Melbourne

Well I've been here for a few days now, I didn't do too much on the first day, just wanting to get used to the area & all. The hotel seems nice, it's located in a really good area. The last two days were spent doing a lot of walking, up & down the main streets having a look around. Yesterday I walked down to Federation Square which was only a few blocks away, it reminds me a bit of Younge & Dundas Square in Toronto, where lots of people hang out, & performers play there too I think. I went all through the National Gallery which I really enjoyed, saw lots of different art by many great artists, mostly Australian I think. Walking up & down Swanston Street is really interesting, with lots of shops & cafe's, the people watching is exceptional. It really does remind me a lot of NYC, because everyone seems to have a really unique sense of what is fashionable to them.

One of the things that was a bit of a shock is the prices of things. Yesterday I went & had pancakes for breakfast, just three pancakes & a small glass of apple juice mind you, ended up costing $14.50! Wow! So, I think I got smart, I happened to notice an IGA Express & decided to get some milk & cereal stuff, that will be breakfast from here on out I think, hahah.

I've done more walking in the last two days than I have in awhile, but it's been fairly easy & good then to get a sense of my surroundings. My hotel is bounded by Bourke Street, Collins Street, Swanston Street & they've all been fairly easy to navigate.

Met up w/ a girl named Alana yesterday, nice girl, interesting to talk to. There'll be a couple other meetups with other people too. For Monday, I've signed up to go on a day tour of Great Ocean Road, which I'm looking forward to, so it seems as the week rolls on, it's shaping up to be a pretty good experience.

Today, on Sunday, I believe they're doing Chinese New year celebrations, so I will probably go & have a looky-loo at that today. Chinatown is really colourful & interesting to see. I've also been through the shopping arcades which are quite attractive, although I'm really not buying anything, since it's all a bit more pricey than I would like to spend. Dad should get a good laugh out of that!

That's about it for now, but I'll be back after I do the tour for a full report on that. Bye for now!

Lisa