Free Day!

Melbourne Marriott Hotel-  Along with the purchase of our day trips came a few free activities that we decided to use during the day on Sunday because Roddick wasn’t playing until the night match (more on that later).  So our afternoon consisted of an hour river cruise on the Yarra River (no, not the Yaharra like in Madison which April can’t seem to keep straight) and a pass through the Melbourne Aquarium. 

It was very warm and sunny so it really felt like the water was the right place to be while on the river cruise.  Actually the only thing not cool about it was the water itself.  It has been an extremely wet summer for most of Australia, including Melbourne.  Because of this there is a lot more water draining into areas like the Yarra River.  This causes the water to turn brown so we just focused more on the city skyline and less on the water. 

While on the cruise, we went past a cafe out on the water under one of the bridges.  We figured an afternoon cocktail was in order.

After the cruise we went to the Melbourne Aquarium where the pamphlet we had said it would take us 2-2.5 hours to get through…it took us less than 1.  We’re not sure why it was so busy, possibly because it was a Sunday or maybe because kids are not in school right now…whatever the reason it was packed with screaming kids and stressed out parents (another free thing from today: birth control J).  We pretty much just ran threw to avoid the crowd but our favorite parts were the penguins which were being fed and the shark tank where the sharks and sting rays swim right over you. 

 

The last part of free day was not planned to be free.  We were really torn about going to see Roddick play again because he was playing the night match on the main court (Rod Laver Arena) and there were tickets available.  Ticket prices increase with each round so at $120 per ticket we decided we would just buy ground passes ($20 per) and watch the match from the beer garden area outside the stadium.  While we were in line to buy the passes a family was leaving the grounds and asked if we just wanted their passes because they were not coming back…well don’t mind if we do! 

We were very excited to get in for free and promptly blew the savings on Heineken and moscato wine at the beer garden.  We had an idea to try to see if we could find people leaving Rod Laver after the first set so we could watch the rest of the match live but we quickly found that most people coming out were just getting food or walking around…basically these people had paid a lot for the ticket and why would they leave early.  So we just found seats at the back of the beer garden and planned on watching the rest there. 

About halfway through the second set a young couple came up behind us and we thought they were going to ask us for chairs because we were sitting on two and using two for feet rests.  Instead they asked “Would you two like our tickets to watch the tennis?”…well don’t mind if we do!  We were obviously very excited to be going in, unfortunately Roddick did not hold up his end of the bargain and lost in straight sets.  It was still a great atmosphere and of course everything is better when it is free.

We ended our night using a bit of free advice we received during the day from a local.  He told us about a rooftop bar a few blocks from our hotel.  Although our bodies were exhausted, we decided to stop by for a drink.  As we walked back to the hotel afterwards, we saw a store that caught our eye.  We're pretty sure it belongs in the town Joni first lived in. :)