Today marks the beginning of our international trip to Melbourne, Australia. After a very long, but generally easy travel day, we met in the lobby of the Hotel Rendezvous, then went on to enjoy lunch at the World Bar and Restaurant.
Lunch was followed by a Melbourne city tour with Tatiana Joukoff as our guide. This tour through the central business district gave us a feel of the past and present architecture. Tatiana told us that when she was younger most of the residents wanted a house with a small yard for the children. She told us that her son’s generation is choosing to move back into the city for urban living.
Our tour also took us by the many parks and gardens in Melbourne including the Royal Botanic Gardens. Charles La Trobe set aside 20% of Melbourne’s land for non-development. Mr. Latrobe’s forward thinking has proven to be very beneficial for the residents of Melbourne.
After we arrived back to the hotel, several of us walked around the Moomba Festival which is Melbourne’s annual Labor Day Festival where we saw some pretty impressive professional water skiers. The majority of the group met back in the lobby at 6 PM to attend an Australian Rules Football Game. We were all amazed at the size of the playing field which measures 560 x 460 feet. Although we still have some unanswered questions about the rules of Australian Football, it was still quite enjoyable.
After the game, we walked around the city for a while and saw a fireworks display at the Moomba festival. Around 10 PM, my wife and I decided to head back to our hotel. Keep in mind that this is 6AM EST. Tomorrow is a free day, so stay tuned to learn what adventures we enjoyed…
Thanks to Tripp Ward for today’s contribution.
