Easter Weekend

Here in Australia we have both Good Friday and Easter Monday off, giving us a four day weekend.  Even though we just returned from a last minute trip to Canada, we had already booked and paid for a three day weekend in Melbourne.  This was a trip that was organized by some work friends based in Adelaide, so that we could see some "real" footy (Aussie Rules Football) in the place where it all got started.

We arrived on Thursday to a beautiful afternoon, 30C and no wind.  As we had just been in Melbourne for a week at the beginning of February, we didn't have any tourist needs to fill so we found a nice wine bar by the river and just people-watched.  It was a great way to spend a lazy afternoon and we followed it up with a fantastic little restaurant down one of Melbourne's many laneways.

A beautiful day in Southbank, Melbourne

Most things were closed on Good Friday, but we managed to find a river cruise that took us almost to the mouth of the harbour and it was a really great day to walk around the city and look at all the fantastic architecture.  Most people head for the beach on long weekends, so it is a fantastic time to stay in the city, or go to a new one, for those who like the urban experience.

The Bumblebee Building?...We really have no idea, we just like how it looks.

Saturday we went to the footy match and it really was the best footy game we have seen.  Our local team isn't playing that well right now and the crowds are no where near as boisterous as what we experienced at Etihad Stadium.  The game was really exciting and the crowd was in on every play.  Even without knowing all the rules we got completely swept up in cheering.  Our only complaint is that are now unable to tolerate any temperature below 25C.  It was 17C inside the stadium and we were absolutely freezing!  We thought we were bundled up enough, but we were cowering behind cover at half time and really needed a good pep talk to go back to our seats for the second half of the game. 

Part of the crowd heading to Etihad

We finished off the weekend with a trip to a great Italian restaurant and headed back to Brisbane on Sunday morning.  This was our second trip to Melbourne and we still haven't even scratched the surface for all the great restaurants that are there.  It would be pretty easy to fly there once a month just for dinner...if only we didn't have to work for a living!


It is great to have a weekend away but, given how much we have travelled in the last three weeks, we are pretty happy to spend the next few weekends at home.