A Rare Rainy Day in Melbourne

We awoke to a sunny morning but by early afternoon it was raining on and off. Our friends Ross and Jenny drove in to lead us on a long walk they'd planned around some of the most scenic parts of Melbourne but a long walk was not in the cards.

Fortunately the Good Food and Wine Show was on at the cavernous Melbourne Convention Centre next door to the Hilton and off we went. We spent a fascinating couple of hours tasting a variety of food and wine. Many of the food products were different than those we're used to. Just for one example, serving-size portions of canned (tinned) tuna in a variety of flavors are popular items here, enabling one to open it up and spread it directly on bread.

It was a popular spot, especially on a rainy Saturday, and eventually we decided to stop fighting the hungry hordes and to head over to the nearby Crown Casino for one of their buffets. We borrowed a couple of Hilton umbrellas because it was now pouring at 4:45 p.m. It was worth walk though - this buffet includes a half kilogram of prawns for $19.50. That's a deal and the Thai prawns were excellent.

Later we wandered back to the hotel and said our goodbyes to Ross and Jenny, who left us with a couple of tickets to tomorrow's Australian Rules Football Match at the Melbourne Critic Ground.

We've been asked to barrack (cheer) for Hawthorn. We'll do our best, but we're still a little vague on the fine points of the sport, such as which team has actually scored points. It will be the second footy match we've attended though, so maybe we'll catch on a little more quickly this time.