Melbourne city and getting ready for the big cup day

Monday, November 3rd

It was essential for us to rest up before the big Melbourne cup day on Tuesday, so I didn't wake up till 9:30am, Natasha 10am, and Bernice and Steph at 11:30am. We all had vegemite the proper way for breakfast, which is a little bit of vegemite spread across buttered toast. Pretty good if you like salty food. Not nasty like the spoonful I had when I first tasted it. By the time we headed out to the city it was 12:45pm. A bit of a late start, but it was ok.

Melbourne is consistently rated among the "world's most livable cities" in quality-of-life surveys. It is built on a coastal plain at the top of the giant horseshoe of Port Phillip bay. It's a very scattered city, with the city center in the middle and a bunch of suburbs surrounding it. So yesterday, we went to all the places outside of the city center.

As we drove into the city center, Natasha was our private tour guide telling us things about Melbourne. Supposedly the stadiums change names every 2 to 3 yrs according to who sponsors it, so she forgets what the names are sometimes. Pretty hard task to keep up with it. When we entered south bay we saw the good old accounting buildings - E&Y and PwC. Brings back memories...not necessarily good ones.

We found parking for the day by DFO outlet shopping center for AUD28 ($19), not too bad. We then walked to Federation Square for lunch. On our walk we passed by the beautiful Flinders Street station. It's a classic old station with big clocks on it. For lunch we ate at Time Out. We actually sat outside, braving the cool crisp Melbourne air. I got pretty cold eventually and had to ask for hot water. The meal was good, especially with the big fat chips (potato wedges). I had a hamburger, but it was more like a meat loaf patty, different from the normal meaty burgers. I prefer American style burgers more.

We then walked around Federation Square which takes up a whole block. It's an abstract style building, very funky with some interesting art pieces. Next was St. Paul's Cathedral. It was built in 1892, one of the most important works of William Butterfield. It's Gothic style with very symmetrical patterns and beautiful tiled floors. We then saw the Melbourne version of the Eiffel tower (don't know the real name) and South Bank. South Bank was really pretty, right across the Yarra river with a good view of the city. Before we knew it, it was 4:15pm, and we still didn't get our fascinators or hats and last minute accessories for the Melbourne Cup.

We quickly walked back to the DFO to finish up the shopping. We loved DFO, great bargains, too bad our bag space is limited. I didn't find a fascinator, but I decided to make one instead (crafty Priscilla!). Steph bought a dress, I bought cargo capris, Natasha bought a clutch and a pair of shoes. Bernice went back empty handed. We then went back to Natasha's place.

On our drive back, Natasha got stuck behind the local tram that moves pretty slow. Natasha was not happy, so once she got the opportunity to pass it, she did.

Instead of going out for dinner, we decided to make food instead. We made nachos with meat, guacamole and sour cream. Natasha made us a tomato, cucumber, and feta cheese salad and puffy cheese pastries. We also had a selection of dips and crackers. We loved the rice cracker chips....basically they tasted like the japanese rice crackers without the msg. Very tasty. Mel, natasha's good friend, came over later to joined the party and stayed over. We all ate while watching Kath and Kim, a hilarious aussie show. You much watch it. After a bit, Natasha gave us the order to get ready to go out. We were meeting some of Natasha's teacher friends (Helen, Jenny, and Nonna).

Steph, Bernice and I were pretty worried that it would be too cold when we went out. So we borrowed some more of Natasha's clothes, and bundled up. Surprisingly we all got pretty cozy at the bar, especially when we were dancing. Bernice, Steph and I tried a bunch of different Aussie beers. I somehow picked the blonde thinking it was like leffe blonde, but it was actually low calorie beer. My instincts are even watching my weight. We were at the provincial bar where a lot of feral people are known to hang out. Feral people are dirty yucky people. Yes, a lot of them and they were old. One dude's pick up line to me was, wow you have beautiful hair. Another one commented that my English is good, implying I shouldn't speak it well, so I got offended. I told him I was from New York, but he progressed saying, well you do speak English well. Well f off! That's about enough for us that night. We headed back to Natasha's place.

At Natasha's place she was very determined to improve her Melbourne Cup dress. She was sewing an underskirt at 1:30am in the morning. She was actually using a sewing machine! Steph and Mel were making our hoggies for tomorrow. Eventually I had to make my fascinator too! It was black lace with a purple center. Very big and perfect for the day. I'm surprised I actually crafted that up. We were all totally pumped for the Melbourne Cup! At 2:30am we set our alarm to wake us at 6:40am. Yep, only four precious hours of sleeping.