Parliament Building of Victoria

So, you can officially label me tacky tourist but I love it. I have done all the touristy things in Melbourne, completed my another tour. Parliament building was interesting and apparently built in stages and never fully finished. There was once again a green room and a red room and a tour guide that thought he was very hilarious. Some of his jokes were. Some, well not so much, but it was an entertaining tour to say the least. Apparently there were plans for building to have a large tower, never completed. Also, the main road used to run through between the green and red room, until the entrance hall was built. A walkway used to connect the rooms over the street.

The new love of my life, fairy penguins

It turns out I have found the love of my life. Fairy penguins. At barely 30 cm tall, making then the smallest of the penguins, yet the nosiest. Does that remind anyone of a certain short girl travelling through Australia?
So, it was pointed out to me that I was not going to get into national geographic with my pictures, I would like to remind everyone that these penguins come out at night and you aren't allowed to use flash.

Ringing in the New Year

I was fortunate enough to ring in the New Year with new friends, fabulous company and great food (read, I did not cook). We went to Seb and Jane's to watch the fireworks. They were absolutely amazing. We also were exposed to another polish traditional and shared the bread. We wished each other well and said what we were thankful for. It was very enlightening and seemed like a great way to ring in the new year. I am thankful for the new friends I have made and for the hospitality of those in Brisbane. I look forward to all the adventures of 2012.

Sea World

Had a fairly awesome day at Sea World, other than the rain at the end of the day. Saw lots. Perhaps this was the start of my love for the fairy penguins. Lots of shows and interactive fun. Loved the starfish and the sting rays. The guys doing stunts on the jet skiis were pretty impressive.

An overdue post!!

So, this post actually dates back to 2011 and my adventures in Brisbane. We bought summer passes to wet and Wild, Warner Brothers and Sea World. Unfortunately, there are no pictures from Wet and Wild but if you go to myfun.com.au, you can see the amazing aqualoop slide I did. And the tornado. Enjoying it anyone?
After that, a day a WarnerBrothers. Rode the brand new Green Latern ride, had my picture taken with the justice league (you are welcome all comic book fans and big bang theory fans), rode the roller coaster superman was pushing, screamed like a little girl on the scooby doo ride, felt zero gravity on lethal weapon (note the picture of my dishevelled hair) and saw looney toons shuffling.

A post from the middle of the day!!

A quick note in the middle of the day! Just finished an amazing tour of city hall. Wanted to make the post before I forget anything. Our tour guide Ken took us on a tour sharing his wealth of knowledge to myself, a couple from Switzerland, and the locals!!! Melbourne has an interesting history, including city planning from the beginning. 30 meter wide roads mean that the trams are still able to run today. Also, this explains the little lanes that give way from no where and the european feel as a result.
There is a kangaroo on top of the coat of arms as an Australian symbol but also because a kangaroo can only go forwards, so it represents going forwards. The kangaroo looks back to see what has been accomplished. There is a whale, a sheep, a cow and a ship to represent the industries when the coat of arms was designed. (wool, whaling, agriculture, and shipping). Whale of course is no longer allowed. Also, the coat of arms was designed before the gold rush, so that is not represented. The saying, written in Latin means we gather strength from within. City hall chambers are all built with Australian materials. The Melbourne major used to be elected, till about ten years ago, by the city councillors that had been elected by the people. He would have course already been a city councillor. Also, they major would be elected yearly.
Melbourne sits on the edge of the third largest volcanic plane in the world.
(enjoying your history lesson yet? You have my parents to thank for me wanting to do all the tacky touristy stuff!! Thanks mom and dad :D)
Melbourne was originally settled by farmers from Tasmania. But thankfully named after Lord William Viscount Melbourne, who was Prime Minister of England in 1835. One of the original names proposed for the town was Batmania. Several streets here are named Batman.
The original auditorium was lost to a fire in 1925 and therefore rebuilt with a very different feel and art deco design. There is a huge organ with 9500 piped stored in 6 different air condition rooms. We got to hear it being tuned today. We also saw the reception room where the Beatles were and stood out on the balcony. Okay, that seems to be all I can recall. Hope you like the picture as me as mayor. Oh yes, Melbourne also was one of the first to pass mandatory schooling acts!! And had a very large Greek and Italian community.

Melbourne

Hello from Melbourne!! For those of you following, this post will be a bit off as I have some posts from my last few adventures in Brisbane. But there are pictures from today I want to upload and I am in a wifi spot do there you go!! I safely arrived in Melbourne on the 5th after a turbulent flight!! We were flying through thunderstorms according to the pilot. Or doing the very best to avoid them at the very least. The last few days I have spent exploring Melbourne! Which has a very different feel than Brisbane. So far I have seen a lot. I did the walking tour from Lonely Planet, have taken the city tram tour and done a walking tour recommended by Melbourne Tourist Center. The city probably has the best tourist center I have seen. Very helpful and informative and in many different languages. I have seen the oldest building in Australia. I have seen the house of the first female doctor here. Lonely Planet took me up this street that is all spray painted. Reminds me of Europe in that you end up up these tiny little streets that you think are going to lead no where and find these amazing treasure. I went to a very authentic looking China town. There is also a lot of hype right now about the Australian Open, which will be starting soon. Some pictures of what I have seen so far.
Hugs!!