Hey besure to do some cool stuff because I'll be there on May 29-May 31 and need some ideas.

Melbourne. What can I say, it has beautiful parks, great food, great nightlife, and everyone goes to Melbourne for the shopping and sports. I lived there for 5 months, and fell in love with the whole city. My recommendations? Walk along the Yarra River, starting at Southbank and cross over the Richmond bridge to the other side of the river. There are some sculpture bells that go off periodically throughout the day, along the walk. I'm vegetarian, and love food, so I sought out the vegetarian restaurants. The best? Soul Mama's and Veg Out in St. Kilda. The pumpkin and pomegranite pizza at Meccabah on the Docklands was voted the best pizza in Melbourne.

Rent a bike and take the capitol city trail, which goes around the city and through southbank. Beautiful views and a great ride!

Tour the Yarra Valley, especially De Bartoli which has wine tastings for free and cheese tastings for $2AU.

The Lounge on Swanston street has "pay the time" meals on Monday's starting at 5:30.

If you like to run, run the Tan around the Botanic gardens.

7Apples gelato has the best gelato (in St. Kilda).

See the upside down sculpture near Spring street (on the way to brunswick
street) - crazy, and I have no idea why it's upside down!

The fairy tree in fitzroy is cool, too (a tree that's decorated with animals and magical creatures).

I'm sure I've misssed something, but that's what comes to mind when I think of Melbourne!

As a viewer of the first season, I am very disappointed to see the turn that this season has taken. Maybe, the astute producers of this program did some sort of survey and found that most of their viewers were either tremendous fans of Real world and that show where they eat bugs; and if that is the case, then please ignore my comments. If, however, your intentions were to entertain people who travel because they enjoy new places more than they enjoy talking about themselves or being simple morons who have nothing more to add to the experience than tired, cliche reality TV infused droning; allow me to congratulate you on failing miserably. The only person with a brain who is pleased with your efforts is Samantha Brown, because now there is a show on the travel channel that is more predictable and boring than her own. I feel that the smirky looks on many of the TJs (Trendy jokes) faces in the photos on their homepage testify to the validity of my assessment. I watched the travel channel to see and learn about new and exciting places, not to relive Spring Break.

Hey guys!

I just wanted you to know how much I am enjoying the show. I lived in Australia this time last year and I experienced so many of the things you have done. i.e., Bridge Climb, Hanging out at Bondi, Cairns, snorkeling the GBR. Thanks for allowing me to recapture all of the great memories that Australia provided me with. I know that several people have suggested the Penquin Parade and I agree you shouldn't miss it. Keep enjoying yourselves because these are memories and friends you will have for a lifetime!

Melbourne has a neat hip hop scene. If you're looking to explore the graf/ skate/ hip hop scene there, then perhaps the people at www.dualityrecords.com can point you in the right direction.

So you made it to the footy for 5 minutes the first weekend in Melbourne, but here's a suggestion if you're still in town on the weekend upcoming. The MCG is back to hosting games and a couple of big ones will be on this weekend. So, if you're able to make it to the 'G on either Friday night or Sunday arvo, then I would recommend it. Given the teams who are playing you could probably expect a good 60,000+ crowd at either game, and maybe even more. It would be well worth it to experience an entire game. Just a tip, but only if you can afford it!

I lived in Melbourne for a few years, down the end of lygon street in Coburg. You guys are so lucky. Everyone has posted some great suggestions but am amazed that no-one has told you about.
1. Mt. Diogenes a.k.a Hanging Rock, in 1900a.d. 5 schoolgirls vanished into this lava formation nearby. Spooky place
2. You guys always could use more money so how about going to Ballarat or Bendigo for gold seeking/panning adventures. Bendigo Goldfields Experiences Lot 2, Watson Street Bendigo Victoria 3550 Telephone03) 5448 4140
3. The 12 apostles is a must see. Drink a pot of VB for me.
I Cut this out for you too:
Enjoy some of Melbourne's many parks, as this city is one of the world's greenest cities, with over 1200 acres of parks and gardens within a 2 mile radius of downtown Melbourne. Also, see the World's largest and most valuable Fire Opal, 'The Olympic Australis' (in the Guinness book of records) at Altmann and Cherny who also offer some of the finest displays of South Seas Pearls.
Then visit Port Phillip Bay, St. Kilda beach and Station Pier (where the Spirit of Tasmania and cruise ships berth). Also see the Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne Arts Center and Concert Hall, the National Gallery (Art Museum) and the State Theatre. Pass Parliament House, Flinders Street Station, St. Pauls Cathedral and many of Melbourne's magnificent sporting Stadiums, such as the Melbourne Park Tennis Center, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Olympic Park, Swimming Center, Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit and the Flemington Race Course.

