Ben and I decided this past Friday night to go into the city of Melbourne and experience all the hype we’ve heard through word of mouth from everyone around here. We booked a room at this travelers “backpackers” establishment which we never have done before. It was very cheap and affordable and convenient to the downtown area of the city. A simple Google Maps input into our phones and the location came up, but we of course could not find the place. After walking around the block a few times we noticed saw the sign “Flinders Street Backpackers” located halfway down this side alley. Being cautious and aware of our surroundings we entered the backpackers, we walked pass a very loud bar all the way up to the 3rd floor where the lobby was. People were making food, playing pool, and just having a good time at the lobby. Still trying to take everything in we got up to our room, or should I say “Cell.” This room had two beds literally jammed next to each other and that was it. There are cars a lot bigger than this room we stayed in.
We ended up going to this beautiful bar/club one of our teammates works at called The Carlton. The first two floors had real nice lounges and the top two floors had tropical beach themes, along with a rooftop back called The Palmz. Any place really with palm trees seems warm to me.
The next morning we decided to walk around a different part of the city. We walked around the Docklands and the Yarra River, which flows just south of the Central Business District. The whole area around the water was pristine. Cafe’s overlooking the beautiful skyline for the city really set in how nice an area this is. We walked a little further down the road called “Batman Ave.” and ended up at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (the MCG), a 100,000 seat stadium used for Cricket, Rugby, and Aussie Rules Football. We also walked by the Rod Laver Arena, where they house the Australian Open for Tennis. To our amazement we just walked right through most of the practice courts with no trouble at all.
TouchDown Down Under 