Breakfast this morning was the same basic fare we’d seen throughout our trip, apparently it is something like the national breakfast (scrambled eggs, English bacon, chicken sausages, baked beans, and either stewed or herbed tomatoes). It is not bad, just monotonous. It is actually worse for Frank than for me as he has been eating this same basic breakfast since July when he arrived in Afghanistan where the British Army was in charge of the chow hall. We took a bus tour of the city this morning stopping at a prominent Catholic church, the ANZAC Shrine of Remembrance, and the Queen Victoria Markets which were some palatial open air markets that carried everything, literally.
We returned to the hotel and Frank and I set off for the shopping district to find some food, coffee, and a tea pot. We spent several hours crisscrossing the dozen or so blocks that make up the shopping district (in the rain). I was on a mission to find a tea pot if not made in Australia then at least with some kind of Aussie design or theme. We went into a dozen stores and always came out disappointed until finally we happened upon Flinder’s Ln, a road Darren said would be a good one to stop for a cup of coffee. As we went down that road I saw a shop with items all made in Victoria and there was a tea pot in the window display! We left there triumphant and with renewed vigor to find the Sophitel Hotel and the splendid view from their 35th floor bathrooms. It was totally worth the walk, the view was awesome.
We decided to take the free City Center tram back to our hotel but 2 stops into it, the driver announced the tram was shutting down and we would all have to get off and wait for the next one. Well, the next one never came so we decided to walk back. By this time my rain jacket was starting to get soaked through so I was ready to be at the hotel when we arrived. An hour after we got back we were out again but this time only just across the street to the Football stadium to see our first Australian Football League game, the Melbourne Demons against the Collingwood Magpies. The Magpies were likened to the NY Yankees so we decided Melbourne would be our team that night and guess what, they won! During most of the first quarter we had little clue what was happening on the field but Frank asked some guys a row ahead of us what was going on and they were all too happy to share their passion with us and make us fans as well. This sport, while not as exciting as American football, certainly beats out baseball as far as constant action and way outperforms soccer in that it is actually entertaining to watch. We really enjoyed the experience and it was one of the most fun things we did while in Australia.
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