Fabulous Wednesday in Melbourne

Wow- What an amazing day I had today! First- look at the Yarra River and the building s of the CBD in the gorgeous sun! (Mark and I were at an apt on the 60th floor of the very very tall building in the first picture. Stomach turning for both of us (get that from Dad.) Then, I crossed the river, past the performing arts center (the building with the white spire) then on to the National Gallery of Victoria. The NGV had Guggenheim works on exhibit (from NYC, Bilboa, Venice), fashion and textile exhibits, and an impressive hall of contemporary art including: Warhol, Rothko, Krasner, Pollack, Hockeney, ect. I was there for several hours, had lunch, then went on to the Royal Exhibition Hall (pictures with fountain in front) and Melbourne Museum. This enormous museum has everything: Dinosaurs, Aboriginal art and history, Victoria history, an indoor rain forest, human body exhibit, bugs, native animals (stuffed), fossils, marine life, industrial art display.... the works. I still have a few more museums to hit but these were really inspiring.
Love,
Alexis

Sunday in St Kilda

We hung out today in St Kilda, just short walk from our apartment. The weather is beautiful! And getting warmer. Yea!

Saturday Night- Cook Out at Johnny's in Prahran

We played tennis later in the afternoon on
Saturday and then headed to Johnny's for a cook-out. Johnny is the one with the cool specs. We also made some new Aussie friends. Mitch is quite a dancer......

Saturday, South Melbourne Market

Mark and I hung out today at the South Melbourne Market with our friend Mitch- a fellow native Texan. He is a Visual Effects Editor on "The Pacific".

More City pictures.....

Hi! Here are more city pics. We skipped the free hugs.........

Weekend at the Markets

This weekend Mark and I went to a few markets- one on Sunday being the "Queen Victoria Market" - a huge outdoor and indoor food, clothing a knick knack mecca. This place was great- all sorts of food and produce. We found some great salami, veggies, fish and foods to eat. We also have a smaller market across from our house every 3rd Saturday. It was quaint with great cheeses, herbs, blood oranges, produce, etc. Also on Sat we walked around Melbourne around Federation Square. We ate at this great neighborhood Italian restaurant "Pellegrino" that was authentic, crowded and yummy! If it sounds like all we have done is eat it is true. Diet starts Monday. You can't help it- there are so many awesome restaurants and Markets here! But, I am searching for a market that has Mexican food as Mark is requesting my green chicken enchiladas. Wish me luck. We relaxed Sunday night and cooked our fish, risolles, and polenta. Here are some interesting tidbits: no one wears tennis shoes as they are double the price here, bikes are also real expensive- Mark is looking for one on Ebay; beer is expensive; coffee is not brewed here- it is all espresso based and yummy; they pronounce the letter "z" like "zed".
Much love,
Alexis

Friday in the city center

Today is Friday (last week) and I spent the day walking to downtown (with a some shopping in between :)). I took a few pictures along the Yarra River- a river that runs through town. There are barges and such, very touristy things to do. Also included is a pic of "Federation Square" a fairly new addition to the city. The architecture is very funky. I am not sure what it houses besides bars, restaurants and a great visitor's center, but I guess that is enough. The bars are packed starting at 5 for "after work drinks". The people here are very active- lots of runners and bikers. Also on the river is a huge train station (the red with yellow trim building). The city is a chaotic place- lots of shopping and eating and diverse ethnic outposts. Its kinda like SF or NYC in that respect. (I found Chinatown!) It is very fun to walk around as you never know what is around the next corner. Until I got used to the tram I walked from our home at the port to the CBD- city center. Its like 6 mi but I didn't know better! Good exercise anyway! Alexis

Day walking in St Kilda/ Port Melbourne

Thursday (last week)-
Today I got out and walked to St Kilda, the next town North along the East coast and back to Port Melbourne and to the Pier. Here are a couple of pictures. The fun park is called Luna Park- a pretty famous place....operable in the summer. The pictures of the buildings and restaurants on the water are of Port Melbourne where we live. The ship- 'Spirit of Tasmania" ferries passengers to and fro, and you can take your car. Mark and I will definately have to do this. I bet Tasmania is gorgeous!

Made it!

Hi-
Well, I made it to Melbourne yesterday- but barely! Turns out in a little bit of confusion on the part of the travel agency I arrived at the Quantas ticket counter and my ticket had been canceled!!! After about an hour of panic and heartache the ticket was reissued and I boarded the flight to Melbourne. The 15 hour flight was no sweat. 5 movies, sleeping and eating.
Mark has found us a great spot to live! I spent yesterday afternoon grocery shopping and getting the "lay of the land". I also crashed for about 3 hours in the afternoon. We live around nice clothing and shoe shops, eateries and such. The architecture is a very interesting mix of very modern new office and apartment buildings and very old, historic looking one level homes and retail shops. I liken it to Main Street in Santa Monica. Today I am going to do some picture taking and more walking around.
So check the blog soon for more pics!
Mark is doing great and work seems to be picking up steam quickly....New footage coming in daily and he is already being asked for cuts! This weekend we are going to hit a few Farmer's Markets and St. Kilda. More soon.
Love, Alexis

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