Today we say good bye to Sydney and head for Melbourne. We’re game to discover a new locale, but vibrant Sydney is hard to leave. Our flight is an easy hour and half. Turns out Melbourne has an intense rivalry with Sydney in sports and beyond. Melbourne describes itself as “sports mad”. The Melbourne Cup is Nov. 2 and apparently they celebrate it for the full 3 weeks prior. On the big day (horserace in case you were unaware, like myself) ladies get decked out in beautiful spring dresses (remember the seasons are backwards here) and fabulous hats. It sounds a lot like the Kentucky Derby, but instead of drinking mint juleps, they eat chicken and drink champagne. Sounds like a dangerous combination to me!
Melbourne is right near the ocean, but it’s heart is around a river. Our hotel, the Crown Tower sits right on the river. We walk into the three story lobby, which is covered in sparkling black granite- the walls, floors and fountains. Above us is a ceiling of crystal in an undulating pattern of stalactites. It is totally dark, except for the light show bouncing off every surface to the beat of emotionally charged music. The fountains keep time with the music, shooting sprays of water across the black surfaces. Picture Phantom of the Opera times ten. Our jaws drop. The experience is so intense, that it is almost a relief to walk away.
We go up the elevator to our room and we are greeted with the overwhelming stench of cigarette smoke. Everything is beautiful, yet I picture some hidden away drug deal as we pass by a cloister of 4 open doors full of shirtless men smoking. A man crosses the hall in his bathrobe. Just keep walking, I think as we usher the girls past. We head down for a light snack and the guys head down to the front desk to grumble. After our nosh, we head up to our new room. Let’s just say it pays to be the squeaky wheel sometimes! We waltz into our suite- there’s an entry leading to a living room with curved windows overlooking the city. There’s a separate dining room and two bedrooms. The bathrooms are absolute luxury, including a huge jetted tub with its own tv. I take pictures, because I don’t want to forget what a treat this is!
We freshen up and dress up for our fancy dinner, called “Meet the Aussies”. Jayco Motorhomes has a factory in Melbourne and all the Aussie dealers have joined up with us. The Aussies have put together the most amazing fete for us. We arrive at a plain looking metal warehouse on a wharf. We are feeling a little under whelmed. Where are we, we think. We wait outside, as waiters serve up mini meat pies and beef carpaccio. The girls slam about 2 sodas each as mom grimaces. When we walk into the warehouse, the whole place is pitch black- except for a spotlight on each table. Huge sprays of flowers fall over the tables, held up by candelabras wrapped in tree bark. Dinner is amazing and you can’t take a sip of wine without the waiter filling your glass. A famous (in Australia) country band of sisters comes out and wows us. The whole room is loving the group. They sing a few well know country songs toward the end and we all sing along (probably the endless flow of wine helped that). It’s already late when they serve dessert and the comedian takes the stage. He’s hilarious, but I’m glad the reverberation is a bit bad and am hoping the girls don’t catch all the jokes.
It was a stellar evening. We can barely keep the girls awake on the bus ride back to the hotel. We crash at our fabulous pad.
Melbourne is right near the ocean, but it’s heart is around a river. Our hotel, the Crown Tower sits right on the river. We walk into the three story lobby, which is covered in sparkling black granite- the walls, floors and fountains. Above us is a ceiling of crystal in an undulating pattern of stalactites. It is totally dark, except for the light show bouncing off every surface to the beat of emotionally charged music. The fountains keep time with the music, shooting sprays of water across the black surfaces. Picture Phantom of the Opera times ten. Our jaws drop. The experience is so intense, that it is almost a relief to walk away.
We go up the elevator to our room and we are greeted with the overwhelming stench of cigarette smoke. Everything is beautiful, yet I picture some hidden away drug deal as we pass by a cloister of 4 open doors full of shirtless men smoking. A man crosses the hall in his bathrobe. Just keep walking, I think as we usher the girls past. We head down for a light snack and the guys head down to the front desk to grumble. After our nosh, we head up to our new room. Let’s just say it pays to be the squeaky wheel sometimes! We waltz into our suite- there’s an entry leading to a living room with curved windows overlooking the city. There’s a separate dining room and two bedrooms. The bathrooms are absolute luxury, including a huge jetted tub with its own tv. I take pictures, because I don’t want to forget what a treat this is!
We freshen up and dress up for our fancy dinner, called “Meet the Aussies”. Jayco Motorhomes has a factory in Melbourne and all the Aussie dealers have joined up with us. The Aussies have put together the most amazing fete for us. We arrive at a plain looking metal warehouse on a wharf. We are feeling a little under whelmed. Where are we, we think. We wait outside, as waiters serve up mini meat pies and beef carpaccio. The girls slam about 2 sodas each as mom grimaces. When we walk into the warehouse, the whole place is pitch black- except for a spotlight on each table. Huge sprays of flowers fall over the tables, held up by candelabras wrapped in tree bark. Dinner is amazing and you can’t take a sip of wine without the waiter filling your glass. A famous (in Australia) country band of sisters comes out and wows us. The whole room is loving the group. They sing a few well know country songs toward the end and we all sing along (probably the endless flow of wine helped that). It’s already late when they serve dessert and the comedian takes the stage. He’s hilarious, but I’m glad the reverberation is a bit bad and am hoping the girls don’t catch all the jokes.
It was a stellar evening. We can barely keep the girls awake on the bus ride back to the hotel. We crash at our fabulous pad.
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