Melbourne ...

So a few weekends ago we headed to Melbourne for 4 nights, all 6 of us.

I haven't visited Melbourne very much ... I don't know my way around ... so we had to find out stuff as we went  ...

1. The Free City Circle tram is great

... it does a loop around and has a commentary of what sights are nearby
... it runs both ways ... ie clockwise and anti-clockwise!!
... you can obviously hop on and off as you go
... it's FREE!!

2. Melbourne Aquarium

... a little bit pricey but a unique experience for the kids
... lots of different sea / water life
... the area where you sit & the sea life swim around above and around you in the surrounding walls is great especially good if you get the information talk ... great info about the various sea animals!!
... if you have young kids and go during school time follow a school group around and you get lots of extra info!!

3. Melbourne CBD is SO different to Adelaide CBD!!

... every side of every block has at least one sushi bar or cafe ... I can't believe how many sushi "joints" there are!!
... there are so many different shops every where and so many shopping areas just in the city centre, I have stuck to Melbourne Central but it isn't that great for kids clothes!
... there are people "begging" on some streets in the busy areas ... sitting with cardboard signs and "hats" for money
...so many places to eat ... how can you tell which are the good ones ... ??? lots of customers???
... the trees that are deciduous are lovely but I remember them looking even better in "full leaf" just before Christmas when John and I had a one night visit for The Eagles concert
... the trams are great except when on Saturday we thought we would catch one down Bourke Street and there was a "Third Party Interruption"!! Found out later that there was an almighty crane down the other end of the street doing its stuff!!

4. Going to the footy is good!

... but one game was enough for the 2 girls!
... the boys had a ball!
... it is a reality check when you leave Etihad Stadium with 45,606 other people!!
... the food available at footy is average!
... we took lollies as a treat but maybe better to have dinner before you go or take something with you
... the boys loved it!!
... the boys went to 3 games all up and wanted to go to another one ... maybe next year ... whoops next time ;-)

5. Trams

... find out about the ticketing before you catch one!
... we hopped on one on Sunday and didn't have a lot of coinage and only managed 2/3 of the tickets!
... we also found out that for Sundays you can buy tickets at the newsagent and save on Sundays!
... the steps are a bit steep for little kids to get up and down
... they are a comfy ride
... they are every where, quite an amazing transport network!

6. Eating out 

... we did not experienced much in the way of meals out
... 1. Florentino's Cellar Bar... I had a cuttlefish risotto ... fantastic!!
... 2. Steak at Von's Restaurant ... quite good
... 3. Cantonese at The Supper Inn ... yummy, great variety on the menu, wouldn't have gone there except for a girlfriend's friend suggested it to her

Other than that we have had
- a cafe meal for lunch on Sunday ... good
- tea at the footy ... do hot chips count??
- breakfast at the restaurant where we are staying
- a delivered pizza ... one was so oily I couldn't believe it, soggy undercooked chips we ordered for the kids, a fairly average experience!
- you don't even get lunch on the plane anymore!!

7. Accommodation

- really happy with the location of the apartment we stayed at ... Mantra on Little Bourke Street
- because it was on a one way street it was a really quiet location
- great service
- we had an issue with the key cards and they gave us voucher for free breakfast for the 4 mornings that we were there !!! Wow that was a big saving for us!!

So we had fun along with a few kid moments ;-)