Oz: Part 6

We landed late in the evening in Melbourne, around 11pm. We were completely shocked by the temperature change, even though we sort of expecting it. We went from laying out in the sun tropical weather - upper 70s, to highs in the low 50s. Wake up call for sure! And random fact - You would think you pronounce it Mel-born but actually it is pronounced Mel-bin.

{Missy's pitiful sunburn before leaving Cairns. She was the worst of all of us!}

After landing we went through the taxi line and headed towards our hotel. I called it a hotel but technically it was just a fancier backpacker hotel. It was called The Space Hotel. Most of the rooms had to share a bathroom at the end of the hall, but we booked a room that had a bathroom in it.

{a shared kitchen area, one on each floor}

{a picture of our room}

{the other side of our room}

{the bathroom in our room! Small, but it did it's job!}

When we first walked into the room, we couldn't figure out how to turn on the lights. Finally after fumbling around in the dark we realized that you had to insert your room key into the light switch to turn on the lights and the air/heater. How smart!! That way when you leave, all the lights are automatically off. How green!

{The key keeping the lights on..}

It was a pretty hip and modern hostel, but we didn't stay in the hotel much, we were usually out and about.

Our first day there we spent most of the morning and early afternoon walking the Queen Victoria Market. The QVM is the country's largest open air market. There were all kinds of goods, from meats, cheeses, sandwiches and produce to clothes, and other handmade things. There really was a lot of neat stuff. I bought a pink jacket and I used my bargaining skills to talk the guy down in price, cause I'm hardcore like that. Then I told Jennie and Preston to bargain for their socks. They totally did, and Preston sort of got his socks thrown at him. That guy really didn't want to sell them for a dollar cheaper I guess!!

{some funny lamps}

{A funny shirt. In Australia a nappy is a diaper}

{an iPhone cover}

Besides all of the clothes and trinkets, they had a special produce and meat/sandwich area. You could buy anything from pastrami sandwich to wheatgrass shots to rieslings.

{no your eyes do not deceive you. Bananas really were 12 dollars a kilogram. Apparently they had a hurricane that effected their supply}

While here we wandered around the central part of Melbourne. This area has a free tram that you can hop on and off at any time and see the area. Melbourne was a completely different feel than Sydney. Melbourne had trams that you waited in the center median to catch. It seemed more laid back, the people seemed to be in less of a rush. It was definitely colder and the buildings had fancier architecture. There was a thing that they do there called a "hook turn". Basically because everything is backwards, but if you want to turn right, you pulled over to the left in front of the oncoming traffic and waited to turn right. It was definitely odd.

Hook turn pics to follow...

{the light is green - so they are pulled over to the left and waiting to turn right}

{yellow light...get ready!!}

{RED LIGHT!! Notice everyone turning right all at once? So odd!}

Here are some pictures from when we were wandering around...

{The Snows and their SNOWY water!!!}

{an interesting knife sharpener/holder thingy. Well the ketchup and mustard bottles are interesting too}

{meat pies are really big there. And Chris and I split a lil' one, it was really good!!}

{the free trolleys}

{part of the gorgeous St Paul's Cathedral}

{Flinder's Street Station. The architecture in Melbourne was unreal,,,} Here is wikipedia info about Flinder's Street station..."Flinders Street Station is a cultural icon to Melbourne, frequently used in imagery representing the city. The Melburnian idiom "I'll meet you under the clocks" referring to the row of clocks above the main entrance, which indicate the departure time of the next train on each line; another idiom "I'll meet you on the steps", refers to the wide staircase underneath these clocks. The area is a popular meeting place as it is at the intersection of two of the city's busiest thoroughfares. The station is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register." cool huh?

Boone wanted his picture made in front of the very busy Flinder's Street Station. So, despite the crowds we let him go ahead with the picture.

{setting up the shot}

{here come all the people!!}

{Traffic!! Be careful...}

{Ah! Watch out Boone!!! Just inches to spare...}

{He sure has a good smile, doesn't he?}

And this is Federation Square. Another wikipedia excerpt, "Federation Square (also colloquially known as Fed Square) is a civic centre and cultural precinct in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
It is a mixed-use development covering an area of 3.2 hectares and centred around two major public spaces, open squares (St. Paul's Court and The Square) and one covered (The Atrium,) built on top of a concrete deck above busy railway lines. It was opened in 2002.
Controversial since the demolition of the industrial buildings that preceded it, Federation Square is also globally famous for its alleged ugliness. In 2009, the Melbourne newspaper The Herald Sun reported that Federation Square is fifth on its list of eyesores, alongside a library in Kosovo, a television tower in Prague and New Zealand's 1970s-era parliament building."

{if you look to the left from this building and across the street - we saw the view in the picture below}

{A view of St Paul's Cathedral from St Paul's Court next to Federation Square}

{parliament}

{Allen's Candy Jar! So perfect!! Also, it was rainy - so excuse the hair! Curly hair with no dryer/diffuser is rough..}

Well, there were more Melbourne adventures but we will save that for part 7. Part 6 is long enough for now! Until next time...