Enjoy your time here as Indonesia is not in my opinion a fantastic trip unless you have money to sleep on an island resort. The Kiwi's will look after you in NZland though.

Keep up the great work - Andrew

I think the Dive with Dragons tour would be cool! You get to go Scuba Diving.


TOUR DETAILS
Explore the exciting underwater of Port Phillip Bay. From over 60 ship wrecks and WW1 submarines to our famous weedy sea dragons, you'll discover a colourful and abundant reef eco system second to none.

Our guided dives take you to the seadragon colony, the seahorse garden, wrecks, walls, reefs and Marine Parks.

Check out http://reservations.bookhostels.com/tours/australianexp...UID=277&Currency=AUD


Have Fun! Love the show!!!!
irishpotato7

quote:

Originally posted by aussiechickie:
Melbourne is my favourite city in Australia!!

You might be there for the Melbourne Comedy festival 4/12 - 5/17 if you are you MUST see a show (the Great Debate, Tripod or any of the Aussie comedians). The first stop must be the Victoria Markets. Then Penguin Island (those guys are just too cute!). Don't forget a trip to the Dandenongs to feed the wild Rosellas and the steam train ride.

Play two-up at the casino, taste the pastries in St Kilda, and drive Great Ocean Road to see whats left of the twelve Apostles (only 8 left....) one fell down last year!

Melbourne has the beatiful trams and if you can get past the ever changing weather you will have a great time!

The Penguin Island is named Phillip Island. You can either drive to the Island or catch a Ferry from Sorento to Queenscliff (I think) and the Steam train is the Puffing Billy.
The Dandenongs are an awesome place that the "Hippies and tree huggers" love so much. I'd want to be a tree hugger myself! The awesome aroma of the eucalyptus is something I'd love to place in a bottle as a perfume. I can still remember the fragrance as we drove through the forest.

Last time I lived in Geelong in 1999 Melbourne was running a free tram service called the City Cirle. Something like that. For tourists to go off and on as often they like without paying a tram ticket. It goes around the popular areas of Melbourne city.

Melbourne funky gal living in brooklyn with the best suggestions!!!!! First off - Love the show - u guys rock! ok - melbs (as us kool kids call it) is without a doubt one of the worlds most livable cities (voted so too!)
Food - Melbournians pride themselves on their amazing coffee - go and have an AMAZING latte at los chicas carlisle street st kilda. The trendy brooklyn kinda zone of melb.
Shopping culture - if u are on carlise st go and visit the super kool nikki at 'hudson' BEST art/clothing store in the world!!!!! SHe has the latest of anything!!
Music - GO TO REVOLVER on chapel st!!! Super kool local lounge music venue.... always a kool dj or band on and the layout vibe is TYPICAL kool MELBS!!! Or Prince of wales on Fitzroy st!
City vibes - MUST MUST go to De Graves Lane. U will spin out and the local graffiti/cafes/shops go and do some alley way exploring and see what u find.
PARTY - MUST PARTY AT HONKEY TONKS in the city!!!!! The most super kool off an alley way off another alley way club - coolest music always. Crazy decor!! Or MUST TRY the CROFT INSTUTUE. A bar/club that is decked out like a science lab meets gymnasium. Melbs is one of the most creative capitals of the world for our generations. Take advantage of that!!

quote:

Or MUST TRY the CROFT INSTUTUE. A bar/club that is decked out like a science lab meets gymnasium. !!

That's it! Couldn't remember the name of the place. My buddies took me there in August.

Tony - talk about little bars down back alleys - this one I think was down 2 back alleys in or near Chinatown. But it was packed with locals. And it's where I first heard about the drop bear!!

I think some good place to visit would be going to see street sculpture there a very good thing for the culture for Renee. Also another thing thats really neat to go and see is the southern gardens it's so pretty and alot of things to do Tiffany would love it. And if you wan to buy souvenirs the best place is Queen victoria market very moderate prices. Another place that is neat is the melbourne aquariam. My family and I spent the summer in Austrilia last year for summer vk and we stayed a week in melbourene and we went to all those places and more. And for Gabe in Queen Victoria market theres live entertainment.

I like how I found this page just now, after they've spent 2 weeks in Melbourne and too late for me to help out. Sorry all.

Great! you're going to Melbourne! If you have time, all of you should go snorkeling. It would be a lot of fun.

