15th March -
We get the last pitch on the campsite but pay a 50% premium for coming on Grand Prix
weekend. We get in touch with Steve and Mags and arrange to meet at their posh hotel
in the city centre. There is a tram stop 20 minutes walk from the camp site and we
catch a tram into town. Surprisingly the tram driver is from Chesterfield and has
been here for 8 years. We chat to him all the way into town and only notice when
he shuts his cab door when we get off that it says that you are not allowed to talk
to the driver. The only way to pay for your tram ride is to buy a Myki card (like
an Oyster/Mango card) before you get on, you can't pay on the tram. In our time on
the trams lots of people don't even seem to bother with a Myki and just treat the
trams as if they are free. We go up to Steve and Mags’ room trying to look as though
we belong in posh hotels and drink their wine from Hunter Valley before heading off
for a lovely noisy tapas meal.
The next day we go cycling around the city with Steve, up the Yarra river where you
can hear the sound of F1 cars on practice laps, through parks and the harbour area
before ending up back at the river. After the bike ride, guided by Mags who has been
doing some research in our absence, we go to a rooftop bar (a former brothel we are
told) where all the staff are dressed as though about to play tennis for some reason
and then head over the road to Pellegrinis, a Melbourne institution where they have
a menu but it is largely ignored as everyone has exactly the same thing (a large
bowl of pasta, a glass of granita and a sponge pudding). On our last day in Melbourne
we go to the Melbourne Museum where the aborigine section we really wanted to see
was closed for refurbishment. After taking the free circular tourist tram around
the city we meet up with S&M for a nice meal on the south bank of the river.
