Melbourne! 24-27 September

Friday 4:20 AM
Woke up and got dressed for the flight to Melbourne! Told Sean Happy Birthday and then waited for Emma and Josh with Liam. Josh drove us all to the airport for our 6 AM flight. It’s about a 25 minute drive to the airport. Got there and breezed through security (I still can’t get over how lax it is here compared to the States,) and then I got a small coffee while the woman behind me got a shot of vodka!! We had checked in for the flight the night before so it was a very short wait to begin boarding the Airbus 320. I read my book, Shadow Child, during the hour and 15 minute flight. We took the Airbus shuttle from the Tullamarine Airport to the train station (Southern Cross). We walked to Flinders Street Station to meet with Holly who had arrived the morning before. From there we took a tram to our hostel at the Pint on the Punt. It was a neat little Irish pub downstairs and a hostel upstairs. Holly and I shared a room with two other Americans. Liam and Emma got the private room. Holly, Emma, and I walked down to the 7 11 and grabbed some food for lunch.
Once we were settled in we just napped (Liam and Emma), read/wrote (Holly/me, me/Holly). We did that until dinner time. We ate downstairs at the pub and had the special! Liam’s friend, Brendan, came and met with us. From there he took us to the Crown Casino. That place was ginormous! Once inside it looked like it went on forever! There were so many slot machines, blackjack, roulette, poker, etc. tables! It was incredible! We went to the Tangerine Bar first where the security lady would not let Holly or me in because we didn’t have Australian ID or our passports. She was really rude about it, but I just tried to chalk it up to a rough night. We just went to the bar next to it that had so many screens it was hard to tell what was going on! Liam and Brendan had a beer while I watched the soccer game and talked to Emma and Holly. After the boys finished their drinks Brendan took us in the back way of the Tangerine Bar and we got in no problem. Weird as! We wanted to be in this bar because they have a pyrotechnic show every hour on the hour. We caught the tail end of the 9 o’clock show so we hung out on the deck until 10.The boys had more drinks (of course) lol. Emma and I got waters for the girls and inside the bar this random guy starts apologising for stuff he did to me in primary school! Then he asked me how to break up with this girl he was seeing! Emma saved me and we went back outside. The fire show was pretty cool! Worth waiting an hour for!  After the show we went downstairs and Liam won $20 dollars at roulette! Yeww! We got some food/dessert and then went to the sports bar. I got a Strongbow and while I was drinkin it the bouncers asked for my ID. When he saw my birthday he was really embarrassed when he told his mate, “she’s 20!” I just smiled and told him no worries. It was funny how apologetic he was when he gave me my license back. Watched a bit of rugby and then we headed out. The walk by the river was really cool. There are so many street artists and the architecture of the buildings was beautiful! The bridges and the plaza were really cool. We tried to take a tram home, but Brendan ended up putting us on the wrong tram that took us way out of the city! It was all good; we just took a taxi home. Then bed time!!!
Sat’day
Woke up around 9, showered and headed down to the pub for breakie. I was the first one up so I read a magazine while I waited for everyone. Whoo hoo. :/ When everyone was ready we walked to St. Kilda Beach. Walked through the park and down the pier. Explored the break water for penguins. Saw a couple way back in the rocks! Also saw a water rat. The boats in the bay were pretty cool too. We could see the city skyline pretty well from the pier. After seeing the penguins we decided to take the tram into town and wandered down Collins Street. Had lunch at a Thai place in one of many arcades and then a delicious watermelon/raspberry smoothie.  then we walked down to the big block arcade and looked around the fancy shops. The allies and side streets off the main streets are full of cute little shops and restaurants. The whole city is simply amazing! The whole city was abuzz today because it was the Toyota Australian Football League Grand Final! Tried to get tickets but it was too late by the time we knew the final was the same weekend as our trip. So we just watched the match between the St. Kilda Saints and Collingwood Magpies in Federation Square on the big screen with a whole bunch of people. The atmosphere was zinging with electricity! We only stayed for a while because Liam was bored. So we headed up the river and walked through Kings Domain Park. We saw the Shrine of Remembrance. Daddy would have loved it. It was a memorial for all of the soldiers and veterans who fought in every war Australia and New Zealand were involved in. It was awe-inspiring and beautiful. Liam and Emma were tired so they left before I was finished. So Holly and I stayed at the park a bit longer while they napped. We had dinner at the pub again. Holly and I split the calamari and it was delicious! Tonight was the Bangarra Dance Theatre performance! Of Earth and Sky was shown in the Playhouse Theatre. The show was AMAZING! I wish there were words to describe the way I felt when I was watching it! It was extra special because I discovered the company on the plane over here. 
Sunday
Everyone was super tired but I was still up at 9. Went downstairs for tea and let Emma and Liam sleep a bit. Liam wasn’t feeling well so around 10:30 AM we girl to the tram and then a train to the Melbourne Zoo at Royale Park! We saw gorillas, giraffes, penguins, baboons, even baby elephants! Ah! It was so much fun! Especially the seals at feeding time! Oh and the monkeys! Soo cute!
When we had seen everything we took the train to Melbourne Central to meet Liam and Brendan so we could swap keys. The boys went off to do their own thing and Emma wanted to nap, so Holly and I went back to St. Kilda. We walked through the park and then sat on the beach for the sunset.  Then wewent back to the breakwater to watch the penguins. Really cool to see but COLD!
My friend Leslie and I are both studying abroad in Australia and we both happened to be in the same state/city! After some serious effort on the trams she made it to the pub for dinner. Oi, it was so good to see her again! After dinner the four of us went to the Eureka Skydeck, the tallest building in Melbourne. Emma, Leslie, and I were the only ones to lay down and look 285 meters below on The Edge! The view of the city is unbeatable from there! So incredible! We stayed until they kicked us out then got some postcards and a thimble. We tried to get ice cream but everything had just closed. Neat window shopping though. Walked Les back to her tram and then crashed into bed.
Monday
Woke up around 9 and packed up to check out. Slow start to the morning but we took a tram into the city and walked to the State Library of Victoria. It was so cool! There were exhibits and the architecture was beautiful. After the library Liam and Emma got sushi. Then they went to a shopping district on the south side of the city. Holly and I went to the Old Melbourne Gaol. We got treated like criminals and were thrown in gaol. After that we wandered through the gaol in the rain and got our mug shots taken. The we partook in the re-enactment of the trial of Edward “Ned” Kelly. I was Ned. Holly was a witness. I learned more about the most famous bushranger in one day than I ever thought I would! Lol  We had sometime before we needed to meet with Emma and Liam so we decided to go shopping on Colin and Bourke Streets. Ripcurl, JettySurf, SportyGirl, Dotti, and some other way cool high end shops. Found this AMAZING dress that was just way too much.  I had to tear myself away from it! Haha me and a DRESS! Oh and Mum should be proud of me for going into an Adidas superstore and not buying anything!  It was fun seeing all the boutiques and designer stores in the city. Holly and I got Starbucks for the first time in months! Met Liam and Emma in the library, they grabbed dinner, and then we caught the tram to the Airbus to the airport. At the airport it was funny putting Emma’s new shoes in Liam’s bag. I had to wear Liam’s new hat on the plane. (I was the one who looked the best in it, weird as). The flight was good. Only bad thing that happened was that my ears wouldn’t equalize the pressure. Other than the ears it was an amazing trip!!! Heaps good! Great start to the uni holidays!