Victoria

It has been far too long since I have blogged...I am ashamed, having such a good time and not telling anyone about it. I suppose I can't have my birthday cake and eat it too (I feel as though I just misused that cliche). Enough of the fluff, I have a lot of posts for your viewing pleasure. First stop, the state of Victoria, Australia. Over lecture recess I went to Melbourne and stayed with two of my friends down there. Overall it was an awesome trip filled with beautiful scenery and welcoming people. It actually reminded me a lot of my summer in Bodega Bay - the atmosphere and the landscape are strikingly similar. Okay, here are a few highlights from my adventures:

1. My friend Lachy and his family took me to a Australian Football League game in the Melbourne Cricket Grounds. Also known as Australian Rules, the game is a hybrid of soccer and rugby. I couldn't help but feel, and don't judge me, like Harry Potter when he went to the Quidditch World Cup with the Weaselys. Thousands of people adorned in their teams colors, flags, scarfs, congregating to spectate a sport I knew nothing about but was excited to learn. The MCG holds over 100,000 people and is a massive oval. The game is fast-paced and extremely entertaining. It only took about twenty minutes for me to catch on to the rules of the game...although, I will refrain from sharing them with you via blog. If you are interested, ask or Wikipedia creep it. I will post a video link. These guys are ridiculous! Check it out, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx_nZhqfx68&feature=related (you will have to copy and paste it into your browser).

2. I stayed with my friend Maddie and her family for my last two(ish) days in the city. Maddie was a great tour guide and we saw both the "tourist spots" and the "local spots". My personal favorite was our trip to St. Kilda which is a nice little suburb in the city right on the Bay. We had a nice lunch of sandwiches right on the beach and then walked around a bit and had the most amazing ice cream I have ever had.

3. My last full day in Melbourne, Maddie and I drove south along the Mornington Peninsula. If you can picture Melbourne as sitting on top of a big circular bay. The Mornington Peninsula would be the right side of the circle, then there is a narrow gap that leads into the ocean, and then the western half of the bay leads back up to Melbourne or farther west to the Great Ocean Road. Anyways, Maddie and I drove down the Northern Californian-esque landscape, along the cliffs and through the fields. We stopped off at a national park and hiked for a bit, saw a lighthouse and then grabbed lunch in Sarento. We caught a ferry across the bay to the other side and drove back to Melbourne. It was a beautiful day full of great views and good company.