Melbourne

My first day in Melbourne, I spent with Tamsin, Kat, and Adam. We went for a free tour of the Parliament House, went to the Botanical Gardens, and did a nice walking tour of the city (which I found in my Lonely Planet). That first day it was very hot and muggy, but the next three days the weather were absolutely beautiful, which is quite rare for the city that’s been known to experience all four seasons in one day. The three of them moved left Melbourne on Sunday, but I decided to stay two extra days to hang out with my friend Alli, whom I’ve known since freshman year at Miami. She came to Australia in September and decided to move to Melbourne when she got a job working for the Australia Open as a production assistant. On any given day she might be driving Andy Roddick around the city or picking up the Williams sisters dinner. Pretty cool, eh? She lives in a house with two other Australians just outside of the city. Her roommates are super nice, they took me out for a drink my first night since Alli had to work late. I spent the next day exploring the city some more; I went to the Victorian Arts Center (my first museum visit since being in Australia), visited the observation deck at Eureka Tower, and then met up with Alli at the Open the night that Federer beat Hewitt. The next day was Australia Day, which I spent with Alli and her friends at the concert Big Day Out. We saw bands like Lily Allen and Muse perform (I don’t have any pictures because sadly my camera died). Overall, I really loved Melbourne and could see myself going back there to visit again.

Federation Square was recently named one of the world's ugliest buildings. Score.

Kat and Tamsin in front of the Parliament House.

I'm kind of a big deal...

We stopped for a tasty lunch in Chinatown.

An Eiffel Tower inspired sculpture outside of the art museum.

Flinders Street Station.

I enjoyed my lunch in Fed Square while also watching the Open.

I can't for the life of me figure out the point of this sculpture.

Eureka Tower, it has the highest observation deck in Australia.

A nice view of Fed Square from above.

Where the Australian Open was taking place.

Alli and I cheering on Federer from the Beer Garden. Such a fun night!