OK, not really. But I am in Batman’s town right now. John Batman, that is. He sort of started the city of Melbourne, so there are street named after him all over the place. And yes, it’s pronounced the same as the superhero. I still think the idea of "Batman Avenue" is pretty cool.
Right, progress report. Been here in the Antipodean epicenter for Swine Flu for a few days now. Haven’t contracted a cough yet. The city is really nice, and rated as one of the most liveable in the world. Tim and I have met up with our buddy Sophia, who is a native. She’s given us the full list of things to see and do, and properly scolded us for being… well, us. We’ve toured the Victoria Parliament, Botanic Gardens (it’s actually exciting when the plants here are SO WEIRD), markets, shops, old buildings, cafes, bar etc. We’ve even been to Luna Park, which is the Australian equivalent of Coney Island — complete with a giant clown head that wants to eat you. We also found one of the best concept restaurants ever: totally devoted to:
1. veal/chicken/eggplant parmagiana
2. local microbrews
As the New Zealanders would say, "sweet as".
We left the bright lights of the city for the coast yesterday. We hit up Tourquay, "the home of Australian surfing". I showed Tim some basics, and we hit the waves, which were perfect for we beginners – long, rolling, about 4 feet high, and just the right frequency. It was sunny and gorgeous – truly awesome.
Timmy swallowed a lot of saltwater.
Now we’re back in Melb for the weekend, we’ll see what adventure awaits! Apparently, we might be able to crash an American themed costume party. I’m going to go wearing my accent and see if that counts.
In the meantime, Timmy continues to urge me to "take the vegemite challenge" at breakfast. I think this is a bad idea.
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