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Melbourne |
|
Kilometer
5700-6100 |
I spent an incredible 10 days in Melbourne. I can't even begin
to say enough about the greatness of the city -- outside of San
Francisco, it is the best city I've ever been to... Of course,
I just happened to be there on one of the best weekends of the
year -- Australian Grand Prix and Moomba Festival (World Ski Jump
Championships and a big festival along the river). If you go to
Australia, forget the other cities and go to Melbourne.
Life along the Yarra River... The river
is really the centerpiece of the dramatic city. Excellent restaurants
and cafes line the slowly moving water, crew (rowing) teams practice
up and down, tourist and commuter boats cruise by... Pictured
here is Jane, a most excellent friend I met over three months
ago in the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) and just happened
to run into in Melbourne by total and utter coincidence...
The Royal Botantical Gardens are
some of the oldest and most endearing in all the world
Melbourne is a city of festivals...
The Australian Grand Prix was quite an event -- Ferrari's Eddie
Irvine came home with the win. I went with two Swedish friends
and had excellent track side seats -- if you go, don't forget
to bring ear plugs! The kid in the third picture is demonstrating
Australian Whip Cracking, an event they take extremely seriously,
believe it or not...Wanna hear some
whip cracking?
OK, so my friend Tony brought me
my golf clubs from the states. I haven't played for almost 9 months,
so I was anxious to get the range. I was hitting some balls, and
just happened to run into the Melbourne Women's Golf Team practicing
for their upcoming match... Of course, I needed some help swinging
and with my club, so I went on over and chatted 'em up... Next
thing I know, I'm at a private "Throw some chooks on the
barbie" kinda party with 10 of them and their coach... What
a life I lead, eh? Incidently, my handicap did not improve, but
my attitude about women golfers sure did!