Hey TJ....I am originally from Australia...I used to go to Melbourne all the time because it has such wonderful cultural influences...They have a lot of things to do if you're interested in seeing the Aboriginal Face of Melbourne..If you go to the official City of Melbourne website and look under Art and Culture there is information about what's available...I think because Australia has lost quite a bit of it's Aboriginal culture it's good for the rest of the world to experience it before it's gone forever which would be a shame to all Australians.
Whatever you do, you'll have a great time bc Aussies are known for their hospitality! Have an excellent time!
Tracy..

Hi! I just started watching the show, it's great! I was just in Australia last July-January...one thing I enjoyed around Melbourne was visiting the Phillip Island penguin parade. You can go watch the little pengiuns come out of the ocean each night and make the journey to their nests on shore.

Here's some sugestions while in Melbourne...

Melbourne Zoo, Melbourne
Visit Australia's oldest zoo and discover more than 350 animal species in a variety of habitats.
Attraction type: Zoo; Garden


National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Opened in 1861, this is Australias oldest art gallery.
Attraction type: Art museum


Federation Square, Melbourne
Grand public square, linking the city's business district with the Yarra River, features a "square within the Square," which holds more than 10,000 people at a time.
Attraction type: Mall; Architectural building; Museum complex; Town center/square/plaza; Landmark/point of interest


Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Melbourne
Founded in 1838, the MCG is one of the best cricket sites in the world.
Attraction type: Arena/stadium/field


Melbourne Museum, Melbourne
Experience the museum's outstanding exhibits and collections on the environment, technology and many other areas.
Attraction type: Natural history museum; Museum

Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne
The largest open-air market in the Southern Hemisphere is a center for trade and commerce, as well as a popular venue for visitors.
Attraction type: Flea/street market


Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Melbourne
Enjoy a day walking through one of the best-landscaped gardens on Earth.
Attraction type: Garden


Melbourne Aquarium, Melbourne
Discover creatures of the Southern Ocean in the 2-million-liter oceanarium.
Attraction type: Aquarium


Old Melbourne Gaol, Melbourne
Attraction type: Old jail


Crown Casino, Melbourne
More than 500,000 square meters of gaming and entertainment space features an exceptional variety of choices: shopping, fine dining, luxurious accommodations, dazzling casino and gaming center and live entertainment.
Attraction type: Casino


Melbourne Observation Deck, Melbourne
Located on the 55th floor of the tallest office building in the Southern Hemisphere, the observation deck is the best place from which to view Melbourne.
Attraction type: Observation deck/tower

Gold Treasury Museum, Melbourne
Attraction type: History museum; Architectural building


Rippon Lea House Museum & Historic Garden, Melbourne
Attraction type: Historic home; Garden


Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens, Melbourne
Completed in 1880 in preparation for the Melbourne International Exhibition, this is a a magnificent building modelled on the Florence Cathedral.
Attraction type: Architectural building; Garden; Landmark/point of interest


Rialto Towers Observation Deck, Melbourne
Attraction type: Observation deck/tower


Scienceworks Museum, Melbourne
Attraction type: Museum; Science museum


Flinders Street Station, Melbourne
Attraction type: Town center/square/plaza; Landmark/point of interest


Revolver, Melbourne
Attraction type: Bar/club; Dance club/disco

I suggest that you get out of Melbourne and make a day trip to the Wine Country of Adelaide and surrounding area or head over to Tasmania. Both places are spectacular. Besides, you might even see a Real Tasmanian Devil !!!
Excellent locations to visit while your in Australia.

I echo the suggestion for Queen Victoria Market. If you can get a reservation for the "Foodies Tour" of the market even better(they are often sold out, I got on the tour from the waiting list when someone didn't show). They have great guides who walk you around the market and explain things like which day to buy fresh fish and how to tell spring lamb from mutton. Even better they will stop at a number of booths where you'll get to sample things. One intersting place we stopped was the booth of a man that is perserving all these old varieties of apples that aren't grown commercially. He struck a deal with the historic trust where he would take care of old apple trees on their properties in exchange for the rights to harvest them. We got to tast varieties of apples I'd never heard of. He branched out from that into other produce and ended up becoming a supplier to some of the better restaurants in Melbourne - which is a foodies paradise.

The Foster's brewing plant is also a fun tour - and of course you get to sample the beer.

Melbourne, Australia is quite simply one of THE coolest places on Earth. I was there on internship for a month. My favorite spots were St. Kilda's Beach (on Sunday they have an Artisan's Market!!), and the Twelve
Apostles. The best place to eat was a little restaurant called Borscht, Vodka, and Tears. They serve an Eastern Euro menu and boast a menu of about 100 different types of Vodka! Definitely recommend the Goulasch, and Bee sting Shot. Lots of good shopping and Public Tran is a breeze. Have Fun!