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Happy Xmas/Chanukah to you all. Depending on your religion this will now be either weeks or months out of date, but I am gradually catching up, now only one entry behind as I prepare to depart Sydney...
We had heard lots of good things about Melbourne and despite the disappointment at no more meaningful cricket by the time we got there, it was pretty exciting to get to a city on a different scale from anything we had been to before in Oz as the Ashes started to reach its climax in the two big boys. We also got to meet up with some of our mates/lazy b******s who hadnt made the trip out to perth. Arriving a few days before Xmas the first thing I did was head straight to the legendary Victoria Market. This is probably the biggest and most famous market in Australia, but it retains a certain laaaaaandon feel to it. Its lively, bustling and rude with a fantastic atmosphere and everything that a top market should be. It also provided us with some great hangover food and traditional 'Australian' delicacies. Never again will i get to sample some pickled octopus and kangaroos buttocks en route to the cricket, feeling somewhat the worse for wear from the night before....
So before all the xmas festivities began in earnest (and the cricket on the 26th) we took the boring brit option and succumbed to the dreaded neighbours tour. It did really have to be done of course, but it was quite disillusioning to see this daytime tv palace, which brings us all 25 minutes of joy 5 times a week in all its not so impressive glory. Apart from the fact that it began raining (and i mean bucketting it down) the second our coach pulled up) it lacked some of its sparkle on the other side of the camera. It is a really tiny street, with only 6 little houses and Toadies '6' on the credits now seems far less impressive than it did a month ago. Unfortunately we didnt get to meet the cast as the infamous pub night in St Kilda (where you get to meet 3 of them each week on a monday night) doesnt run over xmas but Scott did do it the week before we got there. Apparently we missed out on Lynn Scully looking really pale and Harold non-stop piss taking about the cricket! nice.
With Boxing Day at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) looming large, I took the opportunity to do the famous MCG tour on the 23rd i think and get to see this amazing stadium up close and personal. It was pretty eerie being there with it completely empty and it in no way feels like a cricket ground but it is an unbelievable arena for cricket and 98,000 packed in on boxing day (was actually only a mere 91,000) for the first day of an Ashes test was always going to be special. We didnt actually have boxing day tickets, so we collected every ounce of wit and nous we possessed and paid only four times face value off the 'scalpers', but it was worth every cent to be there and see england get skittled again. Boxing Day at the 'G is an institution over here, probably the biggest day of the sporting calendar and I would say bigger than the Cup Final in England.
Christmas Day we embarked on a 'Barmy on the Beach' BBQ (which strangely wasnt on a beach). This was about as untraditional a xmas as its possible to have (apart from the piss up) and we all enjoyed a traditional lunch of kangaroo, hot dogs and potato salad. The weather was beautifully awful that day tho, which made it feel like home from home, but a very bizzare way to spend the 25th nonetheless. We actually saw in Christmas the night before, spending the 2nd of many nights in Melbourne's Crown Casino Complex. This place is a gamblers paradise, its the biggest casino in the Southern Hemisphere and the complex has something like a dozen bars, 3 nightclubs, shops, restaurants, lock, stock, the f***ing lot. True to form I did not emerge from my time there having made a profit, as I made the criminal error of winning about $400 the first night we spent in the casino. So by the 24th I was all pokered and blackjacked out and we spent the night in the bars of Crown Casino, followed by the cheesiest club known to man. An awesome night (but no fox in palmers green tho).
That pretty much wraps up Melbourne over xmas, im not writing any more about cricket because it was a nightmare from start to finish, even mr optimism here could not pluck a positive from this match, it was without doubt the cricketing lowlight of the tour and nick had a field day! Oh yeah, come to think of it, we did get to see some fat bloke get an important wicket on boxing day, something to do with 700 or something, dunno wot that was all about. So we were present at a great piece of cricketing history again, if for all the wrong reasons! We saw some of the england players on a night out just before the test match (chris read and ian bell, phil noticing ian bell's missus closely followed by him!) and it was pleasing to see them having a good chat with fans/barmy army.
As the Test match was over in 3 days, we had a bit of extra time in Melbourne before making the trip over to Sydney for New Years. We managed to spend a fair bit of time in the lovely suberb of St. Kilda, one of the liveliest parts of Australia we've seen so far and scene of some great nights out. By day, it offers a great atmosphere, cosmopolitan feel and an amazing view of Melbourne from its harbour and by night a host of clubs, bars and surprisingly cheap restaurants. Had some great fun in St. Kilda and its got some really stunning beaches. So all in all it was a shame to leave Melbourne, but it was on to Sydney early on New Years Eve (again with about 20 mins sleep under my belt) and fireworks on de bridge. Woohoo!
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