Australia, Stop 1: Melbourne, 11 Aug - 13 Aug

Howdy folks, wise men say "pictures are worth more than a thousand words", so here's a link to my somewhat bloated album of Melbourne (totally felt like one of the many asian tourists in Australia). For some reason I felt compelled to take as many pictures as possible because this was my first real "holiday" in another country (not counting New Zealand because I came here to work). Anyways, one of the best things about Melbourne was its variety of places to eat! We had so many different restaurant experiences, and they were all excellent!

First place we ate at was this hip and trendy bar/restaurant called "Bear Brass". Don't ask me what that means, I was too tired from the plane ride to ask the waiters. Wiebke and I ordered some grilled haloumi (a cheese) and some steamed pork wontons, which were all exquisitely garnished. The portions were a little small, but we didn't mind as we had a really good tall glass of "Pure Blonde" - an Australian beer that I've come to like the most. The view was amazing to boot! We overlooked the Yarra River and had a panoramic view of Melbourne's cityscape - simply amazing.

Next, for dinner, we hit up a recommended polish restaurant called "Borsch, Vodka & Tears". Don't let the name of the place fool ya! The food actually tasted really good. I had a chicken schnitzel with mash potatoes and it was heavenly. They also have a huge variety of vodkas of different flavors, most of which I've never heard before. We tried a few vodkas and ate a lot of good food, followed by a taste of the local nightlife scene in St. Kilda (the suburb of Melbourne in which this restaurant resides), which was way better than expected - good times!

The following morning we had a big, hearty breakfast at a nice little cafe, and I ordered the "omelette of the day", which was amazing. The scrambled eggs on toast that Wiebke ordered were nice and fluffy as well - everything was made to perfection. The only funny thing was that one of the waitresses was arguing with the boss behind us because she couldn't speak English very well. I didn't really mind because I hadn't had an omelette for a very long time, and it hit the spot.

Besides food, there was a lot of other attractions to Melbourne. You'll see most of the things we saw in my photo album, but among the big things we saw was the 20 Years of Pixar Art Exhibit at the Federation Square building. They wouldn't let us take pictures inside, but there were clay maquettes, concept paintings, and videos demonstrating the brilliant art from all of Pixar's films, including the early shorts. We also checked out some museums and walked around Chinatown (where we had authentic Hong Kong style wonton noodle soup and I used my excellent cantonese to order, w00t!) and much of the entire town. Their tram system is very efficient and for just a few dollars, you can pretty much traverse the length of town and even head down to the St. Kilda suburb in less than 20 minutes!

The final day we visited and walked around Albert Park, which is most famous for, notably, the Formula 1 race circuit that surrounds its beautiful park and lake. Being a Formula 1 fan, I geeked out a little as I was able to walk on the tarmac road that the likes of Schumacher, Alonso, and Raikkonen have raced on at speeds in excess of well,... more well than you can imagine! Look for the picture of me walking over and straddling the checkered finish line! Woot!

All in all, Melbourne was a beautiful city and I felt like we accomplished a lot in just 3 days! Next post, Cairns, Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef! Stay tuned!