great help as most were not literate. of course many people went insane, and kids were imprisoned if their parents were. they have records of 3 year olds. over a hundred people were also hung here, including the famous ned kelly. he is worshiped over here like robin hood. we got to see his pistol and the armor he wore during his final shootout with the police. lyds was spooked by the cells and the death busts of those executed. oh yeah ... they say the place is haunted. we also took in the abstractly designed federation square, and visited the rialto towers (253m) which is melbourne's tallest building and the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. at night we celebrated valentines day by catching a free concert of the melbourne symphony in the sydney myer music bowl. it was a fundraiser for the drought and fire problems victoria is having. we donated a little.

the next day we split up after getting our hair cut (yes the faux-hawk is back and making an appearance on a new continent). lyds went shopping and i visited the melbourne cricket grounds (mcg). i received an almost personal tour (there were 2 of us) of the 90,000 seat arena, and got to watch part of a game between melbourne and hong kong. these aussies love their cricket, and while the rules and lingo went mostly over my head i had a great time. the guide even sneaked us onto the "sacred turf." a must if you are in town even if you don't know what a wicket is. we met back up at night for an open air viewing of marie antoinette with the skyline of downtown melbourne in the distance.