Melbourne - October 2010

Day 17 - October 2

Today was a travel day from Cairns to Melbourne.

We arrived late, but Gary was as wired as ever when I arrived. He headed off to a bar, and Sabastian and I chatted until 11 pm. Gary didn't make it home until 5 am.



Day 18 - October 3
Jeane, Jay and I started with a nice breakfast - probably the most expensive I've ever had. It was $100 for the three of us, for your typical English breakfast.

We bought tram passes - $3.10 for the Sunday special. Trams are the best way to travel around Melbourne.

First stop was Queen Victoria Market. We started in the fresh meat and seafood section. At least you could recognize everything, unlike in Shanghai.

We walked up and down the hundreds of stalls. My purchase was Ugg slippers. No need for any t-shirts.

Jay and I were going to get some wigs for dinner, but we couldn't agree on a color scheme.

As usual, I saw no koalas or kangaroos on the trip, this was as close as I got.

Here's a change purse sculpture in granite we saw on the street.

That evening we had pub grub at the Union Hotel Pub, with my friends Ian, Sebastian, Gary, me, Jeane, Jay and Bill. It was a lot of fun - they always make everyone feel at home. I had an amazing veal shank dinner.

Gary and I walked home, while Sebastian chauffeured everyone else.

Earlier in the day we took the City Circle tram to get an overview of the city.

Day 19 - October 4
We went to Federation Square, a collection of modern buildings. Then we strolled through the botanical gardens. It was too early in the spring for much to be in bloom.

Above, more of my city cycle collection.

Here's the Royal Exchange Building.

After lunch we continued our tour of Smith and Brunswick Streets, and their interesting eclectic shops.

Jeane and Jay relaxing.

Fitzroy is known for its wall art. Some just graffiti, but others truly artwork.
We ended up at Gary's where we enjoyed cocktails before a great Italian dinner at Marios.

Day 20 and Day 21 - October 5 and 6

Two travel days, back to back.

Flight one - a short hour flight to Sydney.

Four hours in the first class lounge with a complimentary manicure. Lots of emails while I waited.

Flight two - Sydney to Singapore on the double decker Airbus 380. Its hard to believe it can fly.

I had a first class suite, but not as nice as first class on Cathay Pacific. But I would definitely do it again.

Now I lost track of time. The flight to Singapore was 8 hours, but still the same day.

Flight three - Singapore to London - back on the Airbus 380 for the 13 hour flight to London.

I forced myself to stay awake for a few hours. I ate a little and drank a little and started watching Slumdog Millionaire. I then took a sleeping pill and was out until three hours outside of London.

We landed at 6:30 am London time, I think 4:30 pm Sydney time - but who cared. There were long lines for security, but I was able to get a quick shower before my next flight.

Flight four - London to Tel Aviv - I was on a BA 777 heading to the promised land. I hope Sara feels better that I'm not in Europe with the recent security threats.