Game. Set. Match.

Eric and I arrived in Melbourne on Friday, January 15th. My friend Andrew (that I knew from Auburn) lives over here so him and his fiance, Elizabeth, picked us up from the airport. We would be staying with them in the city the next six nights. Their apartment was amazing. It over looked the water and is located right in the Docklands (an area of downtown Melbourne). The night we arrived we chatted for a bit and then went to bed to rest up for our Saturday tour of Melbourne.

Everyone who comes to Australia must try Vegemite.

We tried it... and will never eat it again.

Saturday morning we lounged around and then decided that the best way to tour Melbourne would be a pub crawl. Andrew and Elizabeth showed us around the city while we sampled great drinks from their favorite bars. Our pub crawl ended in the late afternoon, just in time to have an aussie bbq at their apartment.

Eric and I enjoying the sun at a bar in the city.

Sunday we walked around the Docklands visiting the market and a few other stores in the area. Afterwards Eric and I introduced our aussie friends to Cosco. We immediately felt at home because this is one of our favorite Sunday afternoon activities back in the states. After stocking up on food and of course having a slice of pizza we made our way back to relax for a bit and enjoy some couch time (something Eric and I haven't done in months). That night we ate at a popular Japanese restaurant in the city and also checked out the massive Crown Casino (luckily we didn't play any games because we don't have much money left to lose).

Who doesn't love Cosco?

Enjoying our Japanese dinner.

Monday morning Eric and I rented a cute little Nissan and made our way to the Great Ocean Road. It takes about an hour and half to get to the coastal road and the drive itself is about four hours. The drive consists of lots of steep inclines, quaint towns, surfers, koala parks, and lots and lots of beautiful turquoise water. The end of the drive is the most magnificent with the twelve apostles breaking through the sea.

What a view!

Visiting the Twelve Apostles (although there are no longer twelve because the waves cause the rock formations to crumble).

The rest of our time in Melbourne was focused on the Australian Open. The four of us bought ground passes for Tuesday night. We found that these passes were great because you can get right next to the outside courts. Watching the players that close is a really unique and exciting experience.

Enjoying a match on the outside courts.

These girls behind me were intense.

Wednesday Eric, Elizabeth, and I bought tickets to go watch the Roddick vs Bellucci match at the Hisense Arena. These tickets also included two other women's matches and the Blake vs Del Potro match. Eric and I were in the arena for nearly 12 hours because the Blake vs Del Potro match went into the fifth set. It was a great game, even though Blake was defeated.

Roddick showing off his amazing serve. He got quite feisty at the end of his match which was very entertaining.

Enjoying a few cold ones while cheering for Blake. We really lucked out on our seats. We had a perfect view of the game and the seats were shaded most of the day.

Our stay in Melbourne was fantastic. Andrew and Elizabeth made us feel at home and were great tour guides. Melbourne's great mix of arts, music, and sports makes it really appealing to young professionals. It's definitely a city that I hope to come back and visit someday in the near future.

I guess it's time for us to act like backpackers again... we are setting off for a two week trip to the southern island of New Zealand before returning to Australia one last time to visit Sydney. Our around the world tour is quickly coming to an end but the next two weeks should be a great mix of adrenaline pumping sports and beautiful sites.